Cultureel

cultural Iconspeaker_3
Cultureel [adjective/adverb]
[cul-tu-reel]

"Cultureel" is used for anything "cultural" or "arts related". Be cultural and use today's DWOTD! 😉

Examples:
– "Volgende week is er een culturele avond op de school van onze zoon." 
("Next week there's a cultural evening at my son's school.")

– "We moeten respect hebben voor ons cultureel erfgoed!" 
("We must respect our cultural heritage!")

– "Michiel is een cultureel antropoloog." 
("Michiel is a cultural anthropologist.")

– "Bij ons in de buurt hebben we geen cultureel centrum; dat vind ik een gemis." 
("In our neigbourhood there is no arts centre; I think that's a shame." Literally "gemis" is something that you "miss" and you think it's bad that it's missing.")

– "Ik heb een boek gelezen over de Culturele Revolutie. Vind je me nu eindelijk een beetje cultureel?" 
("I've read a book about the Cultural Revolution. Now do you finally think I'm a bit cultural?")

Related words:
– Cultuur: culture [noun] [de cultuur, de culturen].

Example:
– "Jij mag dit raar vinden, maar in sommige culturen is het heel normaal!"
("You may think this is strange, but in some cultures it's very normal!")

– Cultuurbarbaar: Philistine, literally "culture barbarian", somebody who knows nothing about and doesn't care about anything cultural [noun] [de cultuurbarbaar, de cultuurbarbaren]. 

Example:
– "De nieuwe vriend van Sylvia is echt een cultuurbarbaar; hij heeft nog nooit van Bach gehoord!"
("Sylvia's new boyfriend is nothing but a Philistine; he has never heard of Bach!")

Sociaal Cultureel Planbureau (SCP): the Netherlands Institute for Social Research [noun] [het SCP].

Scheef

1. crooked, not level, slanting/sloping Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]
[scheef]

Scheef "Scheef" is the opposite of "straight" and you can use it for anything crooked, slanting or not level. It is also used in the meaning of "wrong", see the second translation below.

Examples:
– "Pas op, je houdt je beker scheef!" 
("Watch out, you are not holding your mug straight!")

– "Je schilderij hangt scheef volgens mij."  - "Nou en, het gaat toch om het schilderij zelf!" 
("I think your painting is crooked." – "So what, it's about the painting itself, isn't it?!")

– "In Amsterdam zijn er veel oude huizen met scheve gevels. Een verklaring is dat goederen op die manier makkelijker naar boven getakeld konden worden."
("In Amsterdam there are many old houses with leaning façades. One explanation for this is that it was easier to pull up goods that way.")

– "De vloer loopt een beetje scheef, maar dat is geen probleem, dat kunnen we compenseren." 
("The floor is slanting a bit, but that's no problem, we can compensate for that.")

Expressions:
– "Schots en scheef": messy, unorganized, cluttered.

Example:
– "Ik werk alleen nog maar met computers; het resultaat daarvan is dat mijn handschrift schots en scheef geworden is!"
("I only work with computers nowadays; the result is that my handwriting has become all spidery!").

– "Iemand scheef aankijken": to look askance at someone.
– "(dat geeft) Scheve gezichten/ogen": lit. "(that causes) crooked/bent faces/eyes", you can say this when something will make other people jealous.

Related words:
– Scheve hoek: oblique angle [noun] [de hoek, de hoeken].
– Waterpas: level [adjective].

Example:
– "Mijn wasmachine hobbelt heel erg!" – "Staat hij wel waterpas?"
("My washing machine really bounces up and down!" – "Are you sure it is level?")

– Recht: straight [adjective].

2. wrong, distorted, false Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]
[scheef] 

"Scheef" is typically used in case of distorted relationships or when you feel something is not fair.

Examples:
– "De verhouding tussen geven en nemen is helemaal scheef in zijn relatie." 
("The ratio between giving and taking is completely off in his relationship.")

– "Deze ontwikkeling zorgt voor scheve verhoudingen in de maatschappij." 
("This development causes distorted relationships in our society.")

– "Volgens mij gaat het scheef lopen als we op deze manier doorgaan."
("I think that things will go wrong if we continue this way.")

Related words:
– Fout: wrong, incorrect [adjective/adverb].

Peuter

1. toddler Iconspeaker_3 Peuter
[noun]
[de peu-ter, de peu-ters]

A "peuter" is a child from 1 year old until approximately three years old, i.e. the age that the child goes to kindergarten. From that point on they're called "kleuters".

The age barrier between "peuter" and "kleuter" is not very distinct, though. "Toddler" can be used as a translation for both "peuter" and "kleuter". Fact is that a "peuter" is younger than a "kleuter".

Examples:
– "Kleine Luke is een heel leuke peuter!" 
("Little Luke is a very sweet toddler!" Lit.: "…a very nice toddler.")

– "Sara is een erg drukke peuter, dat belooft wat voor de pubertijd…" 
("Sara is a very active toddler, puberty will be a blast…" Lit.: "…that sounds promising for puberty.")

Related words:
– Baby: baby  [noun] [de baby, de baby's].
– Kinderopvang: children day care (center) [noun] [de kinderopvang, <no plural>].
– Kleuter: little boy/girl, infant, toddler [noun] [de kleuter, de kleuters].

Example:
– "Ik heb je hulp nodig!" – "Onzin, je bent toch geen kleuter?!"
("I need your help!" – "Nonsense, you're not a little boy, are you?!")

– Zuigeling: baby (lit.: suckling) [noun] [de zuigeling, de zuigelingen].

2. to pick one's nose, to fumble, to tinker, to tamper Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[peu-te-ren, peu-ter-de, h. ge-peu-terd]Neuspeuteren

"Peuteren" generally translates to "to fumble/tinker", but when applied to one's nose, the appropriate translation is "to pick one's nose". 

In case of nose picking, you can also use "neuspeuteren", but only as an infinitive. When conjugating, "peuteren" is usually combined with "in je neus" (in one's nose), see the Examples.

Examples:
– "Frank houdt erg van neuspeuteren…" – "Waardeloos…" 
("Frank loves to pick his nose…" – "That sucks…")

– "Don peutert te pas en te onpas in zijn neus…" – "Een onverkwikkelijke situatie…" 
("Don picks his nose all the time…" – "An unpleasant situation…")

Related words:
Neus: nose [noun] [de neus, de neuzen].

Example:
– "Pardon, ik moet even mijn neus snuiten."
("Excuse me, I have to blow my nose.")

– Pietepeuterig: very detailed, finicky [adjective].
– Pulken: (syn. to "peuteren") to pick one's nose [verb] [pulken, pulkte, h. gepulkt].
– Snot: mucous [noun] [het snot, <no plural>].
Snuiten: to blow one's nose [verb] [snuiten, snoot, h. gesnoten].

Zonder

without Iconspeaker_3
[preposition]

picture-frame-715885_640“Zonder” is a preposition and translated with “without“. The opposite of “zonder” is “met”: “with

Examples:
– “Ik kan niet leven…met of zonder je.” 
(“I can’t live…with or without you.”)

– “Zonder jouw hulp had ik dit niet bereikt.” 
(“Without your help I would not have achieved this.”)

– “Frank heeft gisteren een bekeuring gekregen voor rijden zonder verlichting…” – “Beetje dom…” 
(“Frank got a fine yesterday for driving without lights…” – “Bit stupid…”)

– “Hoe kun je dit boek beoordelen zonder het gelezen te hebben?” 
(“How can you say something about this book without having read it?”)

Expressions:
– “Zonder meer”: without restriction/reservation, certainly.

Example:
– “Als hij me zou vragen, zou ik zonder meer ja zeggen…” – “Wat?? Je wil toch niet trouwen met die flapdrol??!!”
(“If he asked me, I would say yes without reservations…” – “What?? You don’t want to get married with that dweeb, do you now?”)

Related words:
– Met: with [preposition].

Example:
– “Een patatje met mayonaise, alstublieft.”
(“One portion of French fries with mayonnaise, please.”)

Waardeloos

useless, worthless, no good at all Iconspeaker_3 Waardeloos
[adjective]
[waar-de-loos]

"Waardeloos" is composed of "waarde" and "loos", which respectively translate to "worth/value" and "-less".

In English there's a very good translation for "waardeloos zijn" (to be worthless/no good at all): to suck. And because we liked it so much, we even introduced the figurative meaning back into (informal) Dutch: "zuigen" is used when something is no good at all, see also Related words.

Examples:
– "Franks presentatie was echt waardeloos…balen…" 
("Frank's presentation was really no good at all…disappointing…")

– "Nuchter zijn terwijl de rest dronken is, is echt waardeloos!" 
("To be sober while the rest is drunk really sucks!")

– "Alweer een remspoor in het toiletpot…echt waardeloos!" 
("Again a skid mark in the toilet bowl…that really sucks!")

– "Mijn huisbaas is echt een waardeloze vent… als er iets kapot is, duurt het een eeuwigheid voordat hij het repareert." 
("My landlord is really a worthless guy…when something is broken, it takes an eternity for him to fix it.")

Expressions:
– "De moeite niet waard": not worth the effort.

Related words:
Ellende: misery, distress [noun] [de ellende, <no plural>].
– Goed: good [adjective].
– Slecht: bad [adjective].
– Waarde: value [noun] [de waarde, de waarden/waardes].
Waarderen: 1. to appreciate 2. to value [verb] [waarderen, waardeerde, h. gewaardeerd].
– Zuigen: to suck [verb] [zuigen, zoog, gezogen].

Example:
– "Hoe gaat het met je?" – "Kommer en kwel, jongen…" – "Dat zuigt, gast…"
("How are you?" – "All sorrow and misery, buddy…" – "That sucks dude…")