Category Archives: DWOTD 1.0

Original DWOTD post 2006 – 2013

Eisen

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to demand, to require, to claim Iconspeaker_3
[verb] Eisen
[ei-sen, eis-te, h. ge-ëist]

"Eisen" is a regular verb, but note that an ë appears in the past participle to avoid ambiguity in pronunciation. Related noun is "eis" (plural: "eisen"): demand, requirement, claim.

For the record…"eisen" has nothing to do with "ei" 🙂

Examples:
– "Het parlement heeft het vertrek van de minister geëist." 
("The parliament has demanded the minister's exit.")

– "Kom op zeg, wat je nu van me eist is echt belachelijk!" 
("Come on, your demands are really ridiculous!" Lit.: ",,,what you demand of me now…")

– "Ik eis dat ik nu word geholpen, dit is toch een ziekenhuis??" 
("I demand to be helped right now, this is a hospital, right??")

Expressions:
– "Op zijn/haar strepen staan": to pull rank. Lit.: to stand on one's stripes.

Related words:
– Eis: demand, claim, request, requirement [noun] [de eis, de eisen].
– Voorwaarde: condition, requisite [noun] [de voorwaarde, de voorwaarden/voorwaardes].

Ontwikkeling

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development, growth Iconspeaker_3 Ontwikkeling
[noun]
[de ont-wik-ke-ling, de ont-wik-ke-ling-en]

"Ontwikkeling" literally translates to something like "to un-wrapping". "To unwrap" usually translates to "uitpakken" in Dutch, which is usually the unwrapping of for example a present. Sometimes though, "uitpakken" figuratively translates to "to develop" or "to turn out", see also Related words.

Examples:
– "Het gebruik van zeep is zeer belangrijk voor de ontwikkeling van persoonlijke hygiëne." 
("The use of soap is very important for the development of personal hygiene.")

– "Dit is een zorgelijke ontwikkeling? Frank zal toch geen roet in het eten gooien?" 
("This is a disturbing development? Frank will not cause any trouble, will he?")

– "De ontwikkeling van dit vaccin heeft vele tegenslagen gekend." 
("The development of this vaccine has known many setbacks.")

Expressions:
– "Algemene ontwikkeling": general knowledge/education.

Example:
– "Je weet niet wie de koningin van Nederland is? Gast, dat is algemene ontwikkeling! Beatrix natuurlijk!!"
("You don't know who's the queen of the Netherlands?? Dude, that's general knowledge! Beatrix of course!!")

Related words:
– Ontwikkelen: to develop [verb] [ontwikkelen, ontwikkelde, h. ontwikkeld].
– Ontwikkelingshulp: development aid [noun] [de ontwikkelingshulp, <no plural>].
– Uitpakken: 1. to unwrap [verb] [uitpakken, pakte uit, h. uitgepakt]. 2. to develop, to turn out [verb] [uitpakken, pakte uit, i. uitgepakt].

Example:
– "Die beslissing is verkeerd uitgepakt."
("That decision has turned out to be wrong.")

– Vooruitgang: progress, improvement, headway [noun] [de vooruitgang, <no plural>].

Zeep

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soap Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de zeep, de ze-pen]

Zeep "Zeep" is the general word for soap. You will also hear 'handzeep' for liquid (hand) soap ('vloeibare zeep'). When discussing soap operas, we say soap 🙂 Read more in the Extra below on the recent death of the well-known Dutch (soap) actor Antonie Kamerling.

Examples:
– "De zeep is al een paar dagen op!" – "O, dat had ik nog niet gemerkt om eerlijk te zijn!" 
("We've been out of soap for a couple of days now!" -"Oh, I hadn't noticed yet to be honest!")

– "Als je naar Albert Heijn gaat, wil je dan handzeep kopen?" 
("When you go to Albert Heijn, could you please buy liquid/hand soap?")

– "Ik vind die zeepjes die je in hotels vindt echt bespottelijk. Daar kun je je toch niet mee wassen, of wel soms??" 
("I find those little pieces of soap one finds in hotels really ridiculous. One can't possible wash oneself with that, can one now??")

– "Voor het douchen gebruik ik liever douchegel dan zeep. Het is ook link, want voor je het weet glij je uit over een stuk zeep!" 
("When showering I prefer to use shower gel over soap. It's also tricky, because before you know you'll slip on a piece of soap!")

Expressions:
– "Iemand om zeep helpen": to kill/murder someone. 

Example:
– "In het wilde Westen werd je om het minste of geringste om zeep geholpen."
("In the Wild West you were killed on the slightest provocation." The word 'gering' translates as 'small, petty'.)

Related words:
– Schoon: clean [adjective].
– Wassen: to wash, to clean [verb] [waste, gewassen]. Note that 'wassen' can also mean 'to rise (of water)' or 'to grow', e.g. an 'adult' in Dutch is a 'volwassene' (a 'fully grown' one).
– Fris: fresh, clean [adjective].
– Hygiënisch: hygienic [adjective].
– Douchen: to take a shower [verb] [douchte, gedoucht].
– In bad gaan: to take a bath.
– Douchegel: shower gel [noun] [de gel, de gels].
– Inzepen: rubbing soap into, or 'the act of rubbing snow in somebody's face' [verb] [zeepte in, ingezeept].

Extra:
150px-Antonie_Kamerling In Dutch we also use the word 'soap' for the soap opera TV series. The most well-known soap in the Netherlands is "Goede tijden, slechte tijden" ('good times, bad times'). It's iconic in the sense that it was the first Dutch soap and it has been running for 20 years or so. Those living in the Netherlands may have noticed the news coverage on the suicide of Antonie Kamerling last week. Antonie Kamerling was part of the first crew of actors in 'Goede tijden, slechte tijden' and became a well-known Dutch actor (e.g. in the film "De kleine blonde dood"). He also scored a number 1 hit with the song 'Toen ik je zag', performed under the artist name "Hero" (originally written by Guus Meeuwis). The song was the number 1 iTunes download in the Netherlands end of last week…

(Picture taken from Wikipedia)

Roet in het eten gooien

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to make/cause trouble, to spoil (the fun) Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

Literally, “roet in het eten gooien” translates to “to throw soot in theRoet in het eten gooien food”. It is used when someone ruins or spoils a situation, or causes trouble that may prevent something (good) from happening.

Examples:
– “Zal Frank roet in het eten gooien met dat akkefietje?” 
(“Will Frank cause trouble with that little incident?”)

– “Gooit onze accountant weer roet in het eten? Weer een tegenslag voor het project!” 
(“Is our accountant making trouble again? Again a setback for the project!”)

– “We wilden vanmiddag gaan fietsen, maar het weer gooit roet in het eten: alleen maar miezeren…” 
(“We wanted to go biking this afternoon, but the weather is spoiling the fun: nothing but drizzle…”)

Related words:
– Bederven: 1. to spoil, to ruin [verb] [bederven, bedierf, bedorven] 2. to go bad <food>, to go sour <e.g. milk> [verb] [bederven, bedierf, bedorven].
– Roet: soot [noun] [het roet, <no plural>].
– Schoorsteenveger: chimney-sweep(er) [noun] [de schoorsteenveger, de schoorsteenvegers].
– Verpesten: to spoil, to ruin, synonymous to “roet in het eten gooien [verb] [verpesten, verpestte, h. verpest].

Example:
– “Ik ben razend! Frank heeft het hele feestje verpest met zijn onverkwikkelijke gedrag!”
(“I’m furious! Frank has ruined the entire party with his sordid behaviour!”)

Akkefietje

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little quarrel/disagreement/conflict, little (unpleasant) incident Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[het ak-ke-fiet-je, de ak-ke-fiet-jes]

laundry-413688_640As you may have guessed, “akkefietje” is a diminutive form, and is always used as such. There’s no such thing as an “akkefiet”…

The etymology is a bit unclear, but is suspected that it originates from “acquavitje”, an ironical reference to the Latin “aqua vitae”: brandy (probably used to sooth the conflict…). “Akkefietje” nowadays translates to “little quarrel/disagreement” or “little (unpleasant) incident”.

Examples:
– “Ik zit niet te wachten op een akkefietje met Frank…opzouten!.” 
(“I’m not looking for a quarrel with Frank…beat it!”)

– “Ik had een akkefietje op de snelweg: een of andere idioot haalde me rechts in…” 
(“I had a little incident on the highway: some idiot overtook me on the right…”)

– “Derek heeft een akkefietje met zijn dochter, ze heeft een aarsgewei laten zetten…” 
(“Derek has a little conflict with his daughter, she had an ass-cap tattooed…”)

Expressions:
– “Met iemand in de clinch liggen”: to be in a disagreement/fight with someone.
– “Met iemand overhoop liggen”: to be in a disagreement/fight with someone.

Related words:
– Aanvaring: 1. quarrel, conflict [noun] [de aanvaring, de aanvaringen]. 2. crash, collision [noun] [de aanvaring, de aanvaringen].
– Conflict: conflict [noun] [het conflict, de conflicten].
– Ruzie: trouble, fight [noun] [de ruzie, de ruzies].

Example:
– “Hee makker, zoek je ruzie?”
(“Hey pal, are you looking for trouble?”)

– Trammelant: trouble, hassle, fuss, fight [noun] [de trammelant, <no plural>].