Category Archives: DWOTD 1.0

Original DWOTD post 2006 – 2013

Tig

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(so) many, a lot of Iconspeaker_3 Tig
[indefinite numeral]
[tig]

A you may know, a lot of Dutch numerals end with "-tig", for example: "twintig" (twenty), "dertig" (thirty), "veertig" (forty), etc. Now, the suffix "tig" can also be used separately, as an indefinte numeral that translates to "(so) many" or "a lot of".

"Tig" can also be used in combination with "honderd" (hundred), "duizend" (thousand), "miljoen" (million), "miljard" (billion), etc. See the Examples.

The use of "tig" is informal.

Examples:
– "Ik heb tig keer gebeld om de reis te annuleren, maar ik krijg steeds een antwoordapparaat." 
("I've called many times to cancel the trip, but I keep getting an answering machine.")

– "Ik heb haar tig standjes gegeven, maar ze wil niet luisteren." 
("I've given her a lot of reprimands, but she won't listen.")

– "Ik heb de TV van mijn oma al tig keer ingesteld, maar ze slaagt er iedere keer weer in de afstandsbediening kwijt te raken…" 
("I've set up my grandmother's TV so many times already, but every time she manages to lose the remote control…")

– "Ik heb geen zin om tig honderd euro te betalen voor een bekeuring…" 
("I don't feel like paying hundreds of euros on a fine…")

Related words:
– Vaak: often, many times [adverb].

Example:
– "Ik heb Franks bouwvakkersdecolleté te vaak gezien. Er zijn grenzen."
("I've seen Frank's builders cleavage too often. There are limits.")

– Veel: many, much [adverb/indefinite numeral].

Example:
– "Dit wordt me te veel, ik peer 'm."
("This is getting too much for me, I'm out of here.")

Overleven

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to survive Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[o-ver-le-ven, o-ver-leef-de, o-ver-leefd]

Overleven "Overleven" can be used both in the meaning of "to live through" and "to outlive". The related noun is "overlevende": survivor. Which is very different from an "overledene": deceased.

You may encounter the English noun "survival" in Dutch conversation; sometimes we use the English expression "survival of the fittest" instead of the Dutch alternative "recht van de sterkste(n)" or somebody may "op survival gaan" meaning he/she is going on a survival trip.

Examples:
– "Hoe gaan we dit in godsnaam overleven?" 
("How in God's name are we going to survive this?")

– "Hoe was je eerste werkdag?" – "Ach ja, ik heb het weer overleefd hè!" 
("How was your first day at work?" – "Oh well, I've survived it (you know)!")

– "De president heeft de aanslag overleefd, echter, drie van zijn lijfwachten zijn omgekomen." 
("The president survived the attack, however, three of his body-guards were killed." Note the verb "omkomen": to die, to be killed, to perish.)

– "En we kunnen weer rustig ademhalen mensen, het Nederlands elftal heeft de eerste ronde overleefd." 
("And we can breath comfortably again people, the Dutch team has survived the first round." Without context "Het Nederlands elftal" usually refers to the Dutch national team football/soccer, which consists of 11 players hence 'elftal'.)

– "Het stamhoofd heeft zijn kinderen reeds overleefd en lijkt vooralsnog niet van plan het loodje te leggen." 
("The tribal chief has already outlived his children and seemingly has no intention to die just yet." Note the informal expression "het loodje leggen": to kick the bucket, turn up one's toes, etc.)

– "Wanneer men in de jungle wil overleven, moet men niet te kritisch zijn wat eten betreft." 
("When one wants to survive in the jungle, one must not be too critical when it comes to food.")

Related words:
– Overlevende: survivor [noun] [de overlevende, de overlevenden].

Example:
– "Helaas zijn er geen overlevenden van de vliegramp."
("Unfortunately there are no survivors of the plane crash.")

– Overleving: survival [noun] [de overleving, <no plural>].

Annuleren

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to cancel Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[an-nu-le-ren, an-nu-leer-de, ge-an-nu-leerd]

Vertrekhal3 "Annuleren" is the general verb for "to cancel". When cancelling appointments or meetings with friends it is common to use the verb "afzeggen", see the Related words.

Examples:
– "Zullen we gewoon dit hotel boeken? We kunnen altijd nog annuleren…" 
("Why don't we just book this hotel? We can always cancel…")

– "Ja, mama ziet nu een schermpje met de knoppen 'OK' en 'Annuleren'. Wat moet ik nu doen? Kun je wat harder praten, mama kan je niet horen." 
("Yes, now mama sees a small window with two buttons 'OK' and 'Cancel'. What should I do next? Can you speak a little louder, mama can't hear you.")

– "Goedemiddag, u spreekt met Hans de Groot. Ik zou graag mijn reservering annuleren." 
("Good afternoon, this is Hans de Groot speaking. I would like to cancel my reservation.")

– "Het concert van vanavond is geannuleerd. U kunt uw geld terugkrijgen bij de kassa." 
("Tonight's concert has been cancelled. You can get your money back at the box/booking office.")

– "Het spijt me, maar uw vlucht is geannuleerd. Ik kan u omboeken naar de vlucht van 15u45." 
("I'm sorry, but your flight has been cancelled. I can book you on the 15h45 flight." )

Expressions:
– "Ergens van afzien": to decide not to do something, to think better of something.

Example:
– "Ik heb er nog even over nagedacht en ik zie toch af van de verkoop. Mijn excuses."
("I gave it some more thought and I've decided not to sell after all. My apologies.")

Related words:
– Afzeggen: to cancel [verb] [zei/zegde af, afgezegd]. Typically used for meetings/appointments.

Example:
– "Je zou toch weggaan vanavond?" – "Klopt, maar het gaat niet door, Frank heeft op het laatste moment afgezegd."
("Weren't you supposed to go out/away tonight?" – "Correct, but it was called off, Frank cancelled at the last moment.")

– Bevestigen: to confirm [verb] [bevestigde, bevestigd].
– Reserveren: to reserve [verb] [reserveerde, gereserveerd].
– Annulering: cancellation [noun] [de annulering, de annuleringen].
– Verzekering: insurance [noun] [de verzekering, de verzekeringen].
– Annuleringsverzekering: cancellation insurance [noun] [de ~verzekering, de ~verzekeringen].

Example:
– "Ik kan niet op vakantie gaan want ik ben ziek geworden. Gelukkig heb ik een annuleringsverzekering…"
("I can't go on holiday because I fell ill. Luckily I have cancellation insurance.")

Onderhouden

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to maintain, to support, to keep up, to keep in repair Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[on-der-hou-den, on-der-hield, on-der-hou-den]

Onderhouden "Onderhouden" has several translations, but I choose to cover them all at once 🙂

You can use "onderhouden" both for people (as in maintaining your social life) and objects (maintaining your house, servicing your car etc.). In case of people there is the additional translation of "to support, to provide for", see the Examples below.

The noun is "onderhoud" which you may also encounter in the meaning of a (formal) conversation/appointment. The associated verb in that case is reflexive: "zich onderhouden", although you will mostly hear the noun being used.

The adjective (or adverb) "onderhoudend" you will mostly encounter in the meaning of "entertaining, amusing"; the verb "onderhouden" in its translation of "to entertain" is less often used.

Examples:
– "Ik ben heel slecht in het onderhouden van contacten, en jij?" 
("I'm very bad at keeping in touch, what about you?" Lit.:"…at maintaining contacts".)

– "Te koop: Volkswagen Golf, bouwjaar 1993, dealer onderhouden." 
("For sale: 1993 Volkswagen Golf, serviced by dealership." Lit."Volkswagen Golf, year of manufacture 1993, …")

– "Zal ik huren of kopen?" – "Tja, ik weet het niet. Een koophuis zal op lange termijn in waarde toenemen, maar je moet het wel zelf onderhouden." 
("Should I rent or (should I) buy?" – "H'm, I don't know… A house that you own will increase in value in the long-term, however you will have to maintain it yourself." A "koophuis" can either mean a house that is for sale or 'owner-occupied'.)

– "Haar man is onlangs overleden, zielig hè?" – "Ja, en nu moet ze in haar eentje drie kinderen onderhouden." 
("Her husband has recently passed away, sad isn't it?" – "Indeed, and now she has to support three kids on her own…" Note the use of "in haar eentje"; an alternative would be "alleen": 'alone'.)

Related words:
– Onderhoud: maintenance/upkeep, support, conversation/hearing [noun] [het onderhoud, <no plural>].
– Onderhoudsbeurt: service, overhaul [noun] [de onderhoudsbeurt, de onderhoudsbeurten].
– Onderhoudscontract: (maintenance and) service agreement [noun] [het onderhoudscontract, de onderhoudscontracten].
– Onderhoudend: entertaining, amusing [adjective/adverb].

Example:
– "Ik beloof je dat je je niet zal vervelen; Frank is een heel onderhoudende gesprekspartner."
("I promise you that you will not be bored; Frank is a very entertaining guy to talk to." A "gesprekspartner" literally is a "conversation partner".)

Ik weet het zo net nog niet

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I'm not so sure / I don't know about that… Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[ik weet het zo net nog niet]

IkWeetHetZoNetNogNiet So how do you turn a simple "I don't know" ("Ik weet het niet") into "I'm not so sure?" Easy of course; just insert "zo net nog" 🙂 Note that you typically use this when you doubt what somebody else is claiming. When you are not sure in general, you can say "ik ben er niet zeker van" or "ik weet het niet zeker". 

You may also hear "ik weet het nog zo net niet" and "dat weet ik zo net nog niet".

Examples:
– "Ik ben ervan overtuigd dat we gaan winnen!"- "Nou, ik weet het zo net nog niet, je moet hun tactiek niet onderschatten!" 
("I'm convinced that we will win!" – "Well I am not so sure about that, don't underestimate their tactics!" Lit.:"… that we are going to win!" – "…, you must not underestimate …")

– "Ik weet het zo net nog niet hoor, volgens mij gaan we het niet redden." 
("I'm not so sure to be honest, I don't think we are going to make it.")

– "Dat examen is toch zeker geen probleem voor jou?" – "Ik weet het zo net nog niet, het slagingspercentage is maar 40% ."  
("Surely that test will pose no problem for you?" – "I don't know about that, the pass rate is only 40% .")

Related words:
– Zeker: sure, certain [adjective].
– Overtuigd: convinced [adjective].

Example:
– "Hij is erg overtuigd van zijn gelijk. Een beetje meer bescheidenheid zou hem sieren!"
("He is very convinced he is in the right. A bit more modesty would suit him!" Lit.: "… adorns him!")

– Overtuigen: to convince [verb] [overtuigde, overtuigd].
– Twijfelen: to be in doubt / indecisive [verb] [twijfelde, getwijfeld].
– Twijfel: doubt [noun] [de twijfel, de twijfels].