Category Archives: Dutch word of the day

Keuken

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kitchen Click to listen Keuken
[noun] 
[de keu-ken, de keu-kens]

A "keuken" is simply a kitchen. In a "keuken" the Dutch cook (among other things 🙂 ): "koken".

Examples:
– "Help!! Er zit een muis
in de keuken!!"

("Help!! There's a mouse in the
kitchen!!")

– "Mensenkinderen,
wat een troep
in de keuken!! Waar is mijn schort?" 
("My goodness, what a mess in the kitchen!! Where's my
apron?")

– "Liefie,
wil jij de afwas even naar de keuken dragen?"
("Sweetie, will you
just carry the dishes into the kitchen?")

Expressions:
– "Keukenprins/keukenprinses": (lit.: kitchen prince/princess) someone who likes to cook.

Example:
– "Frank heeft drie uur in de keuken gestaan, speciaal voor haar." – "Wat is het toch een keukenprins…"
("Frank has been in the kitchen for three hours, just for her." – "My, he's such a chef…")

– "Neuken in de keuken": <vulgar rhyme with no specific meaning/goal other than rhyming> f*cking in the kitchen .

Related words:
– Afwas: (doing the) dishes [noun] [de afwas, <no plural>].
– Koken: to cook, to boil [verb] [koken, kookte, h. gekookt].

Example:
– "Hij maakte een goede indruk door voor haar te koken."
("He
made a good impression by cooking for her.")

– Schort: apron [noun] [het schort, de schorten].
– Keukenboer: slang for 'kitchen centre' with boer translating as 'farmer' [noun] [de keukenboer, de keukenboeren]. Keukenboeren have a bad reputation for overpricing their kitchens and using aggressive marketing techniques.

Muis

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mouse Click to listen Muis
[noun] 
[de muis, de mui-zen]

A "muis" is a mouse, both the animal and the computer pointer device. Unlike the plural in English (:mice), the plural in Dutch is regular. The 's' changes into a 'z' though: "muizen".

Examples:
– "Help!! Er zit een muis in de keukenkast." 
("Help!! There's a mouse in the kitchen cupboard." Note: "er zit…" is translated with "there is…" (lit.: "there sits…"))

– "Ik kom niet van de tafel voordat je die muis hebt weggejaagd!" 
("I won't come off the table before you've chased that mouse away!")

– "Ik heb pijn in mijn onderarm…" – "Misschien moet je een ergodynamische muis gaan gebruiken." 
("I have a pain in my lower arm…" – "Maybe you have to start using an ergo-dynamic mouse. ")

Expressions:
– "Als de kat van huis is, dansen de muizen op tafel": (lit.: if the cat's from home, the mice dance on the table) When the cat's away, the mouse will play / Without supervision, everybody does as he or she pleases.
– "Dit muisje krijgt nog een staartje": (lit.: this little mouse will get a (little) tail) this is not the end of it, this will have consequences. Note that in this expression "muisje" is often omitted: "dit krijgt nog een staartje".

Example:
– "De officier van justitie is een belangrijk dossier tijdens een treinrit kwijtgeraakt." – "Let op mijn woorden: dit muisje krijgt nog een staartje…"
("The district attorney has lost an important file during a ride on the train." – "Mark my words: this will have consequences…")

Related words:
– Knaagdier: rodent [noun] [het knaagdier, de knaagdieren].
– Rat: rat [noun] [de rat, de ratten].

Example:
– "Frank is voor de tweede keer deze maand vreemdgegaan…" – "Hij is een rat…"
("Frank has cheated on his girlfriend for the second time this month…" – "He is a rat…")

– Muizenval: mouse-trap [noun] [de muizenval, de muizenvallen].
– Computeren: to use the computer for recreational purposes [verb] [computeren, computerde, h. gecomputerd].
– Klikken: to click [verb] [klikken, klikte, h. geklikt].
– Toetsenbord: keyboard [noun] [het toetsenbord, de toetsenborden].

Kwijt

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lost, forgotten, gotten rid off Click to listen
[adjective]

key-533553_640“Kwijt” is a predicate adjective, which means that it modifies the subject like other descriptive adjectives, but it must follow a linking verb in a sentence, mostly (a conjugation of) the verb “zijn” (:to be).

“Kwijt” is also often used in conjunction with the verb “raken”, which comes from “geraken”, which translates to “to end up”. Hence “kwijtraken” literally translates to “to end up lost”: to lose.

Examples:
– “Ik ben zijn naam kwijt, en dat is geen smoes.” 
(“I’ve forgotten his name, and that’s no cheap excuse.”)

– “De jonge moeder was helemaal in paniek nadat ze haar zoontje was kwijtgeraakt.” 
(“The young mother completely panicked after she had lost her little boy.”)

– “Waarom is Frank zo laat?” – “Geloof het of niet, maar hij is de weg kwijt…” 
(“Why is Frank this late?” – “Believe it or not, but he got lost (on his way)…”)

– “Zo, die sukkel zijn we kwijt! Toedeledoki!” 
(“There, we got rid of that sucker! Bye bye!”)

Expressions:
– “(Volledig) de weg kwijt zijn”: to be (completely) lost.
– “In de war”: confused.

Example:
– “Mijn oma is helderziende en heeft voorspellende gaven.” – “Nee gast, jouw oma is gewoon een beetje in de war…”
(“My grandmother is clairvoyant and has a foreseeing gift.” – “No dude, your grandmother is just a little confused…”)

Related words:
– Verdwalen: to get lost [verb] [verdwalen, verdwaalde, i. verdwaald].
– Verliezen: to lose [verb] [verliezen, verloor, i./h. verloren].

Example:
– “Ik ben mijn autosleutels verloren…”
(“I’ve lost my car keys…”)
Note that you could also say: “Ik ben mijn autosleutels kwijt”, which would also translate to “I’ve lost my car keys”, or – more subtle – :”I can’t seem to find my car keys”. The subtlety is in the fact that “Ik ben mijn autosleutels kwijt” implies that you haven’t lost you keys yet, but you just can’t find them.

Vreemdgaan

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to stray, commit adultery, be unfaithful, to
cheat Click to listen 
[verb]
[vreemd-gaan, ging vreemd, i. vreemd-ge-gaan]Vreemdgaan

"Vreemdgaan" is composed of "vreemd" and "gaan", which respectively translate to "strange" and "to go". "To go strange" is of course a somewhat literal description of engaging in sexual intercourse with someone other than one's regular partner…

Examples:
– "1 op de 4 mensen gaat vreemd."- "Ja, doei!" – "Nee, echt!" 
("1 out of 4 people commits adultery." – "Yeah right!" – "No, really!")

– "Er zit geen vooruitgang in Franks gedrag. Ik voorspel je dat hij binnen een week weer vreemdgaat." 
("There's no progress in Frank's behaviour. I'm telling you, he will be unfaithful again within a week.")

– "Staatssecretaris Jack de Vries is afgetreden nadat bekend werd dat hij vreemdging met zijn assistente." 
("State Secretary Jack de Vries resigned from office after it became public that he committed adultery with his assistant.")

Expressions:
– "Overspel plegen": to commit adultery. Synonymous to "vreemdgaan".
– "Buitenechtelijke relatie": extramarital relationship.
– "Een scheve schaats rijden": (lit.: to ride a crooked skate) to have an affair.
– "Buiten de deur neuken": (lit.: to f*ck outside the door) <vulgar> to have a sexual, extramarital relationship.

Related words:
– Affaire: affair [noun] [de affaire, de affaires].
– Bedriegen: to cheat (on) [verb] [bedriegen, bedroog, h. bedrogen].

Example:
– "Als ik wil, kan ik je zo bedriegen. Ik heb vele aanbidders." – "Schat, wil je me iets duidelijk maken?"
("If I want, I can cheat on you just like that. I have many worshippers." – "Honey, do you want to make something clear to me?")

– Overspel: adultery [noun] [het overspel, <no plural>].
– Schuinsmarcheerder: adulterer (lit.: he who marches askew [noun] [de
schuinsmarcheerder, de schuinsmarcheerders].
– Slippertje: affair [noun] [het slippertje, de slippertjes].
– Vrijen: to make love [verb] [vrijen, vree/vrijde, gevreeën/gevrijd].
– Verhouding: affair, relationship [noun] [de verhouding, de verhoudingen].

Vooruitgang

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progress,
improvement, headway Click to listen
[noun]
[de
voor-uit-gang, <no plural>]

Vooruitgang "Vooruitgang" (with the stress on "uit") is used for positive
progress. The opposite of "vooruitgang" is "achteruitgang":
deterioration. Note that when you put the stress on "voor" the word
changes meaning radically: "front exit", with the base noun "uitgang":
exit.

A closely related word is "voortgang": general progress (in
time). So: there can be "voortgang" but this does not necessarily imply
"vooruitgang" (although quite often it is used that way).

Examples:
– "Ik moet u helaas mededelen dat er nog geen
vooruitgang is in de toestand van de patiënt." 
("Regrettably I have to inform you that there is no
improvement yet in the patient's condition.")

– "In de 19e eeuw is er behoorlijk wat
vooruitgang geboekt." 
("In the
19th century quite some progress was made." Note the use of "boeken": as
a verb typically used as "to book", but in combination with
"vooruitgang" it translates as "to make headway/progress".)

– "Als het gaat om het sociale karakter
van onze samenleving, dan vind ik dat er eerder sprake is van
achteruitgang dan van vooruitgang." 
("When it concerns the social character of our
society, I believe it is rather a matter of decline than of
advancement.")

Related words:
– Voortgang: progress, continuation [noun] [de voortgang, <no plural>].
–
Vooruitgaan: to progress, to go forward, to improve [verb] [ging
vooruit, vooruitgegaan].
– Ontwikkeling: development, growth [noun] [de ontwikkeling, de ontwikkelingen].
– Achteruitgang: decline,
deterioration [noun] [de achteruitgang, <no plural>].
– Achteruitgang: rear exit [noun] [de uitgang, de uitgangen].

Example:
– "De bankovervaller ontsnapte
via de achteruitgang."
("The bank robber escaped through the rear
exit.")