Bijwonen

to attend, to be present at [verb] [woonde bij, bijgewoond] Iconspeaker_3

Vergaderen
"Bijwonen" is composed of "bij" and "wonen" but contrary to what you
might expect, it does not translate as "to live at".  You use the verb
"bijwonen" when you are present at some kind of meeting or event, but
do not really participate in the activity.

Examples:
– "Wilt u de opname bijwonen? Dat kan. Bel naar het volgende nummer: …" 
("Would you like to attend the recording? That is possible. Call the following number: …")

– "Kun jij morgen de vergadering bijwonen, of ben je verhinderd?" 
("Can you attend the meeting tomorrow, or are you unable to go?")

– "Ik heb de bespreking alleen bijgewoond, ik heb niet echt deelgenomen aan het gesprek." 
("I was only present at the meeting, I did not really participate in the conversation.")

Related words:
– Toehoren: to listen to (other people in a meeting, etc.) [verb] [hoorde toe, toegehoord].
– Deelnemen: to participate [verb] [nam deel, deelgenomen].

Example:
– "Heb jij wel eens deelgenomen aan de marathon van Rotterdam?"
("Have you ever participated in the Rotterdam marathon?")

– Publiek: audience [noun] [het publiek, no plural].
– Wonen: to live, to inhabit [verb] [woonde, gewoond].

Dat doet de deur dicht

that does it, that’s it, that is the last straw [Dutch phrase of the week] Iconspeaker_3

Literally, "dat doet de deur dicht" translates to "that closes the door". This expression is used when something unpleasant happens which makes you feel that you’ve had it with it. The tone at which this expression is used is often indignant.Door_2

Examples:
– "Mijn auto is nu voor de derde keer bekrast…dat doet de deur dicht!" 
("My car has been scratched for the third time now…that does it!")

– "Frank heeft zich deze week al twee keer verslapen."  – "Dat doet de deur dicht!"
("Frank has overslept twice already this week." – "That is the last straw!")

– "Dit is het derde jaar zonder loonsverhoging. Dat doet de deur dicht, ik neem ontslag!" 
("This is the third year without a raise. That’s it, I quit!")

Expressions:
– "Dat is de druppel die de emmer doet overlopen!": that is the last straw! Lit.: "That is the drop that makes the bucket flow over".
– "Dat is de druppel!": Short version of "dat is de druppel die de emmer doet overlopen": that is the last straw!

Example:
– "Dit weekend alweer een slachtoffer van zinloos geweld. Dat is de druppel!"
("Again a victim of pointless violence this weekend. That is the last straw!")

– "Dat is het toppunt!": that’s the limit!
– "Er genoeg van hebben": to have enough of it.

Related words:
– Deur: door [noun] [de deur, de deuren].
– Dicht: closed [adjective].
– Dichtdoen: to close [verb] [deed dicht, dichtgedaan]. Lit.: to do/make (something) closed.
– Sluiten: to close [verb] [sloot, gesloten].
– Verontwaardigd: indignant [adjective].

Slagroom

whipped cream [noun] [de slagroom, no plural] Iconspeaker_3

"Slagroom" is composed of "slag" and "room", which translated to "whip/strike/hit" and "cream" respectively. Slagroom

Examples:
– "Wilt u slagroom op uw appeltaart?" 
("Would you like to have whipped cream on your apple pie?")

– "Heb je zin in warme chocolade(melk)? Zo ja, met of zonder slagroom?"
("Would you like to have some hot chocolate? If yes, with or without whipped cream?")

– "Marc, zal ik de slagroom even halen?…"  – "Oelalaaa…jaaaa…"
("Marc, shall I go and get the wipped cream?…" – "Ou la laaaa…yesssss…")

– "Die sjaal maakt het helemaal af! Het is de slagroom op de taart!"
("That scarf just finishes it! It’s the icing on the cake!" See also Expressions.)

Expression:
– "De slagroom op de taart": the icing on the cake. You may also hear "de kers op de taart": the cherry on top.

Related words:
– Melk: milk [noun] [de melk, no plural].
– Zuivel: dairy [noun] [de zuivel, no plural].
– Slaan: to hit [verb] [sloeg, geslagen].
– Slag: hit, strike, whip [noun] [de slag, de slagen].
– Room: cream [noun] [de room, no plural].

Extra:
Slagroomtaart
A very popular cake in the Netherlands is the "slagroomtaart". Perhaps it is even the default cake for birthdays. That’s why it has the nickname "de taart der taarten": ‘the cake of all cakes’, which by the way is also an example of the rare usage of the genitive case in Dutch. Go wild and make your own "slagroomtaart" following this site’s recipes.

Mijlpaal – DWOTD 500

milestone, landmark [noun] [de mijlpaal, de mijlpalen] Iconspeaker_3

Milestone
"Mijlpaal" is composed of
"mijl" and "paal", which respectively translate to "mile" and "pole". The English "milestone"
apparently transforms into a "milepole" in Dutch 🙂
Just like in English the word "mijlpaal" is used to refer to an important event in history or in one’s life, and it is of course also a very popular project management term, see the Examples.

Examples:
– "Vandaag de 500e DWOTD! Een ongelofelijke
mijlpaal, al zeggen we het zelf 😉 ."

("Today it’s DWOTD 500! An incredible milestone, even though we say so ourselves 😉 .")

– "Dit project heeft de volgende
mijlpalen en resultaten
:" 
("This project has the following milestones and results:")

– "En, heb je je mijlpaal bereikt, of heeft het werk vertraging opgelopen?" 
("And, have you reached your milestone, or has the work been delayed?" Note the expression "vertraging oplopen": "to get behind", where "vertraging" means delay.)

Related words:
– Prestatie: achievement [noun] [de prestatie, de prestaties].
– Paal: post, stake, pole [noun] [de paal, de palen].
– Kilometer: kilometre [noun] [de kilometer, de kilometers].
– Hectometerpaal(tje): ‘hectometre marker/stone’ [noun] [de paal, de palen].
– Project: project [noun] [het project, de projecten].

Extra:
Hectometerpaaltje
In the old days, "mijlpalen" or
milestones were used to indicate the distance of one mile relative to a city
gate or next milestone, to inform travellers about their position. The modern
Dutch equivalent is the so-called "hectometerpaal", which is
located along the main roads in the Netherlands ("provinciale wegen" and "rijkswegen"). Y
ou often hear the word "hectometerpaal" or its diminutive "hectometerpaaltje" on the Dutch traffic news
to warn you for speed radars along the motorway. When you are not sure about the
speed limit, just check out the speed limit sign on the "hectometerpaaltjes". If there is no speed limit sign, the motorway speed limit
is 120km/h (on a "snelweg").
For more info, see "hectometerpaal"
at Wikipedia.

Ouwehoeren

1. to talk rubbish/nonsense/crap/bullshit [verb] [ouwehoerde, geouwehoerd] Iconspeaker_3No_bullshit

"Ouwehoeren" is composed of "ouwe" (from "oud") and "hoer", which translate to "old" and "whore", hence the literal translation would be "to oldwhore"… The related noun "geouwehoer" can be more ore less translated with "old wives chattering", but somehow the old wives ended up has whores in the Dutch language…:-)

"Ouwehoeren" can be used in a negative and positive context, where in the first context it is best translated with "to talk rubbish" (see 1.) and in the latter context with "to chat(ter) (informally)" (see 2.).

Examples:
– "Wat bedoelt Frank daarmee?" – "Let er maar niet op, hij zit te ouwehoeren…"

("What does Frank mean by that?" – "Just don’t pay attention to it, he’s talking rubbish…")

– "Schat, ouwehoer niet zo en schiet op! We moeten nu gaan!!"

("Honey, don’t give me that crap en hurry up! We need to go now!!")

Expressions:
– "Uit zijn nek kletsen": to talk out of the back of one’s neck, to talk nonsense. Lit.: to talk out of one’s neck.

Related words:
– Geouwehoer: rubbish, (load of) crap, bullshit [noun] [het geouwehoer, <no plural>].

Example:
– "De kredietcrisis is de schuld van een wereldwijd financieel-militair complex." – "Geouwehoer!"
("The financial crisis is to be blamed on a global financial-military complex." – "Bullshit!")

– Kletskoek: waffle, twaddle, rubbish (talk), crap [noun] [de kletskoek, <no plural>].

– Kletspraat: waffle, twaddle, rubbish (talk), crap [noun] [de kletspraat, <no plural>].

2. to chat, to chatter, to chit-chat [verb] [ouwehoerde, geouwehoerd] Iconspeaker_3

In a positive context, "ouwehoeren" can be used when chatting while sitting back in a relaxed atmosphere.

Examples:
– "Wat hebben jullie gisteravond gedaan?" – "Een biertje gedronken en lekker geouwehoerd!"

("What did you do last night?" – "Had a beer and just chatted!"

– "Een beetje voetbal kijken en ouwehoeren over buitenspel, dat is wat mannen doen op zondagavond!"
("Just watching some football and chit-chatting about offside, that’s what men do on Sunday night!")

Related words:
Kletsen: to chat, to chatter, to chit-chat [verb] [kletste, gekletst].

Example:
– "Kinderen! Niet kletsen in de klas!"
("Children! No talking/chatting during class!")

– "Ohaën": (sometimes (incorrectly) spelled as OH-en) short for "OuweHoer-en": to talk rubbish.