Category Archives: Vocabulary Basic

Dat doet de deur dicht

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that does it, that’s it, that is the last straw [Dutch phrase of the week] Iconspeaker_3

Literally, "dat doet de deur dicht" translates to "that closes the door". This expression is used when something unpleasant happens which makes you feel that you’ve had it with it. The tone at which this expression is used is often indignant.Door_2

Examples:
– "Mijn auto is nu voor de derde keer bekrast…dat doet de deur dicht!" 
("My car has been scratched for the third time now…that does it!")

– "Frank heeft zich deze week al twee keer verslapen."  – "Dat doet de deur dicht!"
("Frank has overslept twice already this week." – "That is the last straw!")

– "Dit is het derde jaar zonder loonsverhoging. Dat doet de deur dicht, ik neem ontslag!" 
("This is the third year without a raise. That’s it, I quit!")

Expressions:
– "Dat is de druppel die de emmer doet overlopen!": that is the last straw! Lit.: "That is the drop that makes the bucket flow over".
– "Dat is de druppel!": Short version of "dat is de druppel die de emmer doet overlopen": that is the last straw!

Example:
– "Dit weekend alweer een slachtoffer van zinloos geweld. Dat is de druppel!"
("Again a victim of pointless violence this weekend. That is the last straw!")

– "Dat is het toppunt!": that’s the limit!
– "Er genoeg van hebben": to have enough of it.

Related words:
– Deur: door [noun] [de deur, de deuren].
– Dicht: closed [adjective].
– Dichtdoen: to close [verb] [deed dicht, dichtgedaan]. Lit.: to do/make (something) closed.
– Sluiten: to close [verb] [sloot, gesloten].
– Verontwaardigd: indignant [adjective].

Slagroom

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whipped cream [noun] [de slagroom, no plural] Iconspeaker_3

"Slagroom" is composed of "slag" and "room", which translated to "whip/strike/hit" and "cream" respectively. Slagroom

Examples:
– "Wilt u slagroom op uw appeltaart?" 
("Would you like to have whipped cream on your apple pie?")

– "Heb je zin in warme chocolade(melk)? Zo ja, met of zonder slagroom?"
("Would you like to have some hot chocolate? If yes, with or without whipped cream?")

– "Marc, zal ik de slagroom even halen?…"  – "Oelalaaa…jaaaa…"
("Marc, shall I go and get the wipped cream?…" – "Ou la laaaa…yesssss…")

– "Die sjaal maakt het helemaal af! Het is de slagroom op de taart!"
("That scarf just finishes it! It’s the icing on the cake!" See also Expressions.)

Expression:
– "De slagroom op de taart": the icing on the cake. You may also hear "de kers op de taart": the cherry on top.

Related words:
– Melk: milk [noun] [de melk, no plural].
– Zuivel: dairy [noun] [de zuivel, no plural].
– Slaan: to hit [verb] [sloeg, geslagen].
– Slag: hit, strike, whip [noun] [de slag, de slagen].
– Room: cream [noun] [de room, no plural].

Extra:
Slagroomtaart
A very popular cake in the Netherlands is the "slagroomtaart". Perhaps it is even the default cake for birthdays. That’s why it has the nickname "de taart der taarten": ‘the cake of all cakes’, which by the way is also an example of the rare usage of the genitive case in Dutch. Go wild and make your own "slagroomtaart" following this site’s recipes.

Grappig

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funny, amusing, comical, humorous [adverb/adjective] Iconspeaker_3

Grappig
Derived from the noun "grap" ("joke"), "grappig" can be used as an adverb and an adjective. Its usage can also be ironical (which should be clear from context).

Examples:
– "Dit is niet grappig!" 
("This is not funny/amusing!")

– "Het spijt me, het was bedoeld als een grappige opmerking!" – "Laat maar, het geeft niet!"
("I’m sorry, I meant it jokingly / it was meant to be a funny remark!" – "Forget about it, it’s OK!")

– "Denk je dat je grappig bent ofzo?" 
("Do you think you’re funny (or something)?")

– "Sorry, maar ik zie niet in wat daar nu zo grappig aan is!" 
("I’m sorry, but I fail to see what is so funny about that!")

– "Echt een heel grappige film, ik raad hem je zeker aan!" 
("Really a very funny movie, I definitely recommend it (to you)." Be aware that "heel" is used here as an adverb (to "grappige"), hence it is not declined; this is a common mistake Dutch people make.)

– "<ironisch:> Grappig hoor!" 
(<ironically:> "Funny!! (Not)." / "Very amusing…") Note that you can also say this when you don’t mean it ironically.)

– "Wat een leuke speech van Frank, hij bracht het heel grappig!" 
("What an amusing speech by Frank, he presented it very humorously." Usage of the noun "speech" is common in Dutch. Note the use of the verb "brengen" in the meaning of "to present/perform".)

Related words:
– Grap(je): joke [noun] [de grap, de grappen].
– Leuk: nice, funny [adverb/adjective].
– Grappen maken: to make jokes, to joke [verb] [maakte grappen, grappen gemaakt].
– Grappenmaker: funnyman / funny ladey, joker [noun] [de grappenmaker, de grappenmakers].
– Grapjas: see ‘grappenmaker’.

Niks

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nothing [indefinite pronoun] Iconspeaker_3

"Niks" means "nothing" (or "not […] anything"). A synonym for
"niks" is "niets". Its antonym is found easily by omitting the ‘n’:
"iets" means "something". "Niks" on the other hand does not have a
similar antonym ("iks" does not exist).

Examples:
– "Ik snap er niks van hoe Dubai maar blijft groeien en groeien." 
("I don’t understand how Dubai just keeps on growing and growing.")

– "Is er iets, je bent zo stil?" – "Nee, (er is) niks / er is niks aan de hand."  Niks_6
("Is something wrong, you are so quiet?" "No, (there’s) nothing".)

– "<Tegel rechts:> Als je niks te doen hebt, doe het dan niet hier." 
("<Tile on the right:> If you don’t have anything to do, then don’t do it here.")

– "Ik ben al 3 maanden een baan aan het zoeken maar heb nog steeds niks gevonden."
("I have been looking for a job for three months now and I still haven’t found anything.")

– "Waarom neem je die baan in Muscat niet? Je hebt niks te verliezen!" 
("Why don’t you take that job in Muscat? You have nothing to lose!")

Expressions:
– "Niks mee te maken!": that’s not relevant at all!

Example:
– "Sorry dat ik je verjaardagsdiner vergeten ben maar ik had het echt heel druk." – "Niks mee te maken!"
("Sorry I forgot your birthday-diner but I was really busy." "That’s not relevant at all!")

– "Voor niks gaat de zon op": everything has a cost (Lit.: For nothing rises the sun).

Example:
– "Het was te goed om waar te zijn, en inderdaad: voor niks gaat de zon op."
("It was too good to true, and indeed: everything has a cost.")

Related words:
– Niets: nothing [adverb].
– Iets: something [adverb].

Weet ik veel!

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I don’t know! / How should I know? [Dutch phrase of the week] Iconspeaker_3

Man heeft geen idee“Weet ik veel” is a phrase that is used a lot by youth in the sense of “I don’t care”, “I don’t know” , or “how am I supposed to know”. Literally, it can be translated by “do I know a lot” or ” I know a lot”. Most people use it when they are getting a little bit annoyed by an event of a question. It’s quite an informal expression so don’t use it to your boss or people you don’t know very well.

Examples:
– “<Leraar:> Hoe schrijf je jouw naam in het Arabisch?” “<Leerling:> Weet ik veel!” 
(“<Teacher:> How do you write your name in Arabic?” “<Student:> How am I supposed to know?” )

– “Wil je dat McCain wint of ben je voor Obama? ” Weet ik veel, ik weet niks van politiek.”
(“Do you want McCain to win or are you in favour of Obama?” “I don’t know, I don’t know anything about politics.” Lit. “…, I know nothing of politics.”)

– “Hij zegt dat ik het geheugen van de computer moet vergroten maar weet ik veel hoe dat moet!”
(“He tells me to increase the computer’s memory but how should I know how to do that!”)

– “Weet ik veel hoeveel vitaminen ik moet eten op een dag, ik ben toch geen dokter!”
(“How should I know how many vitamins I should eat every day, I’m not a doctor, am I!”)

Related words:
– Weten: to know [verb] [knew, known].
– Veel: much, a lot [adverb/adjective].
– Weinig: little, not a lot [adverb/adjective].
– Niks: nothing [adverb].