Category Archives: Dutch word of the day

Vuurwerk

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fireworks [noun] [het vuurwerk, <no plural>]

In the Netherlands it is common that people let off their own fireworks. Since fireworks is not cheap, some people complain about the waste of money that could have been spent on more useful things or on the less fortunate people on this planet.
Fireworks is usually sold in the Netherlands from the 28th of December till the 31st. Safety laws are strict for the shops that sell fireworks, and not all fireworks are allowed by Dutch law. For this reason border control between the Netherlands and Belgium is enforced in this time of the year, since more dangerous fireworks are allowed in Belgium and people try to bring it into the Netherlands.

Examples:
– “Op oudejaarsavond wordt om twaalf uur vuurwerk afgestoken.”
(“At New Year’s Eve, fireworks are let off at twelve o’clock.”)

– “Veel kinderen steken al eerder dan twaalf uur klein vuurwerk af, zoals rotjes.”
(“Many kids let off small fireworks earlier than twelve o’clock, like firecrackers.”)

– “In Nederland mag vuurwerk alleen worden afgestoken op 31 december vanaf 10 uur ‘s ochtends tot ‘s nachts 2 uur.”
(“In the Netherlands, fireworks are only allowed to be let off at December 31st from ten o’clock in the morning till two o’clock at night.”)

– “De discussie die ik gisteren met haar had, man…vuurwerk!”
(“The discussion I had with her yesterday, man…fireworks!”)

Related words:
– “Jaarwisseling”: turn of the year.
– “Rotje”: firecracker.
– “Strijker”: heavy (illegal) firecracker, literally “striker”.
– “Gillende keukenmeid”: whizzer, literally: “screaming kitchen maid” 🙂
– “Vreugdevuur”: bonfire.

Extra:
The Dutch city of Den Haag is notorious for its high amount of bonfires after New Year’s Eve. Some neighbourhoods are temporarily changed into warzones. Because not all fires can be prevented, the authorities allow bonfires at certain locations under certain circumstances. Not many people stick to those rules though…;-)

Every year the Dutch government makes an effort to warn teenagers for the dangers of fireworks. With all the “common” violence on tv and in videogames, realistic commercials with blown off fingers do not have so much impact anymore. This year, the Dutch government tries to get the message across by creating a web site with a fictitious Chinese guy explaining the dangers in YouTube like videos. Check it out at www.chinesefireworks.cn.

Kort

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1. short [adjective, adverb] (qualification of length / distance)

Examples:
– "In de winter zijn de dagen kort."
("During the winter, days are short.")

– "Dit is een korte DWOTD."
("This is a short DWOTD.")

– "Hoe was je weekend?" – "Veel te kort!"
("How was your weekend?" – "Way too short!")

– "Mijn broek is te kort!"
("My pants are too short!")

Expression:
"Aan het kortste eind trekken": to lose, literally: "to pull the shortest end".

2. brief [adjective, adverb] (qualification of time period)

Examples:
– "Ik hou het kort."
("I’ll keep it brief/short.")

– "Frank hield een korte presentatie voor het management."
("Frank held a brief presentation for the management.")

Related words:
– "Korten": to shorten, to cut (financially).
– "Inkorten": to shorten (of trousers for example), to cut down, to abbreviate.
– "Lang": long.
– "Klein": small.

The word "kort" appeared earlier in "DWOTD 38. Tram".

Flap

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1. bank note [noun, informal] [de flap, de flappen]

In this translation, the plural “flappen” is most common, but it is only used informally and jestingly. See ‘Examples’ for common usage.

Examples:
– “Heb jij nog flappen? Ik ben blut.”
(<in a club:> “Do you have any money left? I am broke.”)

– “Waar is Marc?” – “Hij is even naar de flappentap.”
(“Where is Marc?” – “He is off to the cash machine / ATM.” The word “flappentap” is informally/jestingly used, don’t go asking for the nearest “flappentap” but use “pin automaat” instead! The word “tap” is commonly used in conjunction with beer: “tapbier” translates to “beer on tap/draught” or “draft beer”.)

– “Waar is Amanda?” – “Zij is even flappentappen.”
(“Where is Amanda?” – “She went off to withdraw some money.” Here the word “flappentappen” is a verb.)

2. flap [noun] [de flap, de flappen]

In this translation the most common appearance of the word “flap” is in the compound “flapoor” which translates to “flap-ear” or “protruding ear”.

Example:
– “Dat jongetje heeft flaporen!”
(“That boy’s ears stick out!” Literally: “… has flap-ears!”)

Extra:
The way to create a diminutive in Dutch is by adding “je” or “tje” to the noun. It is very common to use diminutives in the Dutch language. A specific kind of words even has an extra informal diminutive.
This is also the case with “flap”. The diminutive is “flapje” which is not really used unless of course you are talking about a specific small flap. The informal diminutive is “flappie”.
A child with “flaporen” can be mockingly called “flappie”, but it would be more common to call your rabbit “Flappie”, since rabbits have protruding ears, some breeds even more so than others.

Around Christmas time you always hear the same classic popular songs by Wham, Chris Rea etc. and in the Netherlands there is one popular song by a comedian called ‘Youp van ‘t Hek‘ that gets a lot of air time in the days leading up to Christmas. The song is called “Flappie” and he sings about how he was a young boy and his rabbit “Flappie” went missing on Christmas day. Then later it turns out that “Flappie” is served for dinner! It is both a funny and sad song and you can read the lyrics, as well as listen to the song here.

Misschien

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maybe, perhaps [adverb]

Examples:
– "Zijn we er al bijna?" – "Ik weet het niet, misschien weet Isabelle het!"
("Are we almost there?" – "I don’t know, maybe Isabelle knows!")

– "Ga jij naar het feest vanavond?" – "Ja, maar ik kom misschien wat later…"
("Are you going to the party tonight?" – "Yes, but I may/might be a bit later…")

– "Is Frank er nog niet?" – "Nee, misschien heeft hij een lekke band."
("Has Frank not arrived yet?" – "No, perhaps he has a flat tire.")

– "Heb jij voor mij misschien een velletje papier?"
("Do you have a sheet of paper for me, by any chance?")

– "Wil jij misschien mijn kijkdoos even zien?"
("Perhaps you would like to take a look at my show-box?" This is a line taken from the Dutch song "Mijn kijkdoos" by "Hanny & De Rekels" (see ‘Extra’). In this song the word "kijkdoos" (literally "see-box") has a bit of a sexual connotation as the word "doos" is sometimes derogatorily used for the female genital organ, see also "DWOTD 82. Kijken" and "DWOTD 1. Doos".)

Related words:
– "Wellicht": perhaps, possibly.
– "Mogelijk": possibly, possible.

Extra:
The music by "Hanny & De Rekels" is part of the so-called genre "levenslied". A "levenslied" (literally: life’s song) is a Dutch song, often a bit sentimental, with topics close to the daily life of the ordinary (wo)man. Another often used term is "smartlap" (literally: sorrow rag) . In the city of Utrecht, the "smartlappenfestival" is held annually.
Famous Dutch "levenslied" performers were "Andre Hazes", "Johnny Jordaan" and "Zangeres Zonder Naam" . Today, "Frans Bauer" is very popular. Read the full lyrics of "Mijn kijkdoos" at http://www.lyricsvault.net/songs/14130.html .

Bijeenkomst

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gathering, meeting, session [noun] [de <bij><een><komst>, de bijeenkomsten]

The word "bijeenkomst" consists of the following parts:
– "bij": to.
– "een": one.
– "komst": coming, arrival.

The word "bijeen" then translates to "together", so "bijeenkomst" literally means "together-coming", which of course explains the link to "gathering", "meeting" and "session".
Although two people can get together, the word "bijeenkomst" is more commonly used when a bigger group of people is involved.

Examples:
– "Het genootschap hield ieder weekend een geheime bijeenkomst."
(" The fellowship held a secret meeting every weekend.")

– "De directeur heeft ons officieel uitgenodigd voor de nieuwjaarsbijeenkomst op 2 januari."
("The CEO has officially invited us to the New Year’s gathering/reception on January 2nd.")

– "Een borrel is een informele sociale bijeenkomst waarbij mensen iets drinken."
("A ‘borrel’ is an informal social gathering at which people drink (something)." See also "DWOTD 102. Kerstborrel".)

Related words:
– "Bijeenkomen": to meet, to gather, to get together (formally).
– "Afspreken": to get together (informally).
– "Vergadering": meeting.
– "Receptie": reception.