Category Archives: Vocabulary Basic

Waardeloos

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useless, worthless, no good at all Iconspeaker_3 Waardeloos
[adjective]
[waar-de-loos]

"Waardeloos" is composed of "waarde" and "loos", which respectively translate to "worth/value" and "-less".

In English there's a very good translation for "waardeloos zijn" (to be worthless/no good at all): to suck. And because we liked it so much, we even introduced the figurative meaning back into (informal) Dutch: "zuigen" is used when something is no good at all, see also Related words.

Examples:
– "Franks presentatie was echt waardeloos…balen…" 
("Frank's presentation was really no good at all…disappointing…")

– "Nuchter zijn terwijl de rest dronken is, is echt waardeloos!" 
("To be sober while the rest is drunk really sucks!")

– "Alweer een remspoor in het toiletpot…echt waardeloos!" 
("Again a skid mark in the toilet bowl…that really sucks!")

– "Mijn huisbaas is echt een waardeloze vent… als er iets kapot is, duurt het een eeuwigheid voordat hij het repareert." 
("My landlord is really a worthless guy…when something is broken, it takes an eternity for him to fix it.")

Expressions:
– "De moeite niet waard": not worth the effort.

Related words:
– Ellende: misery, distress [noun] [de ellende, <no plural>].
– Goed: good [adjective].
– Slecht: bad [adjective].
– Waarde: value [noun] [de waarde, de waarden/waardes].
– Waarderen: 1. to appreciate 2. to value [verb] [waarderen, waardeerde, h. gewaardeerd].
– Zuigen: to suck [verb] [zuigen, zoog, gezogen].

Example:
– "Hoe gaat het met je?" – "Kommer en kwel, jongen…" – "Dat zuigt, gast…"
("How are you?" – "All sorrow and misery, buddy…" – "That sucks dude…")

Hoe dan ook

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anyway, nevertheless, nonetheless, one way or the other, no matter what Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]Hoe dan ook

“Hoe dan ook” is composed of “hoe”, “dan” en “ook”, which respectively translates to “how“, “then” and “too“. “Hoe dan ook” is used in situations where you go into a certain direction, although there are reasons to go into another direction. Sounds a bit vague, doensn’t it? 🙂 Just check out the Examples.

Examples:
– “Hoe dan ook, de huisbaas is een bullebak, wat je ook zegt.” 
(“Nevertheless, the landlord is a bully, no matter what you say.”)

– “Mam, ik ga naar dat feestje vanavond, hoe dan ook!” – “Geen sprake van, jongedame!” 
(“Mum, I am going to that party tonight, no matter what!” – “No way, young lady!”)

– “Frank is zo oppervlakkig de laatste tijd…” – “Hij heeft hoe dan ook hulp nodig…” 
(“Frank is so shallow lately…” – “One way or the other, he needs help…”)

Expressions:
– “In ieder geval”: at least, anyway.

Example:
– “Kun je me in ieder geval zeggen hoe laat het is?”
(“Can you at least tell me what time it is?”)

– “Hoe het ook zij”: be this as it may.

Example:
– “Hoe het ook zij, feit is dat Valentijnsdag behoorlijk commercieel is.”
(“Be this as it may, fact is that Valentine’s day is pretty commercial.”)

Related words:
– Desalniettemin: nevertheless, nonetheless.
– Sowieso: anyhow, in any case.

Example:
– “Door de spits zal ik sowieso niet op tijd zijn…”
(“In any case, I won’t be on time because of rush hour.”)

Hulp

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help, assistance Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de hulp, de hul-pen]

Hulp "Hulp" is the Dutch noun for "help", however the verb "to help" is "helpen" and not "hulpen", which is the plural of "hulp". Let's see if the examples will help 🙂

Examples:
– "Bedankt voor je hulp, zonder jou was het niet gelukt!" 
("Thanks for your help, I wouldn't have been able to do it without you!" Lit.:"…, without you it would not have succeeded.")

– "Als een Nederlander om "hulp" roept, dan schreeuwt hij 'help!' " 
("When a Dutch person screams for "help", he or she screams 'help!' ")

– "Het is zaak dat jongeren in een vroeg stadium de juiste hulp geboden wordt. Daarmee kunnen we veel problemen voorkomen." 
("It's imperative that young people are offered the right help at an early stage. By doing so we can prevent many problems.")

– "Volgens mij heeft Sander professionele hulp nodig, wat denk jij?" 
("I think Sander needs professional help, what do you think?")

– "Voor de laatste keer: ik heb jouw hulp niet nodig, ik heb niet om jouw hulp gevraagd, ik kan op eigen benen staan!" 
("For the last time: I do not need your help, I did not ask for your help, I can support myself!" Lit.", .. I can stand on (my) own legs!")

– "Wat sta je nu te kijken, bied die arme vrouw je hulp aan!" 
("What are you looking at, offer that poor lady your assistance!")

Related words:
– Helpen: to help [verb] [hielp, geholpen].
– Hulpeloos: helpless [adjective/adverb].
– Assistentie: assistance [noun] [de assistentie, <no plural>]. Often used with the verb "verlenen": to offer assistance.
– Hulp in de huishouding: cleaning lady, help with the housekeeping [noun] [de hulp, de hulpen]. This is a bit more general than just "cleaning lady" which would be "schoonmaakster" in Dutch. A popular politically correct alternative is "interieurverzorger/ster": "somebody looking after your (house) interior". 
– Eerste Hulp Bij Ongelukken (EHBO): first aid [noun] [de EHBO, <no plural>].
– Spoedeisende hulp: emergency room. Literally "urgency-requiring help".
– Kraamhulp: maternity assistant [noun] [de kraamhulp, de kraamhulpen]. 

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].