Category Archives: Dutch word of the day

Jarig

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no literal translation [adjective]

"Jarig" is the adjective that indicates the state of one having one’s birthday.

Examples:
– "Marc is vandaag jarig!"
("It’s Marc’s birthday today!")

– "Sander is al jarig geweest dit jaar."
("Sander has already had his birthday this year.")

– "Wanneer ben je jarig? – Ik ben de veertiende jarig."
("When’s your birthday? – It’s my birthday on the fourteenth/My birthday falls on the fourteenth.")

Related words:
– "Verjaardag": birthday.
– "Slingers": festoons, paper chains.

Expressions:
– "Dan ben je nog niet jarig!": <threatening:> "You will regret that day!"

Babbelen

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“Babbelen” is an informal way of talking. It can be used in a positive or negative context, see translation 1. and 2. respectively.

1. to chat, chatter [verb] [babbelde, gebabbeld]

Examples:
– “Wat hebben jullie twee gisteravond gedaan? – Gezellig in de kroeg zitten babbelen!”
(“What did you two do yesterday evening? – Sat down in the pub and had a nice (little) chat!”)

– “Twee omaatjes zaten op een bankje in het park te babbelen over het weer.”
(“Two little grannies were sitting on a little bench in the park chattering about the weather.”)

Related word:
– “Kletsen“: chat, to talk informally.

2. to blab, to gossip [verb] [babbelde, gebabbeld]

Examples:
– “Die secretaresse zit altijd over anderen te babbelen.”
(“That secretary is always blabbing about other people.”)

– “Er wordt gebabbeld dat Frank het doet met die secretaresse…”
(“Gossiping is going on about Frank having an affair with that secretary…” Literally: “It is gossiped that Frank does it with that secretary…”)

Related word:
– “Roddelen”: to gossip.

Vlucht

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1. flight [noun] [de vlucht, de vluchten]

Examples:
– "Vlucht KL510 heeft een vertraging van een half uur."
("Flight KL510 has a delay of half an hour.")

– "Sander was uitgeput na een vlucht van 10 uur naar Cuba."
("Sander was exhausted after a 10 hours flight to Cuba.")

– "Gisteravond zag ik een vlucht wilde ganzen in de lucht, helemaal in V-formatie."
("Yesterday evening I saw a flight of wild geese in the air, completely in V-formation.")

Related word:
– "Vliegen": to fly.

2. flight, escape [noun] [de vlucht, de vluchten]

In this context, the verb that goes with the noun "vlucht" is "vluchten": to flee/to escape/to fly/to run (away).

Examples:
– "Veel mensen zijn op de vlucht voor het geweld in Darfur."
("A lot of people are escaping the violence in Darfur." Literally: "…are on the escape for the violence…")

– "Vluchten kan niet meer…"
("Nowhere to run…" Literally: "Fleeing/escaping is no longer possible…")

Related words:
– "Vluchten": to flee/to escape/to fly/to run (away).
– "Ontvluchten": to flee/to escape (from).

Pil

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pill [noun] [de pil, de pillen]

"Pil" is used for medicine, anti-conception and drugs. The diminutive is "pilletje"; in general diminutives of nouns with base "-il" end in "-illetje".

Examples:
– "Wat wordt het? De rode of de blauwe pil?"
("What is it going to be? The red or the blue pill?")

– "Ik heb wat pillen gekregen van de dokter."
("The doctor provided me with some pills.")

– "Neem tweemaal daags een pil na de maaltijd."
("Take a pill two times a day after a meal.")

– "Volgens mij is daar wel een pilletje voor."
(Literally: "According to me there is a pill for that" this is like informally saying "I believe there exists medicine for that.")

– "Slik jij de pil?"
("Are you on the pill?" Lit.: "Do you swallow the pill?" In this context the diminutive "pilletje" is never used.)

– "Ik ben gestopt met de pil."
("I have stopped taking the pill.")

– "Sommige mensen slikken wel eens een pilletje bij het uitgaan."
("Some people take a pill once in a while when they go out." In this context it is common to use the diminutive "pilletje".)

Expression:
– "Het is een bittere pil.": it is a bitter pill to swallow.

Example:
– "Zijn verlies te erkennen, was een bittere pil voor hem."
("Acknowledging his defeat was a bitter pill for him to swallow.")

– "Een dikke pil.": this is used to say that a book is very thick.

Example:
– "Jeetje, wat een dikke pil zeg! En die moet jij uit je hoofd leren??"
("My, what a thick book! And you have to memorize that??" The word "jeetje" (or "jee", "jeeminee") is derived from "Jezus", as a more acceptable substitute.)

Gapen

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1. to yawn [verb] [gaapte, gegaapt]

"Gapen" has appeared earlier in DWOTD 89. Slapen.

Examples:
– "Ik kon vanochtend niet ophouden met gapen."
("I couldn’t stop yawning this morning." Literally: "…stop with yawning.")

– "Frank zat tijdens de vergadering de hele tijd te gapen."
("During the meeting, Frank was yawning all the time." Note that "Frank zat…te gapen" (lit.: "Frank sat to yawn") is translated with "Frank was yawning"; it is a common construction in Dutch.)

– "Ik moet enorm gapen van deze slaapverwekkende film."
("I really have to yawn due to this dead boring movie." Literally: "…from this sleep generating movie.")

Related words:
1. "Slapen": to sleep.
2. "Slaperig": sleepy.
3. "Slaapkop": sleepy head.
4. "Dromen": to dream.
5. "Uitrekken": to stretch.

Extra:
Some old Dutch houses have an ornament which is a stone man’s head with a wide opened mouth. They used to indicate that a pharmacy resided in the building. Such a stone head is called a Gaper ("Yawner") in Dutch, obviously because of the wide opened mouth…(which is actually open for taking in medicine…)

2. to gape [verb] [gaapte, gegaapt]

Example:
– "De gapende menigte had zich verzameld rond het gebouw dat in brand stond."
("The gaping crowd had gathered around the building that was on fire."  Lit.: "…that stood on fire.")

Related word:
1. "zich vergapen aan": to gape at.

Example:
"De menigte vergaapte zich aan de sterren op de rode loper."
("The crowd was gaping at the stars on the red carpet.")