Category Archives: Dutch word of the day

Wennen

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to get used to, to grow accustomed to, to acclimatize  Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[wen-de, ge-wend]

"Wennen" is related to getting used to something new, e.g. new
surroundings, new people, a new job. "Wennen" is usually followed by
the preposition "aan" (getting used to something). Don’t mix it up with "wenden" (wendde, gewend), which means "to turn".

Examples:
– "Ik kan maar niet wennen aan het weer in Nederland; het lijkt zes maanden per jaar te miezeren." 
("I just can’t get used to the weather in the Netherlands; it seems to drizzle for six months a year.")

– "Zij is het gewend om ‘s ochtends koffie te drinken; zonder koffie heeft ze een enorm ochtendhumeur."  ("It’s her habit to drink coffee in the morning; without coffee she is in a very bad morning mood.")

– "En, ben je al een beetje gewend aan je nieuwe baan?"  Wennen_3

("So, have you grown accustomed to your new job yet?")

– "Het is wel even wennen dat je nu geen auto meer hebt en het openbaar vervoer moet nemen, niet?"
-"Ach, alles went".
("It
must be quite a change now that you no longer have a car and have to
use public transport, isn’t it?" – "Well, you can get used to
everything.")

Expressions:
– "Alles went behalve een vent": you can get used to anything except for a man.

Related words:
– Wenden: to turn [verb] [wendde, gewend].
– Zich wenden tot: to turn to (someone, something) [verb] [wendde, gewend].

Miezeren

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to drizzle, to mizzle Iconspeaker_3
[vMotregenerb]
[mie-zer-de, ge-mie-zerd]

As is the case with the verb "regenen", you can only use "miezeren" in the third person singular: "het miezert". A common synonym for "miezeren" is "motregenen", see the Related words.

Examples:
– "Als ik naar buiten kijk, dan word ik niet echt vrolijk; het miezert alleen maar." 
("Looking outside doesn’t really cheer me up; all it does is drizzle." Lit. "when I look outside, I don’t exactly get happy…")

– "Wat wordt het voor weer morgen?" – "Volgens mij gaat het de hele dag miezeren." 
("What will the weather be like tomorrow?" – "I think it will drizzle all day long.")

– "Hoe was je vakantie?" – "Verschrikkelijk, het heeft twee weken gemiezerd en de laatste week kwam het met bakken uit de hemel." 
("How was your holiday?" – "Terrible, it drizzled for two weeks and the last week it poured." Lit.: "it came out of the sky with bins/tanks/containers.")

Related words:
– Miezerig: drizzly, or: tiny, puny, measly [adjective].
– Regen: rain [noun] [de regen, <no plural>].
– Motregen: drizzle [noun] [de motregen, <no plural>].

Example:
– "Ik heb een hekel aan motregen; het regent niet echt, en toch word je helemaal nat."
("I hate drizzle; it does not really rain, and still you get completely wet.")

– Motregenen: to drizzle/mizzle [verb] [motregende, gemotregend].

Prutser

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incompetent blunderer, screw up <person> Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de prut-ser, de prut-sers]Prutser

A "prutser" is a person who screws or messes things up. The related verb is "prutsen", which translates to "to blunder". You may also say the verb "verprutsen", which translates to "to mess up". The difference with "prutsen" is that "prutsen" indicates that you’re still in the middle of messing things up, while
"verprutsen" is more focussed on reaching a messed up state in the end.

Examples:
– "Frank is een totale prutser." 
("Frank is a total screw up.")

– "Afgelopen dinsdag is Gmail getroffen door een wereldwijde storing."  – "De prutsers…"
("Gmail was hit by a worldwide breakdown last Tuesday." – "Screw ups…")

Expressions:
– "Twee linkerhanden hebben": to have two left feet. Lit.: to have two left hands

Related words:
– Prutsen: to blunder, to be messing things up [verb] [prutste, geprutst].
– Verprutsen: to mess up [verb] [verprutste, verprutst].

Example:
– "Ik heb mijn tentamen helemaal verprutst."
("I’ve totally screwed up my exam.")

– Lutser: combination of a loser and a "prutser":-) [noun] [de lutser, de lutsers].
– Kluns: clumsy person [noun] [de kluns, de klunzen].
– Klojo: f*ck/screw up (person) [noun] [de klojo, de klojo’s].

Schuldig

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guilty Iconspeaker_3
[adjective]
[schul-dig]

"Schuldig" translates to "guilty". The related noun is "schuld", which translates to "guilt" or "debt".

If you’re "onschuldig", you’re not guilty or innocent.Schuldig

Examples:
– "Ik voel me schuldig omdat ik Sara’s verjaardag vergeten ben." 
("I feel guilty because I forgot Sara’s birthday." Lit.: "I feel myself guilty…")

– "De verdachte werd schuldig bevonden aan moord." 
("The suspect was found guilty of murder.")

– "Wie heeft er een scheetje gelaten?" – "Oeps…schuldig…" 
("Who farted?" – "Oops…guilty…")

Expressions:
– "Het antwoord schuldig (moeten) blijven": to not be able to give an answer.
– "Iemand iets schuldig/verschuldigd zijn": to owe someone something, to be in someone’s debt.

Example:
– "Hoeveel ben ik u schuldig?" – "EUR 9,80."
("How much do I owe you?" – "EUR 9,80")

– "Een slecht geweten": a guilty conscience. Lit.: a bad conscience.

Related words:
– Onschuldig: not guilty, innocent, harmless [adjective].

Example:
– "De ogen van een onschuldig kind maken de grootste bullebak week."
("The eyes of an innocent child weaken the biggest bully.")

– Schuld: guilt, debt [noun] [de schuld, de schulden].

Storing

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disturbance, interruption, failure, technical malfunction Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
Storing_2[de sto-ring, de sto-ring-en]

The verb "storen" translates to "to disturb/intrude/interrupt/interfere" and is used in both a technical and non-technical context. The noun "storing" however is mostly used in its translation of "technical failure/malfunction".

Examples:
– "Wereldwijde storing treft Gmail." 
("Gmail hit by worldwide breakdown.")

– "Vanwege een seinstoring is er geen treinverkeer mogelijk tussen Amsterdam en Den Haag." 
("Due to signal failure there are no trains between Amsterdam and The Hague." Lit.: "there is no train traffic between …")

– "Er is een storing op Schiphol, je kunt op dit moment niet inchecken." 
("There is a service interruption at Schiphol airport, you cannot check in at the moment.")

Related words:
– Onderbreking: disruption [noun] [de onderbreking, de onderbrekingen].
– Buiten dienst/werking: out of service/order.
– Storen: to interrupt/interfere/disturb [verb] [stoorde, gestoord].
– Gestoord: defective, mentaly disturbed [adjective].