Category Archives: DWOTD 1.0

Original DWOTD post 2006 – 2013

Betuttelen

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to patronize [verb] [be-tut-tel-de, be-tut-teld] Iconspeaker_3

"Tut" is an informal derogative for a somewhat stupid goose of a woman. "Betuttelen" would actually be something like "to treat like a ‘tut’ ". Don’t confuse "tut" with the far more rude "trut", which translates to "b*tch"…

The related noun is "betutteling", see also Extra.Betutteling

Examples:
– "Frank betuttelt zijn vriendin verschrikkelijk in het openbaar." 
("Frank dreadfully patronizes his girlfriend in public.")

– "Je moet een jong kind niet te veel betuttelen." 
("You shouldn’t patronize a young child too much.")

– "Al die betuttelende regels van deze regering maken me gek!" 
("All those patronizing rules of this government make me crazy!")

Expressions:
– "Iemand de les lezen": to lecture someone.

Related words:
– Beschermen: to protect [verb] [beschermde, beschermd].
– (Onder)steunen: to support [verb] [(onder)steunde, (onder)steund].

Extra:
The Dutch don’t like to be "betutteld". In fact, the Dutch complain a lot about being "betutteld" by the government. A lot of the Dutch – especially the smokers – consider the recent ban on smoking in bars and restaurants a serious form of "betutteling", as well as the even more recent ban on hallucinogenic mushrooms (the so called paddos). Some believe that the christian parties (CDA and CU) within the Dutch Cabinet and Parliament are mainly responsible for this…Apparently, there’s even a party that protest against any kind government-driven kind of "betutteling" or patronizing…

Vergadering

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meeting [noun] [de ver-ga-de-ring, de ver-ga-de-ring-en] Iconspeaker_3

Vergadering
In Dutch office life it is common to have meetings. The associated verb is "vergaderen": the act of sitting together and discussing issues. A "vergadering" in the Netherlands can last very long. This is because we like to reach a compromise consensus and everybody gets their say (and decisions are not always made). See the Extra for some "vergadering" lingo.

Examples:
– "Ik moet nu ophangen, ik heb een vergadering over 5 minuten." 
("I have to hang up now, I have a meeting in 5 minutes.")

– "De ene na de andere vergadering, ik word er gek van!" 
("One meeting after another, it is driving me crazy!")

– "Het is de bedoeling om de voortgang van het project te bespreken, maar ik kom helemaal niet aan werken toe door al die vergaderingen!"
("The intent is to discuss the progress of the project, but I hardly get to do some work due to all these meetings!")

Related words:
– Vergaderen: to formally meet to discuss something [verb] [vergaderde, vergaderd].
– Agenda: agenda [noun] [de agenda, de agenda’s]. This word is also used for a (pocket) calendar, hence Dutch people often say they have to check their "agenda".
– Agendapunt: topic on the agenda [noun] [het punt, de punten].
– Voorzitter: chairman [noun] [de voorzitter, de voorzitters].
– Discussiëren: to argue, to discuss [verb] [discussieerde, gediscussieerd].
– Bespreken: to discuss, to talk about [verb] [besprak, besproken].

Extra:
A common topic on a meeting agenda is "WVTTK", short for "wat verder ter tafel komt", or: "what else may come to the table" (like "any other business"). This is an opportunity to bring a new topic to discuss to the table but it may only prolong the meeting. It is encouraged not to include this topic but to formally decide on the meetings agenda at the beginning of the meeting. This is done during the meeting topic "vaststelling agenda". At the end of a meeting it is common to give all attendants one more
chance to ask a question about something that has not been discussed
yet. This is called the "rondvraag" (and the chairman will go "round
the table" to see if anybody has a question ("vraag")). Again this might lead to more discussion and a longer meeting 🙂

Kaal

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bald, bare [adjective] [kaal] Iconspeaker_3

"Kaal" can refer to a landscape without trees, a head without hair, a room without furniture, a piece of worn out fabric or a bare wall. Check out this DWOTD for an example of an expression referring to the meaning "bald".

Examples:
– "Wat een kaal, kleurloos landschap, er is geen boom of grassprietje te zien."
("What a bare, colourless landscape, there’s not even one tree or tiny blade of grass.")

– "Als je in het leger gaat, scheren ze je hoofd kaal."  Kaal_2
("If you join the army, they’ll shave your head.")

– "Val jij op kale mannen of mannen met een flinke haardos?"
("Do you fancy bald men or men with a head of hair?")

– "Veel kale vrouwen dragen een pruik." 
("Many bald women wear wigs.")

– "Ik ben net verhuisd dus mijn nieuwe appartement ziet er nog wat kaal uit."
("I’ve just moved so my new apartment still looks a bit empty.")

– "Ik ga een grote spiegel aan die kale muur hangen."
("I’m going to put up a large mirror on that bare wall.")

– "Je kunt die jas echt niet meer aan, hij is helemaal kaal op de ellebogen."
("You really cannot wear that coat anymore, it’s all bare on the elbows.")

Related words:
– Kaalheid: baldness [noun] [de kaalheid, <no plural>].
– Kalend: getting bald [adjective].
– Haardos: hair of head [noun] [de haardos, de haardossen].
– Pruik: wig [noun] [de pruik, de pruiken].

Een kind kan de was doen

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It’s as simple as that [Dutch phrase of the week] Iconspeaker_3

The literal translation of "Een kind kan de was doen" is "A child can do the laundry". This expression is often an addition to an instruction for an activity or action at hand. It stresses the fact that the action is childlishly simple. Eenkindkandewasdoen

Examples:
– "Je sluit de webcam aan op de laptop en de installatie gaat vanzelf! Een kind kan de was doen!" 
("You connect the webcam to the laptop and the installation is done automatically! It’s as simple as that!")

– "Ik stop de afwas in de afwasmachine en een uur later is alles schoon…een kind kan de was doen…" 
("I put the dishes in the dishwasher and after an hour everything is clean…it’s as simple as that…")

– "Het is nu ook mogelijk om on-line belastingaangifte te doen. Een kind kan de was doen."  – "Echt niet, ook on-line blijft het een vervelende klus."
("It’s possible now to do your tax report on-line. It’s as simple as that." – "Really no! Also on-line, it’s still an annoying job.")

Expressions:
– "Eitje": piece of cake.
– "Appeltje-eitje": a piece of cake. Lit.: little apple, little egg. An extended version the expression "eitje".
– "Een fluitje van een cent": a piece of cake. Lit.: a little whistle of a cent.
– "Een inkoppertje": a piece of cake.
– "Een peuleschil": a piece of cake. Lit.: a bean’s peel.

Example:
– "Deze kruiswoordpuzzel is echt geen peuleschil, level ‘Goeroe’ is in feite onbegonnen werk…"
("This crossword puzzle is really not a piece of cake, level "Guru" is in fact a hopeless task…")

– "Een koud kunstje": a piece of cake. Lit.: a cold little trick.
– "Een abc’tje": a piece of cake. Lit.: a little a-b-c.

Related words:
– Kind: child [noun] [het kind, de kinderen].
– Was: wash, washing, laundry [noun] [de was , <no plural>].
– Doen: to do [verb] [deed, gedaan].

Neus

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nose [noun] [de neus, de neu-zen] Iconspeaker_3

Neus
Not a very exciting word, however there are many (many many) expressions involving the "neus", see the Examples and Expressions below. The word "neus" is also often used to denote the point or tip of an object, see the Examples. And there is also the verb "neuzen": to browse, nose about/round.

Examples:
– "Pardon, ik moet even mijn neus snuiten." 
("Excuse me, I have to blow my nose.")

– "Ja dag! Dat ga ik jou niet aan je neus hangen!" 
("Yeah right! As if I would ever tell you about that! / That is none of your business!" Lit. "I am not going to hang that to your nose!")

– "Wat is er?" – "O niks, alleen een beetje een bloedneus." 
("What’s wrong?" – "Oh nothing, just a bit of a nosebleed." Lit. "blood nose.")

– "Ik heb slecht geslapen, de hele nacht een verstopte neus!" 
("I slept really badly, all night long a stuffy nose!")

– "Sorry dat ik te laat ben, de trein reed vlak voor mijn neus weg!" 
("My apologies for being late, I just missed the train!" Lit. "the train took off right in front of my nose".)

– "Draag je wel eens schoenen met stalen neuzen?" 
("Do you ever wear steel-capped shoes?")

– "Zie ik daar een scheur?" – "Waar?" – "Daar bij de neus van het vliegtuig…" 
("Is that a crack up there?" – "Where?" – "There, near the nose of the plane…")

– "Stop eens met in je neus te peuteren, dat is niet netjes!"
("Stop picking your nose, it’s not decent!")

Expressions:
– "Het neusje van de zalm": the cream of the crop, the crème de la crème.
– "Je neus in andermans zaken steken": to be nosy, to pry, to interfere with somebody else’s business.
– "Ergens een neus voor hebben": to have a good eye for something.
– "Iemand bij de neus hebben": to fool somebody.
– "Het komt mijn neus uit": I’m fed up (with it).
– "Doen alsof je neus bloedt": to pretend you are innocent / you don’t know what happened.
– "Een frisse neus halen": to get a breath of fresh air. Lit. "to get a fresh nose".
– "Met je neus kijken": to not look properly / to look for something with your eyes closed. Particularly applicable to men 😉
– "Je staat er met je neus bovenop": it’s right in front of you. Lit. "you are standing on it with your nose".
– "Iemand met zijn neus op de feiten drukken": to make someone face the facts. Lit. "to press somebody’s nose on the facts."
– "Iemand iets onder zijn neus wrijven": to rub someone’s nose in it, to accuse somebody of something.
– "Dat is een wassen neus": that is just for show / that is fake. A "wassen neus" is a "wax nose".

And then there are many more!

Related words:
– Reukorgaan: olfactory / nasal organ [noun] [het orgaan, de organen].
– Ruiken: to smell [verb] [rook, geroken].
– Snuiten: to blow one’s nose [verb] [snoot, gesnoten].
– Neuzen: to browse, nose around/about [verb] [neusde, geneusd]. You will also here "rondneuzen": to prowl / nose about.

Example:
– "Ik vind het heerlijk om rond te neuzen in tweedehands-platenwinkels."
("I really enjoy nosing around in second-hand record stores.")