Category Archives: Dutch word of the day

Inhalen

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1. to overtake/pass Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[in-ha-len, haal-de in, in-ge-haald]

Inhalen "Inhalen" has a few translations. Most common are "to overtake" and "making up for / catching up"; the latter is covered in 2. below. The verb can also be used figuratively when you are doing better than somebody who was previously superior to you.

Dutch traffic law mandates that overtaking can only be done on the left. Drivers that stay in the left lane while not overtaking are therefore a big nuisance to most people, especially when it is you that gets the fine when overtaking on the right!

Examples:
– "Waarom haal je die sukkel niet rechts in?" – "Ja, ik ben gekke Henkie niet, straks krijg ik een boete!"
("Why don't you just overtake that idiot?" – "Like I'm stupid, what if I get the fine?!" Lit. ".., later I'll get the fine!")

– "Als ik jou was, zou ik beter je best doen voordat je wordt ingehaald door je collega's." 
("If I were you I would try harder before your colleagues surpass you.")

– "Inhalen verboden." 
("Overtaking prohibited.")

– "Verboden in te halen!" 
("Overtaking prohibited!")

– "Ik heb een hekel aan scholieren die naast elkaar fietsen; hoe moet ik nu inhalen?" 
("I hate pupils / (school) students who cycle next to one another; how am I supposed to pass them?")

– "Bij inhalen op een drukke weg moet je oppassen voor tegenliggers!" 
("When overtaking on a busy road one has to be aware of oncoming cars." Note that "tegenligger" can be used for any kind of oncoming traffic.)

Related words:
– Voorbijgaan:to pass/go by [verb] [ging voorbij, voorbijgegaan].
– Langs: along/past [adverb].

Example:
– "Waarom ga je er niet langs?!" – "Ja, je ziet toch dat ik er niet voorbij kan gaan!"
("Why don't you go past it?" – "Yeah right, can't you see I cannot pass by?!")

– Inhalig: greedy/grasping [adverb]. Derived from "inhalen" in its translation of "to draw/haul/take in".
– Inhaalverbod: overtaking prohibition, passing restriction [noun] [het verbod, de verboden].

2. to make up for, to catch up with Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[in-ha-len, haal-de in, in-ge-haald]

Klok Here "inhalen" is commonly used when making up for lost time, or catching up with activities.

Examples:
– "Marc komt vandaag weer terug van vakantie." – "Gelukkig! Hij heeft heel wat achterstand in te halen wat betreft de audiobestanden!" 
("Marc is back from holiday today." – "That's good news! He has quite some catching up to do regarding the audio files!")

– "De leerling is lang ziek geweest en moet nu veel lessen inhalen." 
("The pupil was ill for a long time and now has to make up for the classes he/she missed.")

– "Ik ben blij dat we na al die jaren weer vrienden zijn! Kom op, we hebben heel wat in te halen!" 
("I'm happy we are friends again after all those years! Come on, we have quite some catching up to do!")

Related words:
– Achterstand: arrears, leeway, backlog [noun] [de achterstand, de achterstanden].
– Bij zijn: to have caught up with, to be back up to speed [verb] [was bij, bij geweest].

Example:
– "En, ben je weer helemaal bij?"
("So… are you back up to speed?")

Hardnekkig

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persistent, stubborn Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]
[hard-nek-kig]

Hardnekkig "Hardnekkig" implies that whatever it is that is persistent, also proves to be very difficult to get rid of. So it is typically used when something is experienced as inconvenient. The word seems to be related to "hard" ('hard') and "nek" ('neck') but I'm not sure about the origin.

Examples:
– "Ik heb het hem nogmaals gevraagd, maar hij blijft hardnekkig volhouden dat hij het niet gedaan heeft." 
("I have asked him once more, but he stubbornly maintains that he was not the one who did it." Lit. 'that he has not done it'.)

– "Hoe is het met je verkoudheid?" – "Nog steeds niet over, het is echt hardnekkig." 
("How is your cold?" – "Still not gone, it's really persistent.")

– "Hij heeft zijn excuses meerdere malen aan haar aangeboden, maar zij trakteert hem op een hardnekkig stilzwijgen." 
("He apologized to her several times, but she offers him stubborn silence in return." Lit. 'she treats him to a stubborn silence'.)

– "Er doen hardnekkige geruchten de ronde over de kabinetsformatie." 
("Persistent rumours on the formation of the cabinet are going around.")

– "Wij hebben een mierenplaag in huis…" – "Nou, succes ermee, dat zijn echt hardnekkige beestjes." 
("We have an ant plague in the house…" -  "Well, good luck, those are persistent creatures." Note that "beest" translates as "animal" or "beast" but "beestjes" is commonly used for small insects.)

Related words:
– Volhardend: persevering [adverb/adjective].
– Volhouden: to persevere [verb] [hield vol, volgehouden].
– Persistent: persistent [adjective].
– Aanhouden: to continue, to last [verb] [hield aan, aangehouden].

Praatjesmaker

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boaster, windbag Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de praat-jes-maker, de praat-jes-makers]

Bla-bla The translation above is what the dictionary says, but a "praatjesmaker" is not necessarily somebody who boasts, but more like somebody who is all talk and no action, doesn't live up to what he/she claims, talks nonsense, claims to know what he/she is talking about but not really, a smart talker etc.

The noun is derived from "praatje" and "maken". The verb is "praten": to talk. A "praatje maken" in general is "to have a brief informal conversation with somebody". See the expressions below for more.

Examples:
– "Hoe was de lezing van Frank?" – "Het sloeg helemaal nergens op; weet je, het is gewoon een praatjesmaker." 
("How was Frank's lecture?" – "It did not make any sense at all; you know, he is just all talk and no action.")

– "Let wel, op praatjesmakers zitten we hier niet te wachten; wij verwachten inzet en kunde!" 
("Be aware, we have no need for boasters; we expect dedication and skills!" Lit. "we are not waiting on boasters here".)

– "Zeg praatjesmaker, nu is het genoeg geweest; het is tijd om naar bed te gaan!" 
("Hey mister know-it-all, that's enough now; it's time for bed!")

Expressions:
– "Een praatje maken met iemand": to briefly and informally chat with somebody.
– "Praatjes hebben": to talk big, to be a 'know-it-all'.

Example:
– "Let maar niet op hem; hij heeft praatjes."
("Don't mind him, he is just talking big.")

– "Mooie praatjes": sweet talk.
– "Een praatje houden": informal way of saying "to give a lecture". Note the use of "houden": to hold; this is the reason Dutch people often say they have to "hold a speech".

Related words:
– Praten: to talk [verb] [praatte, gepraat].
– Praatje: quick conversation, lecture [noun] [het praatje, de praatjes].
– Onzin: nonsense [noun] [de onzin, <no plural>].
– Liegen: to lie [verb] [loog, gelogen].
– Opscheppen: to brag/boast [verb] [schepte op, opgeschept]. Note this verb also means to serve/spoon/ladle out (as in putting food on your plate).

Reageren

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to react, respond, answer Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[re-a-ge-ren, re-a-geer-de, ge-re-a-geerd]

Reageren "Reageren" is used when responding to requests or impulses. "To respond to" translates as "reageren op". The verb is also used in the context of chemistry (reacting substances/chemicals).

Examples:
– "Sander heeft Marc een SMS gestuurd, maar zoals te doen gebruikelijk is, reageert Marc niet." 
("Sander sent Marc a text message, but as usual Marc does not respond." Note the expression "zoals te doen gebruikelijk is". This is a bit formal and I like to use it ironically. In general you can say "zoals gewoonlijk".)

– "Zij heeft me een pissige e-mail gestuurd en het leek mij het beste om daar niet op te reageren." 
("She sent me an angry e-mail and I thought it was best not to respond." Note that "pissig" is informal, use "boos" or "kwaad" otherwise.)

– "Hoe reageerde hij toen hij het slechte nieuws hoorde?" 
("How did he respond when he heard the bad news?")

– "Ik reageer gewoon anders op dit soort situaties dan jij. Waarom kun je niet accepteren dat wij niet hetzelfde zijn?" 
("I respond to these kind of situations differently than you do. Why can't you accept that we are not the same?")

– "Ik heb het verzoek ingediend, maar het bestuur heeft nog niet gereageerd." 
("I put in the request but the board has not yet responded.")

– "De applicatie reageert niet meer; herstart Windows of gooi uw computer uit het raam." 
("The application does not respond anymore; restart Windows or throw your computer out of the window.")

Related words:
– Reactie: reaction, response [noun] [de reactie, de reacties].
– Reactietijd: reaction time [noun] [de reactietijd, de reactietijden].
– Reageerbuis: test tube [noun] [de reageerbuis, de reageerbuizen].
– Antwoorden: to answer, to respond [verb] [antwoordde, geantwoord].
– Beantwoorden: to respond to [verb] [beantwoordde, beantwoord].

Razend

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furious, raging, fuming Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]
[ra-zend]

Razend "Razend" is derived from the verb "razen": to rage, thunder, storm; both used for natural phenomena and angry people :-) The other translation is "to race, hurl, rush" and "razend" takes on a different meaning, more like "very, huge" of which I also give a few common examples below.

Examples:
– "Man, ik zweer het je, ik was razend, echt waar. Het kan toch niet zo zijn dat een pinautomaat zomaar je pas inslikt?!" 
("Man, I swear, I was furious (with rage), really I was. It can't possibly be the case that a cash machine swallows your (bank) card just like that?!")

– "De vrouw was razend op haar vriend toen hij het contact verbrak." 
("The woman was furious with her boyfriend when he broke off contact.")

– "Was je vader boos toen je te laat thuis was?" – "Boos? Hij was razend!!" 
("Was your father angry when you came home too late?" – "Angry? He was fuming!!")

– "Ga je mee lunchen bij Simonis?" – "Ik ben bang van niet, ik heb het echt razend druk." 
("Are you joing us/me for lunch at Simonis?" – "I'm afraid not, I'm really incredibly busy.")

– "Het schrijven van een goede DWOTD kan razend veel tijd kosten." 
("Writing a good DWOTD can consume a huge amount of time.")

– "We hebben onze koffers in een razend tempo ingepakt en zijn direct vertrokken naar de zon!" 
("We packed our suitcases really really quickly and took off to a sunny destination immediately!" Note that unless you are an astronaut you can use the expression "vertrekken naar de zon" when leaving for a sunny destination (as opposed to the sun itself 😉 ).)

Related words:
– Razendsnel: very very fast [adverb/adjective].
– Razernij: rage, frenzy [noun] [de razernij, de razernijen].