Category Archives: DWOTD 1.0

Original DWOTD post 2006 – 2013

Geef mijn portie maar aan Fikkie!

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count me out, I'm out, I don't want any part of it Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[Geef mijn portie maar aan Fik-kie]

Achtbaan In this phrase "Fikkie" is a dog and it seems to be the name of choice when referring to a random dog 🙂 A "portie" is a "portion/dose/serving", so when you no longer want to participate or be a part of it, you give your share to… the dog.

Usually you use this phrase when talking to somebody else about whatever it is you quit.

Examples:
– "Ja dag! Mooi niet, geef mijn portie maar aan Fikkie!" 
("Forget it! No way, you can count me out!" In this case "dag" is pronounced with a prolonged "a".)

– "Ik heb echt alles geprobeerd, maar niets wat ik doe is goed. In haar ogen blijf ik een hufter. Nou weet je, als het zo moet, geef mijn portie dan maar aan Fikkie." 
("Really, I have tried everything, but everything I do is wrong. In her eyes I remain a bastard. Well you know, if this is the way it's going to be, then I don't want any part of it!" Lit.: "…, but nothing I do is good".)

– "…En nu doet hij alsof het allemaal zijn idee was! Nou ik kap er mee, geef mijn portie maar aan Fikkie!" 
("…And now he pretends it was all his idea! Well, I quit, he can count me out!")

– "Als jij in de achtbaan wil, prima, maar mij niet gezien; geef mijn portie maar aan Fikkie!" 
("If you want go for a roller coaster ride, fine, but rather you than me; you can definitely count me out!" Lit.: "If you want to go in the roller coaster…" "Achtbaan" ('eight track') is the general word used for roller coasters and the name refers to the "eight shape".)

Expressions:
– "Mij niet gezien": literally "not seen me" you can say this when you don't dare to do something and/or when you rather leave it to somebody else.

Related words:
– Portie: portion/serving/dose/share [noun] [de portie, de porties].
– Hond: dog [noun] [de hond, de honden].
– Geven: to give [verb] [gaf, gegeven].

Zedendelict

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sexual offence Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[het ze-den-de-lict, de ze-den-de-lic-ten] Zeden

Lots of sexual offences, especially against kids, have made the news recently. Criminal offences of a sexual nature are usually referred to as a "zedendelict" or "zedenmisdrijf", but a "zedendelict" can in principle comprise all offences against morals or social mores. "Zeden" is an old Dutch word for morals, customs, or social mores, which is hardly used in another context than that of sexual harrassment, sexual abuse, incest or rape. "Delict" is an offence, often a criminal one. 

Examples:
– "Het kindermisbruikschandaal op een Amsterdams kinderdagverblijf is een van de grootste zedendelicten van de afgelopen jaren." 
("The child abuse scandal at a day-care centre in Amsterdam is one of the largest sexual offences in the past years.")

– "Zijn ongewenste intimiteiten ook zedenmisdrijf?" 
("Is sexual harassment also a sexual offence?")

– "De zedendelinquent werd veroordeeld tot 4 jaar gevangenisstraf." 
("The sex offender was sentenced to four years in jail.")

– "De Katholieke Kerk is betrokken bij een omvangrijk zedenmisdrijfschandaal." 
("The Catholic Church is involved in a large-scale sexual offence scandal.")

– "Zedenleer is de leer van de zeden, of de ethiek." 
("Moral philosophy is the philosophy of moral, or ethics.")

Related words:
– Ongewenste intimiteiten: sexual harassment [literally: unwished-for intimacies][noun] [<no singular>, de intimiteiten].
– Aanranding: assault [noun] [de aanranding, de aanrandingen].
– Verkrachting: rape [noun] [de verkrachting, de verkrachtingen].
– Incest: incest [noun] [de incest, <no plural>].
– Zedendelinquent: sex offender [noun] [de zedendelinquent, de zedendelinquenten].

Extra:
As mentioned in previous posts, "een meisje van lichte zeden" is "a girl of easy virtue". This is one of the few times when "zeden" is used in Dutch language in a meaning other than "zedendelict".

Rechtbank

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court of law/justice Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de recht-bank, de recht-ban-ken] Rechtbank

You'd better stay away from them – unless you're in the audience to see Wilders from up close ;-) A "rechtbank" is a court of law. "Recht" is Dutch for "law" or "justice" and you will see this word appear in all forms: the judge is a "rechter", to become a judge he studied law ("rechten" or "rechtsgeleerdheid"), and it's his duty to deliver judgement ("rechtspreken") for the sake of justice ("gerechtigheid"). Literally, "recht" is "straight". 

Examples:
– "De rechtszaak wordt morgen behandeld door de rechtbank." 
("The lawsuit will be addressed by the court tomorrow.")

– "Als een juridische zaak spoedeisend is, wordt een kort geding aangespannen bij de rechtbank." 
("If a legal matter is urgent, it is discussed in summary proceedings at the court.")

– "Ga je de zaak (in der minne) schikken of ga je hem voor de rechtbank brengen?" 
("Are you going to settle the matter (amicably) or will you take it to court?")

– "Omdat een van de getuigen onwel werd, werd de zitting verdaagd." 
("Because one of the witnesses became unwell, the court was adjourned.")

– "Het Internationaal Joegoslavië Tribunaal in Den Haag klaagde Milosevic in 1999 aan; in 2002 verscheen hij voor de rechtbank." 
("The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague charged Milosevic in 1999; he appeared before the court in 2002.")

– "<Plaatje:> Politicus Wilders werd verdedigd door een van de bekendste advocaten van Nederland, Moszkowicz, en vrijgesproken." 
("<Picture:> Politician Wilders was defended by one of Netherlands' best best-known lawyers, Moszkowicz, and was acquitted of all charges.")

Expressions:
– "Recht doen (aan iets)": to do justice (to something).
– "Voor het gerecht dagen": to summon.
– "Een zaak aanhangig maken": To bring a case before the court.

Related words:
– Recht: the justice, the law [noun] [het recht, <no plural>].
– Wet: the law [noun] [de wet, de wetten].
– Tribunaal: the tribunal [noun] [het tribunaal, de tribunalen].
– Rechter: the judge [noun] [de rechter, de rechters].
– Advocaat: the lawyer [noun] [de advocaat, de advocaten].
– Gedaagde: the defendant [noun] [de gedaagde, de gedaagden].
– Gerechtshof: the court of law/justice [noun] [het gerechtshof, de gerechtshoven].
– Wetboek van Strafrecht: the penal/criminal code [noun] [het Wetboek van Strafrecht, <no plural>].
– Openbaar Ministerie: the Public Prosecutor [noun] [het Openbaar Ministerie, <no plural>].

Extra:
The difference between "rechtbank" and "gerechtshof" is that the former is the District Court and the latter the Court of Appeal.

Presentator

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presenter Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de pre-sen-ta-tor, de pre-sen-ta-tors / de pre-sen-ta-to-ren]

Willemruis In general a "presentator" (or "presentatrice" when female) is somebody who presents something. However, we mostly use it for radio or tv shows. When you give a lecture/presentation or are a speaker at a conference, we say "spreker". Somebody who introduces all speakers could be a "presentator" but can also be referred to as "gastheer" or "gastvrouw" ('host/hostess').

The related verb is "presenteren" ('to present'). A presentation is a "presentatie".

Examples:
– "Ik vind het een leuk programma, maar die presentator trek ik voor geen meter." 
("I like the show, but the presenter annoys me enormously." Lit.:"I think the show is nice, but…" Note the expressions "het niet trekken" (not being able to stand it, to not last long) and "voor geen meter" (not at all). )

– "De presentator van de middagsessie was bijna niet te verstaan. Gelukkig waren de sprekers wel goed." 
("The host of the afternoon session could hardly be heard. Luckily the speakers (themselves) were good." Here we use "wel" to emphasize that they were good as opposed to the host who was not.)

– "Een bekende Nederlandse tv-presentator uit de jaren tachtig is Willem Ruis." 
("A well-known Dutch TV host from the eighties is Willem Ruis.")

Related words:
– Presenteren: to present [verb] [presenteerde, gepresenteerd].
– Presentatie: presentation [noun] [de presentatie, de presentaties].

Example:
– "Sorry maar ik kan vanavond niet uit; ik moet morgenvroeg een belangrijke presentatie geven." – "Nou en, lekker belangrijk!"
("I'm sorry but I can't go out tonight; tomorrow morning I have to give an important presentation." – "So what, who cares?!")

– Gastheer/vrouw: host/hostess [noun] [de gastheer/vrouw, de gastheren/vrouwen].
– Spreken:to speak/talk [verb] [sprak, gesproken].

Example:
– "Volgende week ga ik naar een conferentie." – "Leuk, moet je ook spreken of ga je alleen luisteren?"
("Next week I'm going to a conference." – "Nice, do you also have to present or are just attending?" Lit. "… or are you only going to listen?")

– Spreker: speaker [noun] [de spreker, de sprekers]. 

 

Tegen beter weten in

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against (one’s) better judgement, while knowing better Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[te-gen be-ter we-ten in]

The implied verb in this phrase is “doen”. To do something against (one’s) better judgement, or while knowing better: “Tegen beter weten iets doen”. You can replace “doen” with other verbs of course, see the Examples.

Examples:
– “Tegen beter weten in haalde hij geen kaartje bij de parkeerautomaat.” 
(“Even though he knew better, he did not get a ticket at the (parking ticket) machine.” Note that it is common in Dutch to say “parkeerkaartje” for the ticket you get in order to pay for parking. The ticket machine is called “parkeerautomaat”. A “parking ticket” as in a “fine”, is “parkeerboete” in Dutch.)

– “Ik geef toe, ik heb het tegen beter weten in gedaan, maar ik vond het de gok waard. Achteraf gezien heeft het goed uitgepakt!” 
(“I admit, I did it against my better judgement, but I though it was worth the bet/shot. With hindsight it turned out well!”)

– “Tegen beter weten in bliezen de regeringsleiders de top af.” 
(“The heads of government cancelled the summit against their better judgement.”)

– “Ik dacht nog, zal ik mijn regenkleding meenemen… Maar helaas. Ach ja, ik doe wel vaker iets tegen beter weten in.” 
(“I thought to myself, shall I take my rain gear with me… But alas… Oh well, it’s not the first time I do something against better judgement.” Lit. “…, more often I do something against …”)

Related words:
– Weten: to know [verb] [wist, geweten].
– Waarschuwen: to warn [verb] [waarschuwde, gewaarschuwd].

Example:
– “Ik heb je nog zo gewaarschuwd! Je moet uitkijken bij het oversteken!”
(“Haven’t I warned you? You have to watch out when crossing (the road)!” Lit. “You have to watch out with the crossing.”)

– Beter: better [adjective/adverb].
– Achteraf: afterwards [adverb].
– Achteraf gezien: with hindsight.
– Dom/stom: stupid, silly, ignorant [adjective/adverb].
– Naïef: naive [adjective/adverb].