Category Archives: Dutch word of the day

Trouwen

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to marry, to get married
[verb]
[trouw-de, h. ge-trouwd]

The noun that goes with "trouwen" is "trouw": loyalty, faith(fulness).

In the Netherlands, in general getting married is more a choice than that it is expected, although in some subcultures this will be different.

Examples:
1. "Wanneer gaan jullie trouwen?"
("When are you getting married?")

2. "Zijn jullie getrouwd?"
(<to a couple:> "Are you married?")

3. "Mag ik je voorstellen aan mijn man/vrouw?"
("May I introduce you to my husband/wife?")

Related words:
1. "Bruid": bride.
2. "Bruidegom": groom.
3. "Bruiloft": wedding party. The wedding itself is more often called "trouwerij".
4. "Huwelijk": marriage.
5. "Echtgenoot/echtgenote": spouse (male/female).

Knokken

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Grammar: <knokken> [verb] [knokte, h. geknokt].

Translates to: to fight (informal, also figurative).

Examples:
1. “Er waren twee jongens op straat aan het knokken.”
(“There were two boys fighting in the street.”)

2. “Frank heeft hard moeten knokken voor zijn huidige functie.”
(“Frank has had to fight hard for his current position.”)

Related words:
1. “Knokkel”: knuckle (so “knokken” literally means something like “to knuckle”…)

Example:
“De knokkels van zijn samengebalde vuisten werden wit.”
(“The knuckles of his clenched fists became white.”)

2. “Knokpartij”: fight, scuffle.

Example:
“Na de voetbalwedstrijd waren er diverse knokpartijtjes.”
(“After the soccergame there were several small fights.”)

3. “Vuist”: fist.

Extra:
“Knokke” is the name of a Belgian beach town, close to the border with the Netherlands. It is known for its exclusive and pricy villas and apartments which are often kept as a second house. Because of the many fashion stores, art galleries and restaurants, Knokke is also called “Petit Paris”.

Huis

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house [noun] [het huis, de huizen]

Houses in the Netherlands, of which there is great shortage, come in different styles. If one is lucky, one lives in a "herenhuis" – an old multi-storey house – or in a "grachtenpand" – a very big house at a canal -, but more common would be a "rijtjeshuis" – one of the many identical houses in a row.

Examples:
1. "Pannenkoekenhuis": pan cake house/restaurant. Only in this case it is common to use "huis" instead of "restaurant".

2. "Ik ga naar huis."
("I am going home.")

3. "Heb jij een koophuis of een huurhuis?"
("Do you have your own house or a rented house?")

Related words:
1. "Thuis": at home.

Example:
"Hoe laat ben jij thuis?"
("At what time will you be home?")

2. "Dakloos": homeless (literally: roofless).
3. "Makelaar": real estate agent, broker.

Extra:
For an overview of all "pannenkoekenhuizen" in the Netherlands, go to
http://pannenkoekenhuis.startpagina.nl

Gordijn

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curtain [noun] [het gordijn, de gordijnen]

One of the things noticed by expats is that Dutch people do not seem to bother with curtains (although they do have them). Some have plants in front of the window to obstruct the view of passers-by and others stick non-transparent plastic on their windows. And some do nothing to hide their private life 🙂

Examples:
1. "Veel Nederlanders houden hun gordijnen geopend."
("Many Dutch people keep their curtains opened.")

2. "Bij de HEMA kun je ook gordijnen op maat kopen."
("At HEMA one can also buy custom made curtains.")

3. "In mijn slaapkamer heb ik een rolgordijn."
("In my bedroom I have a (roller) blind/window shade.")

Related words:
1. "Lamellen": vertical blinds.
2. "Jaloezieen": venetian blinds.
3. "Luxaflex": common brand name by which "Jaloezieen" are also denoted.

Extra:
The "HEMA" is a well known Dutch department store where you can buy almost anything on which you don’t want to spend too much money. The name is an acronym for "Hollandse Eenheidsprijzen Maatschappij Amsterdam" and it started out in 1926. The word "eenheidsprijzen" means "unit prices" and only after World War II the HEMA abandoned their pricing system in which everyhing costed 25, 50, 75 or 100 cents.
Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hema

Blikje

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can (of beverage) [noun] [het blikje, de blikjes]

"Blikje" is the diminutive of "blik", which has several meanings (as usual):
1. look, glance, glaze.
2. can.
3. tin(plate).

The diminutive "blikje", however, is almost always used for a can of beverage.

Examples:
1. "Verkoopt u blikjes bier?"
("Do you sell cans of beer?")

2. "Die man heeft een stoïcijnse blik."
("That man has a stoic look (on his face).")

3. "Jouw blik bevalt me niet!"
("I do not like the look on your face!" See also "DWOTD (57): Bevallen".)

Expression:
– "Als blikken konden doden…"
("If looks could kill…")

Related word:
– "Blikvanger": eye catcher.

Extra:
Blikvanger_2
Sometimes, near traffic lights you’ll find some kind of big scoop net with lots of junk in and around it where it says "blikvanger". This is a pun, since other than catching the eye, it also catches cans (and other trash). This is supposed to prevent people from carelessly throwing their trash out of the window, but it does not really make the point clear that one is not supposed to throw trash on the road anyway!