Category Archives: DWOTD 1.0

Original DWOTD post 2006 – 2013

Hart

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heart
[noun] [het hart, de har-ten]

Not to be confused with "hard", which translates to "hard".

Examples:
1. "Hun vader moest een zware hartoperatie ondergaan."
("Their father had to undergo a major heart surgery.")

2. "Vol verwachting klopt ons hart."
("With expectation, our heart is pounding", from a well known "Sinterklaasliedje", see "DWOTD 36. Kloppen".)

3. "Hij heeft nog steeds een gebroken hart."
("He still has a broken heart.")

Expressions:
There are a lot of expressions with "hart"! Here's a selection:

1. "Een hart onder de riem steken."
("To hearten someone", literally: "to put someone a heart under the belt.")

2. "Zij heeft het hart op de juiste plaats."
("She's a good person." Literally: "She has her heart at the right place.")

3. "Zij is een vrouw naar mijn hart."
("She's a woman after my heart.")

4. "Uit het oog, uit het hart."
("Out of sight, out of mind." Literally: "Out of the eye, out of the heart.")

5. "Zij heeft het hart op de tong liggen."
("She wears her heart on her sleeve." Literally: "She has her heart lying on her tongue.")

6. "Zij heeft hart voor de zaak."
("She has her heart in the matter.")

7. "Waar het hart van vol is, loopt de mond van over."
("out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Literally: "The mouth runs over of which the heart is full.")

8. "Met hart en ziel."
("With heart and soul.")

9. "Iemand iets op het hart drukken."
("To urge someone to do something." Literally: "To press someone something to the heart.")

10."Ik hield mijn hart vast."
("My heart missed a beat / I had my heart in my mouth/throat." Literally: "I was holding my heart.")

Related Words:
1. "Hartendief": darling, sweetheart. Literally: "heart's thief".
2. "Hartenbreker": heartbreaker.
3. "Hartverwarmend": heartwarming.
4. "Hartig": tasty, hearty, well-seasoned, piquant.
5. "Barmhartig": merciful, clement, charitable. Used in "de barmhartige Samaritaan": "the good Samaritan".

Extra:
"De Nederlandse hartstichting": The Dutch Heart Association.
http://www.hartstichting.nl

Waaien

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Grammar: <waaien> [verb] [waaide, h. gewaaid].

Translates to: to blow (by the wind).

The verb "waaien" usually has the wind as its implicit subject. Variations on "waaien" exist that involve other subjects than the wind, see ‘Related words’.

Examples:
1. "Het heeft hard gewaaid afgelopen nacht."
("It was very windy/There was a strong wind last night." Literally: "It has blown hard …")

2. "Hoor de wind waait door de bomen…"
("Hear, the wind blows through the trees…" First sentence of a well-known "Sinterklaasliedje". See "DWOTD 36. Kloppen" for other Sinterklaasliedjes and information on "Sinterklaas".)

Expressions:
1. "Laat maar waaien!": let it go, don’t bother about it!
2. "Zoals de wind waait, waait zijn jasje.": he has no opinion of his own. Literally: like the wind blows, so does his jacket/coat.

Related words:
1. "Omwaaien": to be blown over (by the wind).

Example: "Mijn fiets is omgewaaid." ("My bicycle …")

2. "Wegwaaien": to be blown away (by the wind).

Example: "Mijn pet is weggewaaid." ("My cap …")

3. "Uitwaaien": to be blown out (by the wind).

Example: "De kaars is uitgewaaid." ("The candle …") See also "DWOTD 32. Kaars".

Another use of the verb "uitwaaien" is to walk in the wind and clear your mind, typically at the coast.

4. "Overwaaien": to blow over (by the wind) and figuratively: arrive somewhere quickly from somewhere else, usually a phenomenon.

Example: "Grunge is overgewaaid van Amerika naar Europa."
("Grunge came to Europe from America.")

Another use of this verb is to say that a bad mood or a hard time will go past (eventually). Typical usage: "Het waait wel weer over!" ("It will pass!")

5. "Aanwaaien": to be blown at you/in your direction by the wind.

Example: "Kijk, er komt een ballon aanwaaien!"
("Look, a balloon is blown in our direction (by the wind)!")

Expression:
"Het komt hem allemaal maar aanwaaien.": He succeeds without effort, he does not have to put energy into something and still has success.
Usually when this expression is used it expresses some degree of envy.

And then there are more verbs with "waaien", but we thought this would be enough 🙂

Engel

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angel [noun] [de engel, de engelen]

The word “angel” also exists in Dutch but it translates to “sting” (of a bee or wasp, for example).

Examples:
1. “Ramie, je bent een engel!”
(<gratefully:> “Ramie, you are an angel!”)

2. “Die moeder van vijf kinderen heeft echt engelengeduld!”
(“That mother of five children really has the patience of a saint!”)

3. “De aartsengel Gabriel komt zowel in het christendom als in de islam voor.”
(“The archangel Gabriel exists in Christianity as well as in the Islam.”)

4. “In de film ‘City of Angels’ speelt Nicholas Cage een engel die verliefd wordt op een sterfelijke vrouw, gespeeld door Meg Ryan.”
(“In the movie ‘City of Angels’, Nicholas Cage plays an angel who falls in love with a mortal woman, played by Meg Ryan.”)

5. “Daar hoorden zij d’engelen zingen.”
(“There, they heard the angels sing”, a line from a famous Dutch Christmas song ‘De herdertjes lagen bij nachte’ (‘The little shepherds lay by night’),see http://www.liedjesland.com/Liedjes/Kerstliedjes/DeHerdertjes/DeHerdertjesLagenBijNachte.htm)

Related Words:
1. “Vleugel”: wing.
2. “Hemel”: heaven.
3. “Hel”: hell.
4. “Duivel”: duivel.
5. “Demoon”: demon.

Example:
” ‘Angels and Demons’ van Dan Brown is in het Nederlands niet vertaald met ‘Engelen en demonen’ maar met ‘Het Bernini Mysterie’.”
(“Dan Brown’s ‘Angels and Demons’ has not been translated into Dutch with ‘Engelen en Demonen’ but with ‘Het Bernini Mysterie’ “).

 

Dip

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Grammar: <dip> [noun] [de dip, de dips].

Translates to:
1. dip, breakdown, collapse.
2. dip, depression, recession.
3. dip, submersion (in a liquid substance).

Examples:
1. "Frank zit al weken in een dip op zijn werk."
("For weeks now, Frank is having a hard time at work.")

2. "Ik zit een beetje in een dipje."
(<informal> "I’m feeling a bit down.")

3. "Onze economie heeft jaren in een dip gezeten."
("Our economy has been in a recession for years.")

4. "Dat is een lekkere dipsaus!"
("That’s a tasty dipping sauce!")

5. "Neem even een dip in de pool, daar koel je van af…"
("Just take a dip in the pool, it will cool you off…")

Officially, "dip in de pool" is not correct Dutch (since it is English more or less 🙂 ) but during (rare) hot summer days, this expression can often be heard.

Related Words:
1. "Dal": depression, literally: "valley".
2. "Kater": hangover, literally: "tomcat".
3. "Depressie": depression.
4. "Oppeppen": [verb] to pep (up), to tone up.
5. "Oppepper": [noun] boost, lift, tone up.

Example:
"Ik heb even een oppepper nodig; doe mij maar een dubbele espresso."
("I need a boost just now; I’ll have a double espresso.")

Extra:
Read more about different dipping sauces at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipping_sauce .

Ober

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waiter [noun] [de ober, de obers]

Although this is a common Dutch word, it is not really used to draw the waiter’s attention (other than Dutch people mocking the upper class and imitating their posh accent for which "ober" is a very suitable word).
In real life, if you want to draw the waiter’s attention, just use the general "meneer" ("sir").

Examples:
1. "Ober, er zit een vlieg in mijn soep."
("Waiter, there is a fly in my soup.")

An old series of bad Dutch jokes exists of which each joke starts out with this sentence. For that reason, this is a well-known Dutch sentence (but the jokes are really bad).

2. "Heb jij de ober al gezien?"
("Have you seen the waiter yet?")

3. "In Spanje zijn de obers vaak chagrijnig."
("In Spain, the waiters are often moody.")

Related words:
1. "Bediening": service (see also 41. Afstandsbediening).
2. "Serveerster": waitress.

Extra:
Currently a new Dutch movie is out called "Ober" by director and actor Alex van Warmerdam. Van Warmerdam stands out in Dutch film making because he creates somewhat absurdist films. Read more about Alex van Warmerdam and his films at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_van_Warmerdam