1. leg [noun] [het been, de benen] [‘been‘]

"Been" in the translation of "leg" is used for humans. Animals have "poten" (singular: "poot"), except for horses. These are considered high-bred hence they have "benen" (and a "hoofd" for example, instead of a "kop").

Many expressions with "been" exist, we have listed a few.

Examples:
– "Ik kan niet opstaan; mijn been slaapt!"
("I can’t get up; my leg is asleep!")

– "De spits speelde zijn tegenstander de bal door de benen."
("The forward played the ball through his opponent’s legs." Literally: "…played his opponent the ball through the legs.")

– "Wist je dat wielrenners hun benen scheren?"
("Did you know that racing cyclists shave their legs?")

Related words:
– "Benenwagen": literally the "legs car" this is said informally when you will travel on foot.

Example:
– "Hoe ga jij naar de stad vanmiddag?" – "Met de benenwagen."
("How will you go downtown this afternoon?" – "On foot.")

– "Arm": arm.
– "Poot": leg (animal).

Expressions:
– "Op eigen benen leren staan": to learn to take care of yourself, lit. "to learn how to stand on own legs".

– "Op de been blijven": to remain on one’s feet.

– "Met het verkeerde been uit bed stappen": to get out of bed on the wrong side (lit. "with the wrong leg").

– "De benen nemen": to flee, to bolt.

– "De benen strekken": to stretch one’s legs.

2. bone [noun] [het been, de beenderen] [‘been‘]

Expression:
– "Als twee honden vechten om een been, loopt de derde ermee heen": two dogs fight for a bone, and a third one runs away with it.

Related words:
– "Bot": bone.
– "Kluiven": to gnaw, also "afkluiven".
– "Kluif": a bone for a dog to gnaw at.

1. job [noun] [de baan, de banen] [‘baan‘]

"Baan" is only used for "job" in the meaning of your daily work or a position/post in a company. Expressions such as "nice job" or, "that should do the job", are not translated with "baan".

Examples:
– "Ik ben op zoek naar een nieuwe baan."
("I’m looking for a new job." Lit.: "I’m on (the) search for a new job.")

– "De perfecte baan bestaat niet."
("There’s no such thing as a perfect job." Lit.: "The perfect job does not exist.")

– "Veel scholieren hebben een vakantiebaantje in de zomer."
("Many high/secondary school students have a summer job." Lit.: "… have a little holiday job in the summer.")

Related word:
– "Bijbaantje": job on the side.
– "Vacature": vacancy.

2. lane, strip, track, court [noun] [de baan, de banen] [‘baan‘]

Examples:
– "Je moet hier van baan wisselen schatje, anders rijden we de verkeerde kant op!"
("You should switch lanes here honey, or we’ll head in the wrong direction!")

– "In Nederland zijn er veel tweebaans snelwegen."
("In the Netherlands, there are many two-lane motor/freeways.")

– "Hoeveel landingsbanen heeft Schiphol?"
("How many landing-strips does Schiphol Airport have?")

– "Er zijn veel tennisbanen op Wimbledon."
("Wimbledon has many tennis courts." Lit.: "There are many…")

Related words:
– "Rijstrook": lane.
– "Baanbrekend": ground breaking.
– "Schaatsbaan": skating rink.
– "Racebaan": race track.

Expressions:
– "Het is van de baan": It’s off, it’s not going to happen anymore.
– "Iets in goede banen leiden": to steer something in the right direction.
– "Op de lange baan schuiven": to postpone something indefinitely.

3. trajectory, orbit [noun] [de baan, de banen] [‘baan‘]

Examples:
– "De maan draait in een baan om de aarde, en de aarde in een baan om de zon."
("The moon orbits the earth, and the earth orbits the sun." Lit.: "The moon turns in an orbit around the earth, and the earth in an orbit around the sun.")

– "De baan van de raket wordt continu bijgesteld door geavanceerde software."
("The rocket’s trajectory is continuously adjusted by advanced software.")

to tidy/clean up, to put away, to clear out [verb] [ruimde op, opgeruimd] [‘op-rui-mun‘]

“Opruimen” usually involves putting away or reordering objects 🙂 Cleaning in the general sense is translated with the verb “schoonmaken” (“to make clean”).
(Photo: Erik Vos (flickr.com) – some rights reserved.)

The noun “opruiming” is generally only used for the sale or clearance in a store. Note that it is very common to use the English “sale” signs in shops even though in speech it is mostly “opruiming”.

Examples:
– “Mamma mag ik buiten spelen?” – “Straks, eerst moet je je kamer opruimen!”
(“Mum/mom, can I go outside and play?” – “Later, first you need to tidy up your room!”)

– “Mijn directeur heeft altijd een heel opgeruimd bureau; het lijkt wel alsof hij helemaal niets doet!”
(“My manager/director always has a very tidy desk; it seems as if he doesn’t do anything at all!”)

– “Sommige stelletjes spenderen een deel van het weekend aan het opruimen van het huis.”
(“Some couples spend parts of the weekend on tidying up the house.” It is common to use the diminutive “stelletje” for a young couple (as opposed to “stel” in general).)

– “De opruiming is begonnen. Zullen we dit weekend gaan winkelen?”
(“Sale has started. Shall we go shopping this weekend?”)

– “Na het hardlopen heb ik altijd een heel opgeruimd hoofd.”
(“After running/jogging, I always have a clear/empty mind.”)

– “Opruimen is als meditatie voor mij, eerst is het een zooitje, maar daarna is alles netjes!”
(“Cleaning/tidying up is like meditation to me, first it is a mess, but afterwards everything is neat and tidy!”)

Expressions:
– “Opgeruimd staat netjes”: literally “cleaned/tidied up looks neat” this is said when having concluded your “opruimen”, or it can be used ironically when for example you got rid off somebody unwanted.

– “Een opgeruimd gevoel hebben”: to be in a relaxed mood (after having dealt with issues). Literally: to have a cleaned up feeling.

Related words:
– “Magazijnopruiming”: storage clearance.
– “Opslag”: storage. Derived from “opslaan”: to store.
– “Berging”: storage room. Derived from “opbergen”: to put away.
– “Opbergen”: to put away (with the aim of tidying up).
– “Voordeel”: advantage, benefit, discount.
– “Aanbieding“: special offer, discount.
– “Korting”: discount.
– “Ruimen”: to cull (when ill livestock or poultry have to be killed).
– “Schoonmaken”: to clean.