Category Archives: Vocabulary Basic

Stilte

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silence, quiet, stillness Click to listen
Stilte
[noun]
[de stil-te, de stil-tes/stil-ten]

A "stilte" is a silence. Related adjective is "stil": silent, quiet, still. There's also the verb "stillen", which would literally translate to "to make quiet". "Stillen" is never used in this literal sense though. In Dutch, you can say for example "je dorst/honger stillen": to quench your thirst / satisfy your hunger.

Examples:
– "Stilte! Ik vermoord je!" 
("Silence! I kill you!")

– "Er viel een grote stilte in de rechtszaal toen de moordenaar werd binnengebracht." 
("A great silence fell in the courtroom when the murderer was brought in.")

– "Dit is wat je noemt een ongemakkelijke stilte." 
("This is what you call an awkward silence.")

Expressions:
– "Een oorverdovende stilte": (lit.: an ear-numbing silence) a roaring silence.

Related words:
– Fluisteren: to whisper [verb] [fluisteren, fluisterde, h. gefluisterd].
– Lawaai: noise, tumult, uproar, racket [noun] [het lawaai, <no plural>].

Example:
– "Te veel lawaai hier, ik ben weg,
toedeledoki!" 

("Too much noise in here, I'm
gone, cheerio!")

– Stil: silent, quiet, still [adjective].

Extra:
In Dutch trains, you may see so called "stiltecoupés". They are train compartments whereStiltecoupe it's not allowed to make noise… "Stiltecoupés" have windows with "SILENCE [S] STILTE" on them, and each  compartment has stickers like the picture on the right. The exact "stiltecoupé" rules and rules of conduct are one of the best kept secrets in the Netherlands 🙂 and topic of many a discussion. The general idea is not to disturb your fellow passengers, but of course everybody has a different definition of "disturb"…

Antwoord

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answer, reply, response Click to listen
[noun]
[het ant-woord, de ant-woor-den]

doubt-623847_640An “antwoord” is a verbal or written reaction: an answer. “Antwoord” is composed of “ant” and “woord” of which the latter translates to “word”. “Ant” is probably from “anti”…

“To answer” translates to either “antwoorden” (intransitive verb), “beantwoorden” (transitive verb), or “antwoord geven” (lit.: to give answer).

Examples:
– “Geef antwoord!” 
(“Answer me!”)

– “Weet jij het antwoord op dit raadsel?” 
(“Do you know the answer to this
riddle?”)

– “Je antwoord bevalt me niet.” – “Misschien hebben we een misverstand hier…”
(“I don’t like your answer.” – Maybe we have a misunderstanding here…” Lit.: “Your answer does not please me.”)

– “Frank krijgt nooit antwoord op de liefdesbrieven die hij schrijft…hij is een beetje zielig…” 
(“Frank never gets an answer to the love letters he writes…he’s a bit pathetic…”)

– “Ik heb het antwoord op al je vragen!” 
(“I have the answer to all your questions!”)

– “Vraag & antwoord.” 
(“Question & answer.”)

Expressions:
– “Op antwoord wachten”: to wait for an answer. See also Extra.
– “Het antwoord schuldig (moeten) blijven”: to not be able to give an
answer / to not know the answer.

Example:
– “Ik moet je het antwoord helaas schuldig blijven.” – “Het geeft niet.”
(“I’m afraid I don’t know the answer.” – “It doesn’t matter.”)

Related words:
– Antwoordapparaat: answering machine [noun] [het antwoordapparaat, de antwoordapparaten].
– Vraag: question [noun] [de vraag, de vragen].
– Vragen: to ask [verb] [vragen, vroeg, h. gevraagd].

Example:
– “Pardon, mag ik u iets vragen?” – “Vanzelfsprekend.”
(“Excuse me, may I ask you something?” –
“Naturally.”)

Extra:
In Dutch schools, the following memory aid used to be taught to remember the correct order of mathematical operations:

“Meneer Van Dale Wacht Op Antwoord”

M = “Machtsverheffen”: exponents (lit.: to raise to a power).

V = “Vermenigvuldigen”: multiplication (lit.: to multiply).

D = “Delen”: division (lit.: to divide).

W = “Worteltrekken”: roots (lit.: to extract a root).

O = “Optellen”: addition (lit.: to add).

A = “Aftrekken”: subtraction (lit.: to subtract).

Currently, the order that is taught is:
1. (haakjes) – brackets
2. machtsverheffen en worteltrekken – exponents and roots.
3. vermenigvuldigen en delen – multiplication and division.
4. optellen en aftrekken – addition and subtraction.

Lliterally “Meneer Van Dale Wacht Op Antwoord” translates to “Mister
Van Dale is waiting for an answer”. Van Dale
is also the name a well-known and authoritative dictionary of the Dutch
language.

Raadsel

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 riddle/puzzle, mystery/enigma Click to listen
[noun]
[het raad-sel, de raad-sels]

crossword-146860_640Een ‘raadsel’ in Dutch can be used in the meaning of riddle or mystery. Serious mysteries or enigmas however are called ‘mysterie’ or … ‘enigma’ 🙂 It is also more common to use the diminutive in case of a riddle: raadseltje. The word “puzzel” in Dutch is typically used for crossword or jigsaw puzzles.

Examples:
– “Weet jij nog een leuk raadseltje?” 
(“Do you know another fun riddle?”)

– “Om de deur te kunnen openen, moest de avonturier eerst een raadsel oplossen.” 
(“In order to be able to open the door, the adventurer had to solve a riddle first.”)

– “Volgens de politie is het een raadsel hoe de inbreker ongezien het schilderij mee heeft kunnen nemen.” 
(“The police say that it is a mystery how the burglar was able to take the painting with him unnoticed.”)

– “Weet jij de oplossing van het volgende raadsel?” 
(“Do you know the solution to the following puzzle?”)

What is the next number?
1
11
21
1211
111221
…

Expressions:
– “Het is mij/me een raadsel!”: it’s a mystery/puzzle to me.

Example:
– “Het is me een raadsel hoe Sieneke niet de finale van het Eurovisie Songfestival heeft kunnen halen!” – “Een raadsel? Echt niet, laten we wel wezen, dat liedje slaat toch nergens op!”
(“It’s a mystery to me how Sieneke was not able to make it to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest!”- “A mystery? No way, let’s be fair, that song is ridiculous!”)

– “Voor een raadsel staan”: to be puzzled/baffled.

Example:
– “Ik sta echt voor een raadsel! Zojuist had ik mijn sleutels nog, maar nu zijn ze alweer kwijt!”
(“I’m really baffled! Just now I still had my keys, but now I seem to have lost them again!”)

Related words:
– Raadselachtig: mysterious, enigmatic [adverb/adjective].
– Puzzel: crossword or jigsaw puzzle [noun] [de puzzel, de puzzels]. Sometimes you will also see “kruiswoordraadsel” instead of “kruiswoordpuzzel”.

Keuken

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kitchen Click to listen Keuken
[noun] 
[de keu-ken, de keu-kens]

A "keuken" is simply a kitchen. In a "keuken" the Dutch cook (among other things 🙂 ): "koken".

Examples:
– "Help!! Er zit een muis
in de keuken!!"

("Help!! There's a mouse in the
kitchen!!")

– "Mensenkinderen,
wat een troep
in de keuken!! Waar is mijn schort?" 
("My goodness, what a mess in the kitchen!! Where's my
apron?")

– "Liefie,
wil jij de afwas even naar de keuken dragen?"
("Sweetie, will you
just carry the dishes into the kitchen?")

Expressions:
– "Keukenprins/keukenprinses": (lit.: kitchen prince/princess) someone who likes to cook.

Example:
– "Frank heeft drie uur in de keuken gestaan, speciaal voor haar." – "Wat is het toch een keukenprins…"
("Frank has been in the kitchen for three hours, just for her." – "My, he's such a chef…")

– "Neuken in de keuken": <vulgar rhyme with no specific meaning/goal other than rhyming> f*cking in the kitchen .

Related words:
– Afwas: (doing the) dishes [noun] [de afwas, <no plural>].
– Koken: to cook, to boil [verb] [koken, kookte, h. gekookt].

Example:
– "Hij maakte een goede indruk door voor haar te koken."
("He
made a good impression by cooking for her.")

– Schort: apron [noun] [het schort, de schorten].
– Keukenboer: slang for 'kitchen centre' with boer translating as 'farmer' [noun] [de keukenboer, de keukenboeren]. Keukenboeren have a bad reputation for overpricing their kitchens and using aggressive marketing techniques.

Muis

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mouse Click to listen Muis
[noun] 
[de muis, de mui-zen]

A "muis" is a mouse, both the animal and the computer pointer device. Unlike the plural in English (:mice), the plural in Dutch is regular. The 's' changes into a 'z' though: "muizen".

Examples:
– "Help!! Er zit een muis in de keukenkast." 
("Help!! There's a mouse in the kitchen cupboard." Note: "er zit…" is translated with "there is…" (lit.: "there sits…"))

– "Ik kom niet van de tafel voordat je die muis hebt weggejaagd!" 
("I won't come off the table before you've chased that mouse away!")

– "Ik heb pijn in mijn onderarm…" – "Misschien moet je een ergodynamische muis gaan gebruiken." 
("I have a pain in my lower arm…" – "Maybe you have to start using an ergo-dynamic mouse. ")

Expressions:
– "Als de kat van huis is, dansen de muizen op tafel": (lit.: if the cat's from home, the mice dance on the table) When the cat's away, the mouse will play / Without supervision, everybody does as he or she pleases.
– "Dit muisje krijgt nog een staartje": (lit.: this little mouse will get a (little) tail) this is not the end of it, this will have consequences. Note that in this expression "muisje" is often omitted: "dit krijgt nog een staartje".

Example:
– "De officier van justitie is een belangrijk dossier tijdens een treinrit kwijtgeraakt." – "Let op mijn woorden: dit muisje krijgt nog een staartje…"
("The district attorney has lost an important file during a ride on the train." – "Mark my words: this will have consequences…")

Related words:
– Knaagdier: rodent [noun] [het knaagdier, de knaagdieren].
– Rat: rat [noun] [de rat, de ratten].

Example:
– "Frank is voor de tweede keer deze maand vreemdgegaan…" – "Hij is een rat…"
("Frank has cheated on his girlfriend for the second time this month…" – "He is a rat…")

– Muizenval: mouse-trap [noun] [de muizenval, de muizenvallen].
– Computeren: to use the computer for recreational purposes [verb] [computeren, computerde, h. gecomputerd].
– Klikken: to click [verb] [klikken, klikte, h. geklikt].
– Toetsenbord: keyboard [noun] [het toetsenbord, de toetsenborden].