1. recognize, know, identify with [verb] [her-ken-nen, her-kend]

Here "herkennen" has the meaning of "recognizing somebody/thing who/that you already know". You can also use the verb to say you identify with somebody/thing or know what somebody is talking about.

Examples:
– "Na al die jaren herkende ik hem meteen!" 
("After all these years I recognized him immediately!")

– "Ik herkende haar aan haar vreemde manier van praten." 
("I recognized her by her strange way of speaking.")

– "Het is gewoon ongelofelijk lastig om zo’n grote groep te leiden!" – "Ja, dat herken ik wel…" 
("It is just incredibly difficult to lead such a big group!" – "Yes, I recognize that / know what you are talking about.")

– "Ik herken mezelf wel in de hoofdpersoon van dat boek." 
("I can identify with the main character of that book.")

Related words:
– Herkenning: recognition [noun] [de herkenning, <no plural>].

2. recognize, identify, make out, discern [verb] [her-ken-nen, her-kend]  

Here "herkennen" is used in the meaning of identifying or discerning.

Examples:
– "Je kunt het gebouw herkennen aan de lange schoorsteen." 
("You can recognize the building by the tall chimney.")

– "De tegenpartij is te herkennen aan de rood-wit gestreepte shirts." 
("The opponent / other side can be recognized/identified by the red and white striped shirts.")

– "Ok, de dader heeft dus een rode pet en een baard? Dan zal ik hem wel herkennen, hoop ik…" 
("Ok, so the perpetrator has a red cap and a beard? Then I guess I’ll identify him, I hope…")

Related words:
– Onderscheiden: to discern, to distinguish [verb] [onderscheiden, onderscheid].

to lock (up), to shut off, to close off, to finish (off)  [verb] [sloot af, af-ge-slo-ten]

This is this year’s last Dutch Word Of The Day… "Afsluiten" seems pretty appropriate 🙂

In general, "afsluiten" is used in a context where something is being put into a locked position or when something comes to an end.

Examples:
– "Frank, heb je de auto afgesloten?" 
("Frank, did you lock the car?")

– "Mirella is blut en heeft al een half jaar geen rekening betaald…nu hebben ze de elektriciteit afgesloten." 
("Mirella is broke and hasn’t payed a bill in half a year…now they’ve shut off the electricity.")

– "Ik was slechts een verliefde dwaas, maar die periode heb ik nu afgesloten…" 
("I was merely a fool in love…but it’s behind me now…" Lit.: "…but I’ve finished that period now…")

– "Als u de computer wil uitzetten, klik dan op ‘Start’, en dan op ‘Afsluiten’ ."
("I you want to turn off your computer, click ‘Start’, then click ‘Shut down’. ")

– "Sander, Marc en Laura sluiten een succesvol jaar af in stijl: met champagne!" 
("Sander, Marc and Laura are closing off a successful year in style: with champagne!")

Expressions:
– "Eind goed, al goed": all is well that ends well.
– "Aan alle goed dingen komt een eind": all good things come to an end.

Related words:
– Sluiten: to close [verb] [sloot, gesloten].
– Afsluiter: closing (off) [noun] [afsluiter, de afsluiters].

Example:
– "Een bonus van duizend euro! Dat is een lekkere afsluiter van het jaar…"
("A thousand euro bonus! That’s a nice way to finish off the year…")

– Slot: lock [noun] [het slot, de sloten].
– Einde: end [noun] [het einde, de eindes].

Extra:
Sander, Marc and Laura whish you all a merry Christmas and a sparkling new year!!!

to remember [verb] [ont-hield, ont-hou-den]

The verb "onthouden" has multiple meanings, but in this DWOTD we focus on the translation of "to remember", as in "to not forget" (for your information, the other translations are "to abstain (from)" or "to withhold"). A common alternative to the verb "onthouden" is the construction "niet vergeten" ("to ‘not’ forget").

Examples:
– "Onthou(d) dat ik altijd van je zal houden, wat er ook gebeurt!" 
("Remember that I will always love you, whatever happens!" Note that you can use both "onthou" and "onthoud" as the imperative form in this case.)

– "Het lukt me niet om namen te onthouden, echt erg!" 
("I am unable to remember names / I am bad at names, really awful!")

– "Echt waar? Dat zal ik onthouden!" 
("(Is it) really (true)? I will remember that!")

– "Ik heb een geheugen als een vergiet, ik kan echt niets onthouden!" 
("I have a really bad memory, I am unable to remember anything!" Lit.: "I have a memory like a colander, I can really remember nothing!")

Related words:
– Vergeten: to forget [verb] [vergat, vergeten].
– Zich herinneren: to remember (something in the past) [verb (reflexive)] [herinnerde, herinnerd].

1. scary, creepy [adjective] [eng]

“Eng” is a homonym: it has multiple meanings, thus multiple translations. First translation is “scary/creepy”, second translation is “narrow/tight”, see 2.

Examples:
– “Ik houd niet van griezelfilms, veel te eng.” 
(“I don’t like horror movies, way too scary.”)

– “Die billenknijper is zo’n enge man, het is verschrikkelijk.”
(“That bottom squeezer is such a creepy man, it’s awful.”)

– “Ik durf niet te kijken, wat een enge scene…”
(“I’m too scared to watch, what a scary movie scene.” Lit.: “I don’t dare to watch…”)

Expressions:
– “Zich een hoedje schrikken”: to be scared out of one’s wits.

Related words:
– Schrikken: to be scared [verb] [schrok, geschrokken].
– Akelig: scary, nasty [adjective].

Extra:
One of the first big Dutch “scary movies” was Amsterdamned. It’s about a maniac scuba diver who is on a mad rage killing people in the Amsterdam canals….Actually it’s very outdated now, but still fun to watch 🙂

2. narrow, tight [adjective] [eng]

In this context, “eng” is used to qualify a lack of space: the lack of space in a pair of trousers, or the lack of space in small street.

When used in reference to a pair of trousers, you may hear “strak” more often.

Examples:
– “Dit straatje is veel te eng voor een auto, draai maar om.” 
(“This little street is way too narrow for a car, just turn around.”)

– “Vermijd dit enge steegje ‘s nachts…het is een redelijk enge plek als het donker is.”
(“Avoid this narrow alley at night…it is a pretty creepy place when it’s dark.”)

– “Ik krijg geen lucht…deze spijkerbroek zit veel te eng.”
(“I can’t get any air…these jeans are much too tight.”)

– “Frank heeft zo’n enge visie op het leven: werken, eten, slapen…werken, eten, slapen…”
(“Frank has such a narrow-minded vision on life: work, eat, sleep…work, eat, sleep…”)

Related words:
– Strak: tight [adjective].
– Klein: small [adjective].