Category Archives: Dutch word of the day

Onderhouden

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to maintain, to support, to keep up, to keep in repair Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[on-der-hou-den, on-der-hield, on-der-hou-den]

Onderhouden "Onderhouden" has several translations, but I choose to cover them all at once 🙂

You can use "onderhouden" both for people (as in maintaining your social life) and objects (maintaining your house, servicing your car etc.). In case of people there is the additional translation of "to support, to provide for", see the Examples below.

The noun is "onderhoud" which you may also encounter in the meaning of a (formal) conversation/appointment. The associated verb in that case is reflexive: "zich onderhouden", although you will mostly hear the noun being used.

The adjective (or adverb) "onderhoudend" you will mostly encounter in the meaning of "entertaining, amusing"; the verb "onderhouden" in its translation of "to entertain" is less often used.

Examples:
– "Ik ben heel slecht in het onderhouden van contacten, en jij?" 
("I'm very bad at keeping in touch, what about you?" Lit.:"…at maintaining contacts".)

– "Te koop: Volkswagen Golf, bouwjaar 1993, dealer onderhouden." 
("For sale: 1993 Volkswagen Golf, serviced by dealership." Lit."Volkswagen Golf, year of manufacture 1993, …")

– "Zal ik huren of kopen?" – "Tja, ik weet het niet. Een koophuis zal op lange termijn in waarde toenemen, maar je moet het wel zelf onderhouden." 
("Should I rent or (should I) buy?" – "H'm, I don't know… A house that you own will increase in value in the long-term, however you will have to maintain it yourself." A "koophuis" can either mean a house that is for sale or 'owner-occupied'.)

– "Haar man is onlangs overleden, zielig hè?" – "Ja, en nu moet ze in haar eentje drie kinderen onderhouden." 
("Her husband has recently passed away, sad isn't it?" – "Indeed, and now she has to support three kids on her own…" Note the use of "in haar eentje"; an alternative would be "alleen": 'alone'.)

Related words:
– Onderhoud: maintenance/upkeep, support, conversation/hearing [noun] [het onderhoud, <no plural>].
– Onderhoudsbeurt: service, overhaul [noun] [de onderhoudsbeurt, de onderhoudsbeurten].
– Onderhoudscontract: (maintenance and) service agreement [noun] [het onderhoudscontract, de onderhoudscontracten].
– Onderhoudend: entertaining, amusing [adjective/adverb].

Example:
– "Ik beloof je dat je je niet zal vervelen; Frank is een heel onderhoudende gesprekspartner."
("I promise you that you will not be bored; Frank is a very entertaining guy to talk to." A "gesprekspartner" literally is a "conversation partner".)

Realiteit

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reality Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de re-a-li-teit, de re-a-li-tei-ten]

Reality-check "Realiteit" is synonymous with "werkelijkheid", however I have the feeling that the latter is used when discussing actual reality (as opposed to living in The Matrix for example) whereas the first is used when discussing the actual implications.

Common usage includes "harde realiteit" ('harsh reality'), "de realiteit van alledag" ('day-to-day reality') and "de realiteit onder ogen zien" ('to face reality').

Examples:
– "Inbraak, berovingen, aanrandingen en soms zelfs verkrachting; in sommige wijken is het de realiteit van alledag." 
("Burglary, robbery/muggery, sexual assault; in some parts of town it's day-to-day reality." Note that 'aanranding' in Dutch usually means sexual assault.)

– "Stop met klagen jongen, er is niets aan te doen, het is de harde realiteit van deze maatschappij!" 
("Stop complaining son, nothing you can do about it, it is the harsh reality of this society!")

– "Ja, dat kun je nu wel zeggen, maar de realiteit is dat zij het geld vangen en ik met lege handen achterblijf!" 
("Sure, it's easy for you to say that, but the reality is that they will pick up the money and I remain empty-handed!" Lit. "Yes, you can say that now, but … they will catch the money…")

Expressions:
– "De realiteit onder ogen zien": to face reality / the facts.

Example:
– "Het is tijd dat we de realiteit onder ogen zien, we kunnen het gewoon niet langer betalen."
("It's time we face the facts, we just can't afford it any longer." Lit. "…pay it any longer.")

Related words:
– Realisme: realism [noun] [het realisme, <no plural>].

Example:
– "Ken jij Carel Willink niet? Hou je niet van magisch realisme?"
("You don't know Carel Willink? Don't you like magic realism?")

– Realist: realist [noun] [de realist, de realisten].

Example:
– "Ik ben geen pessimist, ik ben een realist!"
("I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist!")

– Realistisch: realistic [adjective].
– Werkelijkheid: reality, truth [noun] [de werkelijkheid, de werkelijkheden].
– Werkelijk: real, actual, true [adjective].
– Reëel: real, actual, true, reasonable [adjective, adverb].

Oppervlakkig

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superficial, shallowOppervlakkig Iconspeaker_3
[adjective] 
[op-per-vlak-kig]

"Oppervlakkig" translates to superficial or shallow. Related nouns are "oppervlakte" (surface, area) and "oppervlakkigheid" (shallowness).

The opposite of "oppervlakkigheid" is "diepgang" (depth, profundity).

Examples:
– "Pas op, Frank is een beetje oppervlakkig." – "Daar heb ik me al op ingesteld…" 
("Be careful, Frank is a little shallow…" – "I'm mentally prepared for that…")

– "Ze is met een oppervlakkige kerel getrouwd…" – "Wat dan nog?" 
("She's married to a shallow guy…" – "So what?")

– "Ik ken haar slechts oppervlakkig, maar ze lijkt me een leuke dame." 
("I just know her superficially, bu she seems like a nice lady.")

Expressions:
– "Aan de oppervlakte komen": <also figuratively> to surface (lit.: to come to the surface).

Example:
– "Heb je gehoord van die enorme ramp?" – "De ware toedracht van de brand zal wel nooit aan de oppervlakte komen…"
("Did you hear about that huge disaster?" – "We will never know the truth about that fire…" Lit.: "The true state of affairs of the fire will probably never surface…")

Related words:
– Diepgang: depth, profundity [noun] [de diepgang, <no plural>].

Example:
– "Frank heeft de diepgang van een regenworm…hij is zoooo oppervlakkig."
("Frank has the profundity of a worm…he's soooo shallow.")

– Oppervlakte: surface, area [noun] [de oppervlakte, de oppervlaktes].

Instellen

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1. to adjust, tune, set Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[in-stel-len, stel-de in, in-ge-steld]

Instellen "Instellen" can generally be used in three translations. It is also figuratively used in the expressions "zich instellen op", or "ingesteld zijn op", which respectively translate as "to (mentally) prepare oneself for" and "to be geared towards / be prepared/equipped for"; see the Expressions for examples.

Examples:
– "Ik weet zeker dat ik de wekker op mijn iPhone goed heb ingesteld en toch ging hij niet af!" 
("I'm positive that I set the alarm on my iPhone correctly, and still it did not go off!")

– "Waren je vakantiefoto's leuk?" – "Man, ik baal als een stekker, de belichting was verkeerd ingesteld; alles is mislukt!" 
("Did your holiday pictures turn out nicely?" – "Man, I'm really upset, the exposure setting was incorrect, everything was ruined!" Note that "mislukken" translates as "to fail / go wrong / be unsuccessful".)

– "Het lukt me nooit om de radiozenders op mijn autoradio goed in te stellen, kun jij me daar een keer bij helpen?" 
("I never succeed in correctly programming the radio stations on my car radio, are you able to help me with that sometime?")

Expressions:
– " (…) ingesteld zijn": to have a (…)-like attitude.

Example:
– "Hij is nogal negatief ingesteld dus ik zou hem niet vragen als ik jou was."
("He is rather negative so I wouldn't ask him if I were you.")

– "Ingesteld zijn op (…) ": to be equipped for, to be geared towards.

Example:
– "Sorry, maar we zijn niet ingesteld op beginners. We raden je aan eerst elders een beginnerscursus te volgen."
("I'm sorry, but we are not geared towards beginners. We recommend that you first do a beginners course elsewhere.")

– "Zich instellen op": to (mentally) prepare (oneself) for.

Example:
– "Is het goed als Eva ook meekomt?" – "Nou, liever niet, je weet hoe het tussen ons is; ik ben er niet op ingesteld, sorry!"
("Is it alright if Eva comes along?" – "Well, preferably not, you know how it is between the two of us; I'm not prepared for it, I'm sorry!")

Related words:
– Instelling: setting, mentality [noun] [de instelling, de instellingen].
– Configureren: to configure [verb] [configureerde, geconfigureerd].
– Voorbereiden: to prepare for [verb] [bereidde voor, voorbereid].

2. to establish, found, institute Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[in-stel-len, stel-de in, in-ge-steld]

Regels This is typically used when establishing rules, setting up a committee etc.

Examples:
– "De commissie is vanochtend ingesteld en gaat direct aan de slag." 
("The committee has been set up this morning and will start work immediately.")

– "Er zijn nieuwe regels ingesteld omtrent het gebruik van de gemeenschappelijke ruimte." 
("New rules have been established regarding the use of the common area.")

Related words:
– Instellling: establishment, creation [noun] [de instelling, de instellingen].

3. to start, to set up Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[in-stel-len, stel-de in, in-ge-steld]

OnderzoekIngesteld In this translation "instellen" is typically used when starting or opening an investigation.

Examples:
– "Er is een onderzoek ingesteld naar het handelen van de dader; we moeten oppassen om geen voorbarige conclusies te trekken!" 
("An investigation has started on the perpretator's actions; we must be careful not to jump to conclusions!" Literally: "…draw premature conclusions".)

Ramp

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disaster Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de ramp, de ram-pen]

Bosbrand Today I spent 7 hours in my car due to snowfall, and yes, that was a disaster!

Examples:
– “Het vertrek van de topspeler was een ramp voor de voetbalclub.” 
(“The departure of the top(-class) player was a disaster for the football/soccer club.”)

– “De uitbraak van cholera in Haïti is een humanitaire ramp.” 
(“The outbreak of cholera in Haiti is a humanitarian disaster/crisis.”)

– “Wat een ramp! Er gaan geen treinen meer naar huis!” 
(“What a disaster! All trains home have been cancelled!”)

– “Tegenwoordig heb je overal skateparken. Wij hadden vroeger niet eens een ramp. Dat was pas een ramp!” 
(“Nowadays there are skateparks everywhere. When I was young we didn’t even have a (skateboard) ramp. Now that was a disaster!” Literally: “Nowadays one has skateparks everywhere. We did not even use to have…” Note that there is also a skateboard trick called “disaster” 😉 )

Related words:
– Natuurramp: natural disaster [noun] [de natuurramp, de natuurrampen].
– Catastrofe: catastrophy [noun] [de catastrofe, de catastrofes].
– Verwoesting: devastation [noun] [de verwoesting, de verwoestingen].
– Rampzalig: disastrous [adjective/adverb].

Example:
– “Ik vind ‘onfortuinlijk’ een understatement; ik zou deze ontwikkeling als ‘rampzalig’ willen betitelen.”
(“I believe that ‘unfortunate’ is an understatement; I would like to describe this development as ‘disastrous’. “Betitelen” is like giving something a ‘label/title’.”)

– Desastreus: disastrous [adjective/adverb]. This is the slighly posher version of ‘rampzalig’.
– Nood: emergency [noun] [de nood, de noden].