Category Archives: Dutch word of the day

Verandering

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change, alteration, variety 
[noun]
[de ver-an-de-ring, de ver-an-de-rin-gen]

Verandering “Verandering” is pretty much like ‘change’ in English. However when somebody asks you for ‘change’ for the parking meter, you will be asked for ‘wisselgeld’ or ‘kleingeld’. Of course you can offer the person real change, by suggesting a bicycle 😉

Examples:
– “Verandering! Wij willen verandering!” 
(“Change! We want change!”)

– “Verandering? Verandering? Ik heb liever wisselgeld! (Om bier te kopen!)” 
(“Change? Change? I would rather have change! (To buy some beer!)”)

– “Om vooruitgang te boeken in het leven, moet je dingen veranderen.” 
(“In order to make progress in life, one has to make changes.”)

– “Sander is van plan een verandering aan te brengen in het DWOTD-format, alleen weet hij nog niet precies welke…” 
(“Sander is planning a change in the DWOTD format, however he does not yet know exactly what kind…”)

– “Ik vind deze verandering helemaal niks, kunnen we niet gewoon terug naar hoe het vroeger was? Je weet wel, voordat we onze productieve uren moesten bijhouden?” 
(“I don’t like this change one bit, can’t we just go back to old times? You know, before we had to keep track of our productive hours?”)

– “Hallo, met Lindsay, ik wil graag een verandering aanbrengen in de tekst, kun je even langskomen om het te bespreken?” 
(“Hi, this is Lindsay speaking, I would like to make a change in your text, can you drop by to discuss it?”)

– “De meeste mensen zijn bang voor verandering, dus mijn plan is om dit stiekem door te voeren…” 
(“Most people are afraid of change, so my plan is to go ahead with this surreptitiously…”)

Expressions:
– “Verandering van spijs doet eten”: change is good, variety is the spice of life. Lit. “change of food makes one eat.” Note that ‘spijs’ and ‘spijzen’ are old-fashioned.
– “Verandering van omgeving”: change of scenery. Lit. ‘surroundings’. 

Related words:
– Veranderen: to change [verb] [veranderde, veranderd].
– Aanpassen: to adapt to, adjust to [verb] [paste aan, aangepast]. Note that ‘aanpassen’ can also mean to try/fit on (of clothes).

Example:
– “Ik heb de broek aangepast in de winkel; ze zijn nu de lengte aan het aanpassen, en ik kan hem volgende week ophalen.”
(“I tried the pants / pair of trousers on in the store; they will adjust the length, and I can pick them up next week.”)

– Wisselgeld: change (money) [noun] [het wisselgeld, <no plural>].
– Anders: differently, otherwise [adverb].

Behandelen

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to handle, to treat 
[verb]
[be-han-de-len, be-han-del-de, be-han-deld]

Behandelen In general “behandelen” can be used for handling objects, matters, and when treating topics, animals or people (the latter two also in the role of physisian/doctor).

Examples:
– “Die wond ziet er niet goed uit, die moet je echt laten behandelen!” 
(“That wound does not look good, you really have to get it treated / looked after!”)

– “Vandaag behandelen we de Riemann hypothese.” 
(“Today we treat/discuss/cover the Riemann hypothesis.”)

– “Ik neem aan dat mijn voorganger het gebruik van naamvallen heeft behandeld?” – “Alleen maar oppervlakkig, meneer.” 
(“I assume that my predecessor has covered the usage of cases?” – “Only superficially / we only scratched the surface, sir.”)

– “Voorzichtig behandelen! Breekbaar!” 
(“Handle with care! Fragile!” Lit. “Breakable!”)

– “Ik vind dat je iemand die van je houdt, en alles voor je doet, niet zo kan behandelen.” 
(“I think that you can’t treat somebody who loves you, and does everything for you, this way.”)

– “Sorry, maar alleen de manager kan uw klacht behandelen. En die is er vandaag niet!” 
(“I’m sorry but only the manager can handle your complaint. And he is not in today!”)

– “Het heeft geen zin om uw moeder nog langer te behandelen, de ziekte is te ver gevorderd.” 
(“It’s pointless to prolong your mother’s treatment / treat your mother any longer, the illness has progressed too far.”)

Related words:
– Behandeling: handling, treatment [noun] [de behandeling, de behandelingen].
– Behandelaar: the person in charge of your case, practitioner [noun] [de behandelaar, de behandelaars].

Bezet

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occupied, engaged, busy 
[adjective]
[be-zet]

Bezet The adjective ‘bezet’ can have the meaning of ‘occupied’, ‘engaged’ or ‘busy’ depending on context. When you are in a relationship, you may be referred to as ‘bezet’ by others who discuss potential partners 🙂 These days, many of us lead a busy life: “een druk bezet leven leiden”. See the examples below for more.

The picture shows a common practice in the days leading up to ‘Koninginnedag‘ (Queen’s day): people claim their ‘flea-market spot’ by marking it ‘bezet’. How one then determines who claimed which spot when Koninginnedag arrives, I don’t know 🙂

Examples:
– “Pardon, is deze plaats/stoel bezet?” 
(“Excuse me, is this spot/seat taken?” A ‘stoel’ in general is a ‘chair’. The opposite of this sentence would be: “Is deze stoel vrij?” – “Is this seat/chair vacant?”)

– “Op 5 mei 1945 werd ons land volledig bevrijd. De zuidelijke provincies waren namelijk bezet tot eind ’44.” 
(“On May 5th 1945 our country was completely liberated. You see, the southern provinces were occupied until the end of ’44.”)

– “Helaas, alle kamers zijn bezet dit weekend. Ik kan u wel een ander hotel aanraden.” 
(“Unfortunately all rooms are occupied/taken this weekend. But what I can do is recommend another hotel.”)

– “Als ik jou was, zou ik niet te lang met haar praten; ze is bezet!” 
(“If I were you, I wouldn’t spend too much time talking to her; she’s attached/taken!”)

– “En, wat zei ze?”  – “Ik heb haar nog niet gesproken, de lijn is bezet.” 
(“And, what did she say?”  – “I haven’t spoken to her yet, the line is busy.”)

– “Sorry, ik ben bezet vanavond, maar morgen heb ik wel tijd. Zullen we dan een biertje drinken?” – “Nee, morgen kan ik niet. Goh, wat leiden we allebei toch een druk bezet leven!” 
(“I’m sorry, I’m otherwise engaged tonight, but tomorrow I have time. Shall we have a beer then?” – “No, tomorrow I can’t make it. My, how we both lead such busy lives!”).

Related words:
– Bezetten: to occupy [verb] [bezette, bezet].
– Bezet houden: to keep occupied [verb] [hield bezet, bezet gehouden].

Example:
– “Hou jij onze plaatsen even bezet, dan ga ik nog snel wat drinken halen!”
(“Keep our seat occupied will you, then I’ll go and quickly get some drinks!”)

– Bezetter: occupier(s), occupying force(s) [noun] [de bezetter, de bezetters].

Versterken

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to strengthen, reinforce, fortify, amplify/boost 
[verb]
[ver-ster-ken, ver-sterk-te, ver-sterkt]

amplifier-768536_640“Versterken” is the general verb for “to strengthen”. It is often used in the translation of ‘to reinforce’ and ‘to amplify’. However when you are in a “Lord of the Rings” role-playing game, you may want to “versterken” your fortress. The noun is “versterking”. A related noun you may encounter is “versterker” (‘amplifier’ or ‘(signal) repeater’).

Examples:
– “Als ik naar dit soort zielige films kijk, versterkt dat mijn gevoel van neerslachtigheid alleen maar…” 
(“When I watch sad movies like these, it only reinfoces my feelings of dejection/depression.”)

– “Mijn tv-ontvangst is heel matig.” – “Heb je al geprobeerd het signaal te versterken?” 
(“My TV reception is very poor.” – “Have you tried to amplify the signal?”)

– “Het beroepsleger werd versterkt met huurlingen, maar de commandant slaagde er niet in een eenheid van soldaten te creëren.” 
(“The regular/professional army was reinforced with mercenaries, but the commander failed to create a tight group of soldiers.”)

– “Zijn getuigenis heeft bij mij de indruk versterkt dat het hele verhaal uit de duim is gezogen!” 
(“His testimony reinforced my impression that the whole story was made up!” Lit. “reinforces the impression with me that the whole story was sucked out of the thumb!”)

– “Ik heb mijn bagagedrager versterkt, maar ik denk niet dat ik iemand achterop kan nemen.” 
(“I’ve reinforced my bicycle’s (luggage) carrier, but I don’t think that I can transport somebody.” This is a typical Dutch bicycle sentence. Without context, a ‘bagagedrager’ is always the ‘luggage carrier’ of a bicycle. “Iemand achterop nemen” literally translates as ‘to take somebody on the back’ which sounds weird, I admit 🙂 . Riding a (city) bicycle with a second person sitting on the (luggage) carrier is customary in Dutch cities, however it is officially not allowed 🙂 Also, typically Dutch bicycle warranty does not cover defects that result from transporting another person.)

Related words:
– Versterking: reinforcement, fortification [noun] [de versterking, de versterkingen].
– Versterker: amplifier, repeater, intensifier [noun] [de versterker, de versterkers].

Example:
– “Sander heeft thuis een antenneversterker aangesloten, maar ‘interactieve TV’ van UPC werkt nog niet helaas!”
(“Sander has installed a signal repeater at home, but unfortunately ‘interactive TV’ by UPC still doesn’t work!”)

– Sterk: strong [adjective].
– Erger maken: to make worse, to exacerbate [verb] [maakte erger, erger gemaakt].

Oplossing

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solution 
[noun]
[de op-los-sing, de op-los-sin-gen]

Wat is de oplossing voor deze puzzel?An “oplossing” can be solution to a given problem/riddle but also a settlement of a quarrel or disagreement. It is also often used as a ‘way out’. The answer to a simple question is ‘antwoord’ in Dutch. If you are into chemistry (‘scheikunde’ in Dutch) you will of course go wild with your ‘oplossingen’ just like you would in English 🙂

Examples:
– “Sander heeft nog geen goede oplossing voor het DWOTD-audioprobleem.” 
(“Sander still doesn’t have a good solution to the DWOTD audio problem.”)

– “IKEA heeft diverse oplossingen voor het opbergen van spullen in kleine ruimtes.” 
(“IKEA has several solutions for storing things in small spaces.”)

– “De abdotrainer is dé oplossing voor al uw problemen, bestel hem nu direct via telefoonnummer…” 
(“The abdotrainer is the solution to all your problems, order it now straight away through phone number…” To emphasize a vowel in Dutch you use the ‘accent aigu’ (we borrowed the term from French). )

– “Kijk, als tijdelijke oplossing kan ik dit goedkeuren, maar voor de lange termijn moet er een structurele oplossing gevonden worden.” 
(“Look, as a temporary solution I can accept/approve this, but for the long term a permanent solution has to be found.” Lit.: “structural solution”. When you mean ‘temporary solution’ as in ‘make-shift solution’, we use the word ‘noodoplossing’ (’emergency solution’).)

– “Zijn jullie nog tot een oplossing gekomen?” – “Nee, het is bij oeverloze discussies gebleven!” 
(“Have you reached (/come to) a solution?”  – “No, we didn’t get past the stage of endless discussions!”)

– “Ik kan u een oplossing bieden die past bij uw wensen en budget.” 
(“I can offer you a solution that meets your requirements and budget.”  Lit. “…that fits your wishes and budget.”)

Related words:
– Noodoplossing: temporary (make-shift) solution [noun] [de noodoplossing, de noodoplossingen].
– Oplossen: to solve, dissolve, resolve [verb] [loste op, opgelost].

Example:
– “Hoe heb je het uiteindelijk opgelost dan?” – “Ja, niet dus!”
(“So how did you solve it in the end?” – “Well, I didn’t!”)

– Probleem: problem [noun] [het probleem, de problemen].
– Antwoord: answer [noun] [het antwoord, de antwoorden].
– Raadsel: riddle [noun] [het raadsel, de raadsels].
– Oplossingsgericht: solution driven/minded [adjective].