Category Archives: Dutch word of the day

Overleg

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Grammar: <overleg> [noun] [het overleg, <no plural form>].

Translates to: "consultation", "meeting", "delibaration" or "consideration".

"Overleg" is one of those Dutch words without a plural form. It is used frequently in the office, and in politics, to indicate a gathering or meeting of people who are discussing or deliberating on certain matters. The related verb is "overleggen".

Examples:
1. "Weet jij in welke ruimte ons werkoverleg is?"
("Do you know in which room our (work)meeting is?" See also "DWOTD 53. Ruimte".)

2. "Het overleg tussen de vakbonden en de overheid is vastgelopen."
("The negotiations (meeting) between the unions and the government are deadlocked.")

3. "Ik moet eerst overleggen met mijn vrouw voor ik deze auto koop."
("I first have to consult with my wife before I buy this car.")

Related Words:
1. "Overleg plegen": like "overleggen". Literally: to commit consultation.
2. "Vergadering": meeting (to discuss something).
3. "Bila(t)": [noun] abbreviation of "bilateraal"; a meeting between two persons.

Example: "Ik heb vandaag een bila(t) met mijn manager."
("I have a (bilateral) meeting with my manager today.")

4. "Onderhandeling": negotiation.

Extra:
The Dutch are said to have a "overlegcultuur" (meeting culture), meaning that we love to debate on matters for a long time before taking action, which is always a compromise between the involved parties. Another related Dutch word with more or less the same meaning is the so-called "poldermodel": the Dutch tradition of consensus decision-making, see also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polder_Model .

Mandarijn

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Grammar: <mandarijn> [noun] [de mandarijn, de mandarijnen].

Translates to: "mandarin (orange)" or "tangerine (orange)"

For some reason, the supply of mandarin oranges in The Netherlands is abundant in the autumn and winter season. They are omnipresent in the supermarkets.

Examples:
1. "Het is weer mandarijnen tijd."
("It’s mandarin orange time again.")

2. "Frank neemt altijd twee mandarijnen mee naar het werk."
("Frank always brings two mandarin oranges to work.")

3. "In een mandarijn zit veel vitamine C."
("There’s a lot of vitamin C in a mandarin orange.")

Related Words:
1. "sinaasappel": orange
2. "appel": apple
3. "fruit": fruit
4. "pellen’: to peel

Example: "Een mandarijntje is makkelijker te pellen dan een sinaasappel."
("It’s easier to peel a little mandarin than an orange.")

Boffen

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Grammar: <boffen> [verb] [bofte, h. geboft].

Translates to: to be fortunate, to be lucky.

The verb "boffen" is a perfectly normal Dutch verb and you should know it, however it is somewhat informal and is often used when talking to children.

Examples:
1. "Zo, jij boft maar!"
(<to a small child:> "Well, you are really lucky!", for example when after a birthday party there is also a visit to the zoo 🙂 )

2. "Jullie hebben niet geboft met het weer!"
("You have not been lucky with the weather!")

3. "Zij boffen met het uitzicht vanuit hun hotelkamer."
("They are lucky with the view from their hotel room.")

Related words:
1. "Bofkont": one who is lucky/fortunate, mostly used for children. Literally: "Lucky bottom"
2. "Boffer" or "Bofferd": like "bofkont".
3. "De bof": the totally unrelated childhood disease "Mumps", see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumps .
4. "Mazzelen": [verb] very informal equivalent of "boffen", derived from Yiddish "mazzeltov" (source Wikipedia).

Klimaat

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Grammar: <klimaat> [noun] [het klimaat, de klimaten].

Translates to: climate.

Examples:
1. "Nederland heeft een zeeklimaat."
("The Netherlands have a sea climate.")

2. "Vandaag is in Nairobi de klimaatconferentie van de Verenigde Naties begonnen."
("Today, the climate conference of the United Nations has started in Nairobi.")

3. "Het sociale klimaat in Nederland is de laatste jaren verhard."
("The social climate in The Netherlands has hardened in the last few years.")

Related Words:
1. "Broeikaseffect": the greenhouse effect, global warming.
2. "Weer": weather, see also "DWOTD 56. Herfst".
3. "Het gat in de ozonlaag": the hole in the ozon layer.
4. "Acclimatiseren": [verb] to get used to a different climate or surroundings.

Example:
<sitting down after having entered a friend’s house:> "Zo, even acclimatiseren!"
(Something like: "Well, let’s settle in for a bit now.")

Extra:
The Netherlands are called The Netherlands because the word "nether" translates to "neder" which means "low". The Netherlands used to be called "De Lage Landen": The Low Lands, because half of the country lies below sealevel. The Dutch have a long history of fighting the water overflowing their land. Here’s how The Netherlans would look like if there were no dikes and dams: http://brucop.com/millennium/nederlands/transgressions/hkaart.jpg

In 1953, the so called "Watersnoodramp" took place. In the last night of January, The Netherlands were hit by a flood disaster. The province of Zeeland, the islands of South-Holland and the south-west corner of the province of North-Brabant were hit very heavily by a severe storm roaring across the North sea and the Netherlands.
1835 people drowned and thousands of cattle met the same fate. To prevent this from happening ever again, the Deltaworks were built, a defence system of dams and dykes against high tides and floods.

http://www.deltawerken.com/English/10.html?setlanguage=en
http://www.deltawerken.com/Deltaworks/23.html

Dutch engineers have also been invited to advise on new water defence systems in New Orleans.

Hart

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heart
[noun] [het hart, de har-ten]

Not to be confused with "hard", which translates to "hard".

Examples:
1. "Hun vader moest een zware hartoperatie ondergaan."
("Their father had to undergo a major heart surgery.")

2. "Vol verwachting klopt ons hart."
("With expectation, our heart is pounding", from a well known "Sinterklaasliedje", see "DWOTD 36. Kloppen".)

3. "Hij heeft nog steeds een gebroken hart."
("He still has a broken heart.")

Expressions:
There are a lot of expressions with "hart"! Here's a selection:

1. "Een hart onder de riem steken."
("To hearten someone", literally: "to put someone a heart under the belt.")

2. "Zij heeft het hart op de juiste plaats."
("She's a good person." Literally: "She has her heart at the right place.")

3. "Zij is een vrouw naar mijn hart."
("She's a woman after my heart.")

4. "Uit het oog, uit het hart."
("Out of sight, out of mind." Literally: "Out of the eye, out of the heart.")

5. "Zij heeft het hart op de tong liggen."
("She wears her heart on her sleeve." Literally: "She has her heart lying on her tongue.")

6. "Zij heeft hart voor de zaak."
("She has her heart in the matter.")

7. "Waar het hart van vol is, loopt de mond van over."
("out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Literally: "The mouth runs over of which the heart is full.")

8. "Met hart en ziel."
("With heart and soul.")

9. "Iemand iets op het hart drukken."
("To urge someone to do something." Literally: "To press someone something to the heart.")

10."Ik hield mijn hart vast."
("My heart missed a beat / I had my heart in my mouth/throat." Literally: "I was holding my heart.")

Related Words:
1. "Hartendief": darling, sweetheart. Literally: "heart's thief".
2. "Hartenbreker": heartbreaker.
3. "Hartverwarmend": heartwarming.
4. "Hartig": tasty, hearty, well-seasoned, piquant.
5. "Barmhartig": merciful, clement, charitable. Used in "de barmhartige Samaritaan": "the good Samaritan".

Extra:
"De Nederlandse hartstichting": The Dutch Heart Association.
http://www.hartstichting.nl