hay fever [noun] [de hooikoorts, de hooikoortsen] [‘hooi-koorts’] 

"Hooikoorts" is composed of "hooi" and "koorts", which respectively translate to "hay" and "fever", hence "hay fever".

The idiom "last hebben van" (lit.: "to have (a) burden of) is perfectly suited to use when you want to express that you’re suffering from something or when you’re bothered by something unpleasant…hay fever, for example. See the Examples.

Examples:

– "Het is weer hooikoortstijd."
("It’s hay fever season again." Lit.: "It’s hay fever time again.")

– "Ha-a-a-a-a-a….tsjie!." – "Gezondheid." – "Dank je, ik word gek van die hooikoorts!"
("A-a-a-a-a-a…..choo!." – "Bless you." – "Thanks, this hay fever is driving me nuts!" Lit.: "Health." – "Thanks, I’m becoming crazy because of that hay fever!")

– "Archi, ben je verkouden?" – "Nee, ik heb last van hooikoorts…"
("Archi, do you have a cold?" – "I’m suffering from hay fever…")

– "Het geeft niet schat dat je huilt." – "Zo kan-ie wel weer, ik heb gewoon last van hooikoorts."
("Don’t worry about you crying honey." – "That’s enough now, I’m just suffering from hay fever."

Related words:
– "Hooi": hay.
– "Koorts": fever.
– "Verkoudheid": cold.
– "Snuiten": to blow one’s nose.
– "Jeuk": itch.

mistake, slip, miscalculation [noun] [de vergissing, de vergissingen] [‘ver-gis-sing’]

"Vergissing" can be translated as "mistake, slip, error". The verb related to it is "zich vergissen" ("vergiste, vergist"). Note that "zich vergissen" is a reflexive verb, e.g. "I’m mistaken" is translated as "ik vergis me".

Examples:
– "Maak het jezelf niet zo moeilijk, iedereen maakt wel eens een vergissing."
("Don’t be so hard on yourself, everyone makes mistakes from time to time." Note that "wel eens" is translated here as "from time to time". It could also be translated as "occasionally".)

– "Het was een grote vergissing om hem dat geheim te vertellen: nu weet iedereen het!"
("It was a big mistake telling him that secret: now everybody knows (it)!")

– "Als ik mij niet vergis, is de eerste wedstrijd van Nederland 9 juni, tegen Italië. Ik heb er nu al zin in!"
("If I’m not mistaken, The Netherlands play the first match on June 9, against Italy. I’m already looking forward to it!")

– "Ik heb me vergist in haar, ik had haar nooit moeten vertrouwen".
("I misjudged her, I never should’ve trusted her.")

– "Ze kunnen beter niet trouwen als ze nu al constant ruzie hebben, ze begaan/maken een enorme vergissing".
("They’d better not marry if they already argue all the time, they’re making a big mistake.")

– "Vergis je niet, een goede opleiding garandeert niet per se een goede baan."
("Make no mistake, a proper education doesn’t necessarily guarantee a good job.")

– "Ik kan me vergissen, maar het lijkt erop dat het dadelijk gaat regenen."
("I might be mistaken, but it looks like it’s going to rain soon.")

Expressions:
-"Vergissen is menselijk."
("To err is human.")

Related words:
– "Zich vergissen": to make a mistake.
– "De blunder": huge mistake, blunder.
– "De misstap": slip, lapse.
– "De fout": error, fault, mistake.

really, awfully, terribly,
fantastically [adverb] [‘hart-sti-ku’] 


"Hartstikke"
is one of those words that start to sound really strange when you
repeat it a few times. But it is in fact a strange word that has
nothing to do with its usage today. Around 1600 the expression
"hartstikke dood" was used when somebody had died as a result of a stab
in the heart. "Hartstikke" was derived from "hertsteken": to pierce the
heart with iron.
At one point, when the origin of the expression was not well-known
anymore, one started to use "hartstikke" as an adverb to intensify.
This lead to the current usage of "hartstikke".

Note that, probably due to its origin, you can only use "hartstikke"
as an adverb and not as an adjective, contrary to the suggested
translations above.

"Hartstikke" is a very common adverb, try to use it!

Examples:
– "Hoe was je vakantie?" – "Heel erg ontspannend, maar het was hartstikke warm!"
("How were your holidays?" – "Very relaxing, but it was terribly warm!")

– "Is jouw baan niet enorm saai?" – "Nee, juist niet, mijn baan is hartstikke leuk!"
("Isn’t your job terribly boring?" – "No, on the contrary, my job is absolutely wonderful!")

– "We hebben hartstikke lekker gegeten bij restaurant Rozemarijn, maar de bediening was vrij slecht."
("The
food at restaurant Rozemarijn was really very tasty, but the service
was pretty bad." Literally: "We have eaten very tastefully…")

– "Mag ik jou complimenteren met het resultaat? Hartstikke goed gedaan!" – "Nou, hartstikke bedankt dat je dat zegt!"
("May I compliment you on the results? Very well done!" – "Well, thank you very much indeed for telling me this!")

Related words:
– "Enorm": enormous(ly).
– "Verschrikkelijk": terrible/y.
– "Fantastisch": fantastic.
– "Uitermate": very.

advantage, benefit, profit [noun] [het voordeel, de voordelen] [‘voor-deel’]

As a special request, today’s DWOTD is "voordeel". "Voordeel" always has a positive meaning, either having an advantage or buying something for a good price. In the latter case, the adjective/adverb "voordelig" is used (see Examples). "Voordeel" can also be combined with several verbs, either "zijn" (to be) or "hebben" (to have). The Examples will show you how to use them. The opposite of "voordeel" is "nadeel".

Examples:
– "Hij deed zijn voordeel met de lage huizenprijzen in de jaren tachtig en is nu miljonair."
("He took advantage of the low house prices in the eigthies and is a millionaire now.")

– "Heb je de voor- en nadelen goed bekeken voordat je die belangrijke beslissing nam?"
("Did you take a proper look at the pros and cons before you took that important decision?")

– "Je zou denken dat Hillary’s situatie in haar voordeel werkt omdat zij meer ervaring heeft, maar dat blijkt niet waar te zijn."
("You would think that Hillary’s situation would be to her advantage since she is more experienced but that doesn’t seem to be true.")

– "Wat is de stand?" -"3-0 in het voordeel van Nederland/3-0 voor Nederland!".
("What’s the score? – "3-0 for Holland!")

– "Deze auto is voordelig (in het gebruik) omdat hij op gas rijdt."
("This car is economical (in use) since it drives on gas.")

Expressions:
World famous soccer player and coach Johan Cruijff is known for his selfinvented hands-on expressions to guide his followers through everyday life. One of his most well-known expressions is: "Elk nadeel heb zijn voordeel" (note the conjugation of the verb "hebben" in Amsterdam spelling) or, in proper Dutch: "Elk nadeel heeft zijn voordeel", translated as "Every disadvantage has its advantage". Johan looks at the bright side of life 😉

Other expressions include:

– "Ik kwam haar na jaren weer tegen en we hebben uren op het terras zitten kletsen; ze is echt in haar voordeel veranderd!"
("I bumped into her after years not having seen her and we spent hours chatting in an outdoor café; she’s really changed for the better!")

– "Ondanks zijn slechte prestaties heb ik hem het voordeel van de twijfel gegeven en zijn contract met nog een jaar verlengd."
("In spite of his lousy performance I gave him the benefit of the doubt and prolonged his contract with another year.")

Extra:
In commercials or in stores you might come across words such as "Megavoordeel!" which is translated to something like "huge sale!"

Related words:
– "Nadeel": disadvantage.
– "Nadelig": adverse, detrimental.
– "Voordelig": advantageous, economical, favourable.