Category Archives: DWOTD 1.0

Original DWOTD post 2006 – 2013

Stranden

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to be stranded, to strand Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[stran-den, strand-de, ge-strand]

Gestrande_reizigers
Derived from the noun "strand" (beach) this verb takes on the meaning of "washing ashore" (of goods), or "running aground/ashore" (of ships). However, it is more commonly used in its (figurative) translation of "to be stranded" or "to fail/strand". Note the ‘second d’ in the past tense.

Examples:
– "Ik heb medelijden met al die mensen die op de luchthaven zijn gestrand." 
("I feel sorry for all those people who stranded at the airport.")

– "Zijn vernieuwende plannen strandden al in een vroeg stadium." 
("His innovative plans already came to a hold at an early stage.")

– "Met een beetje geluk houdt die vulkaan weer op en strand ik niet op de terugweg!" 
("With a little luck this vulcano will stop again, and I won’t get stuck on the way back!")

– "De gestrande walvis trok veel bekijks." 
("The stranded whale drew a lot of attention." The word ‘bekijks’ is derived from ‘kijken‘: to look, to watch. ‘Bekijks trekken’ translates to something like ‘to draw look-upon’.)

Related words:
– Strand: beach [noun] [het strand, de stranden].
– Vast: fixed, attached, stuck [adverb/adjective].

Example:
– "Debbie en Nikki zijn gestrand in Bangkok en zitten nog vast tot zeker het einde van de maand."
("Debbie and Nikki stranded in Bangkok and are stuck until the end of the month at least.")

Geschikt

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Geschiktongeschikt
1. suitable Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]

The opposite of "geschikt" in the translation of ‘suitable/fit/appropriate’ is "ongeschikt" or "niet geschikt". The Dutch Ministry of Defence has a recruitment campaign in which they (jestingly) help you establish whether you are "geschikt" or "ongeschikt" for the military, see Extra below…

Another translation of "geschikt" is given in 2. below.

Examples:
– "Ik geloof niet dat deze koffer geschikt is om breekbare spullen in te vervoeren." 
("I don’t believe this suitcase is suitable for the transport of fragile items." Lit.: to transport fragile items in.)

– "Laat me niet lachen, jouw zoon is totaal ongeschikt voor het leger!" 
("You must be kidding me / don’t make me laugh, your son is completely unsuitable for the military!")

– "Kun je me later terugbellen, dit is niet een geschikt moment." 
("Can you call me back later, this is not a good moment.")

– "Deze man is niet geschikt voor deze functie, dat zie je onmiddellijk!" 
("This man is not suitable for this position, you can immediately tell." Lit.: that you see immediately!)

– "Weet jij nog een geschikte voorbeeldzin bij deze DWOTD?" 
("Do you know of another suitable example sentence with this DWOTD?")

– "Wat leuk dat je vader hertrouwd is; deze vrouw is veel geschikter voor hem!" 
("How nice that your father got remarried; this woman is a much better match for him!")

Related words:
–
Schikken: to arrange, to be convenient [verb] [schikte, geschikt].
– Bloemschikken: to arrange flowers [verb] [schikte bloem, bloemgeschikt].
– Ongeschikt: unsuitable [adjective].
– Gekwalificeerd: qualified [adjective].

Extra:
The "geschikt/ongeschikt" recruitment campaign for the Dutch military is quite successful in the sense that many people know the TV commercials and many people create their own parodies. Check out youtube for examples; this is one of the first original ones.

2. pleasant, reasonable/fair Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]

In this translation, "geschikt"  is commonly used as illustrated in the examples below.

Examples:
– "Wat vind jij van Emanuel?"  – "Nou, ik vind het een geschikte kerel!" 
("What do you think of Emanuel?" – "Well, I think he is a decent bloke/guy!")

– "Ik heb die tv gezien die jij op het oog hebt. Op internet, tegen een heel geschikte prijs!" 
("I have seen that TV that you are interested in. On the internet, for a very reasonable price!")

Je handen laten wapperen

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to be busy, to engage in physical work Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

"Je handen laten wapperen" literally means "to let your hands flutter" or "to let your hands move". Someone "laat zijn handen wapperen" when he is busy with physical work. The weak regular verb "wapperen" means "to flutter" and is also used to describe a flag that is blown by the wind.

Examples:Klussen_4
– "Als we allemaal even onze handen laten wapperen is het eten zo klaar." 
("If we all do something, dinner will be served in no time.")

– "Kom eens uit die stoel en laat je handen wapperen!" 
("Get out of that chair and so something!")

– "Verhuizen is een eitje als iedereen zijn handen even laat wapperen." 
("Moving is a piece of cake if everyone helps to do it.")

– "De vlag wapperde in de wind." 
("The flag was blowing in the wind.")

Expressions:
– De handen uit de mouwen steken: to put one’s shoulder to the wheel. Lit.: to stick one’s hands out of
the sleeves.

Related words:
– Wapperen: to flutter, to wave, to blow, to snap [verb] [wapperde, gewapperd].
– Hand: hand [noun] [de hand, de handen].

Extra:
Although not mentioned in the Dutch dictionary "Van Dale" (and therefore not eligible for dwotd) but widely used is the expression "losse handjes hebben" which literally means "to have loose hands" and relates to aggressive people who start a fight fast / hitting others fast.

Pietluttig

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niggling, picky, nitpicking on petty details Iconspeaker_3
[adjective]Pietluttig

"Pietluttig" can be used to qualify a person nitpicking on petty details, AND to qualify the petty details this person is nitpicking on…

Related nouns are "pietluttigheid": petty detail, and "pietlut": nitpicker, which is more or less synonymous to "mierenneuker".

"Pietluttig" is also more or less synonymous to "kleinzielig": petty.

Examples:
– "Doe niet zo pietluttig over de kleur van de deur, dit is een prachtig huis!" 
("Don’t be so picky on the colour of the door, this is a beautiful house!")

– "Beetje pietluttig van je om te klagen over Franks gedrag, terwijl jij mij ook verveelt met je onzin." 
("You’re a bit of a nitpicker to complain about Frank’s behaviour, while you annoy me too with your nonsense.")

– "Het leven is een aaneenschakeling van pietluttigheden…" – "Ben je met het verkeerde been uit bed gestapt of zo?." 
("Life is a concatenation of petty details…"  – "Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed, or what?")

Related words:
– Kleinzielig: petty [adjective].
– Bekrompen: narrow minded [adjective].

Example:
– "Mensen zijn soms zo bekrompen…" – "Zeg dat wel."
("People are so narrow minded sometimes…" – "You can say that again.")

– Mierenneuker: nitpicker [noun] [de mierenneuker, de mierenneukers].
– Muggenzifter: nitpicker [noun] [de muggenzifter, de muggenzifters].

Vervelen

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1. to bore, to annoy Iconspeaker_3
[transitive verb]Vervelen

[ver-ve-len, ver-veel-de, ver-veeld]

As a transitive verb, "vervelen" is used in the general construction "iemand met iets vervelen": to bore/annoy someone with something.

Check out 2. to see the use of "vervelen" as a reflexive verb: "zich vervelen".

Examples:
– "Verveel me niet met die onzin!" 
("Don’t annoy me with that nonsense!")

– "De dampkring bestaat uit vijf verschillende hoofdlagen. Wil je weten welke?" – "Nee, ga iemand anders vervelen met die saaie feiten." 
("The atmosphere consists of five different principal layers. Do you want to know which?" – "No, go bore someone else with those dull facts.")

Related words:
– Vervelend : annoying [adjective].

Example:
– "Iemand heeft punaises op mijn stoel gelegd!" – "Ach, wat vervelend…"
("Somebody has put thumb-tacks in my chair!" – "Ah, how annoying…")

– Irritant: annoying, bothersome, irritating [adjective].

2. to be bored Iconspeaker_3
[reflexive verb]
[zich ver-ve-len, ver-veel-de zich, h. zich ver-veeld]


As a reflexive verb, "vervelen" is used in combination with a reflexive pronoun. We don’t like to give you whole series of verb conjugations – that would be very "vervelend" and "saai" 🙂  – but this time we’ll make an exception…see Extra.

Examples:
– "Frank heeft zich tijdens de vergadering duidelijk verveeld, hij zat te hele tijd te gapen." 
("Frank was clearly bored during the meeting, he was yawning all the time.")

– "Britt is echt een feestbeest, ze verveelt zich nooit!" 
("Britt is really a party animal, she’s never bored!")

– "Ik verveel me, ik heb helemaal niks te doen…" 
("I am bored, I’ve got really nothing to do…")

Related words:
– Gapen: to yawn [verb] [gapen, gaapte , h. gegaapt].
– Saai: boring [adjective].

Example:
– "Laten we wel wezen, we waren nooit saai…"
("Let’s be fair, we were never being boring.")

Extra:

singular plural
1st person ik verveel me(zelf)/mij(zelf) wij vervelen ons(zelf)
2nd person je verveelt je(zelf), u verveelt u(zelf)/zich(zelf) jullie vervelen je(zelf), u verveelt u(zelf)/zich(zelf)
3rd person hij/zij/het verveelt zich(zelf) zij vervelen zich(zelf)