Bakker

baker [noun] [de bakker, de bakkers] [‘bak-kur’]

Bakkers in de bakkerijBesides the person who bakes bread, in Dutch “bakker” is also used to refer to the bakery (shop), see the Examples. Note that a “bakery” is a “bakkerij” in Dutch. The ending in “ij” is common and you will see it in other words like “makelaardij”, “schoenmakerij”, “slagerij” etc. (it is comparable to the Spanish “ía”).

We use “warme bakker” to refer to a bakery where the bread is actually baked, instead of a shop where the bread is just sold but not baked.

Examples:
– “Liefie, ik ga even brood halen bij de warme bakker op de hoek.”
(“Sweetie, I’m going to get some bread at the (fresh) bakery at the corner.”)

– “Bakker zijn is een zwaar beroep, iedere dag om vier uur ‘s ochtends op…”
(“Being a baker is a tough profession, (one has to) get up at 4 o’clock in the morning every day …”)

– “Raad eens wie ik bij de bakker tegenkwam? Frank….met z’n nieuwe vriendin….”
(“Guess who I ran into at the bakery shop? Frank…with his new girlfriend…” Note that “eens” is not translated here, it means something like “one time” or “just”.)

Expressions:
– “Dat komt voor de bakker!”: “(Consider it) done!” Lit.: “That comes for the baker!”

Example:
– “Op een ochtend werd ik wakker, toen was alles voor de bakker.”
(“One morning I woke up, and everything was taken care of.”)

– “Zoete broodjes bakken”: to eat humble pie, to butter someone up, to suck up.
– “Er niks/niets van bakken”: to mess up.

Example:
– “De nieuwe spits van PSV bakt er niets van!”
(“PSV’s new forward stinks!”)

Related words:
– “Bakkerij”: bakery.
– “Bakken”: to bake.
– “Oven”: oven.
– “Slager(ij)”: butcher(‘s shop).

358. Sturen

Today a basic verb that is used a lot in Dutch since the age of email: "sturen". Of course there are multiple translations 🙂

1. to send [verb] [stuurde, gestuurd] [‘stuu-run’]

Examples:
– "Stuur mij even een email ter herinnering alsjeblieft."
("Just send me an email as a reminder, please.")

– "Ga jij vandaag iemand een Valentijnskaart sturen?" – Nee, ik doe niet mee aan die commerciële onzin!"
("Are you go to send somebody a Valentine’s card today?" No, I don’t participate in that commercial nonsense!")

– "Ik heb Frank vanochtend naar huis gestuurd, hij had een flinke verkoudheid."
("I sent Frank home this morning, he had a huge cold.")

Expressions:
– "Iemand het bos in sturen": to send someone off with a tall story. Lit.: to send someone into the woods.
– "Iemand de laan uitsturen": to fire/sack somebody. Lit.: to send someone out the lane.

Related word:
– "Versturen": to send (off), to despatch.

2. to steer [verb] [stuurde, gestuurd] [‘stuu-run’]

Examples:
– "De vraag is: wie stuurde er op het moment van het ongeluk?"
("The question is: who was steering at the moment of the crash?")

– "Schat, je moet een beetje naar links sturen, want we zitten nu op de vluchtstrook…"
("Honey, you should steer a bit to the left, because we’re on the shoulder now…")

– "Mijn auto stuurt heel zwaar: ik heb geen stuurbekrachtiging."
("My car steers really heavy: it doesn’t have power steering." Lit.: "…I don’t have power steering.")

Related words:
– "Stuur": [noun] (steering) wheel (of a car)/ handlebars (of a bike).
– "Rijden": to drive, to ride.

353. Aanmelden

to sign up, to register, to apply, to enter / put forward (someone’s name) [verb] [meldde aan, aangemeld] [‘aan-mel-dun’]

Aanmelden_1This word is a special request by one of our readers. Indeed, you will frequently come across the word ‘aanmelden’ if you want to sign up for something, e.g. an event, a sports club, an exam, a course, a dating site, an electronic newsletter or a new email account. Often, the imperative mood of ‘aanmelden’ is used: ‘meld je aan!’.

Please note that the reflexive form of the verb (‘zich aanmelden’) is used when you yourself sign up. If you sign up somebody else, the normal verb is used.

Examples:
– "Heb je je al aangemeld voor de cursus? Er zijn nog maar een paar plaatsen."
("Have you already signed up for the course? There are only a few places left.")

– "Altijd al noten willen leren lezen? Meld je vandaag nog aan voor muzieklessen."
("Always wanted to be able to read music? Sign up today for music lessons." Note that we say "notes" instead of "music" 🙂 )

– "Zij meldde haar dochtertje aan als nieuw lid bij de zwemclub."
("She put forward/entered her (young/small) daughter for membership of the swimming club.")

Related words:
– "Afmelden": to cancel, to sign out.
– "Zich opgeven": to enrol, to sign up.

Example:
– "Ze gaf zich op als vrijwilliger bij Amnesty International."
("She enlisted as a volunteer at Amnesty International.")

– "Aanmelding": the entry, the application, the registration.
– "Lid worden van een vereniging": to become a member of / to join an association/society.
– "Lidmaatschap": membership.

This DWOTD was provided by guest author Laura.

351. Beurs

"Beurs" is a word that you will most likely come across in Dutch newspapers. Its common meaning is ‘stock exchange’ or ‘stock market’ but "beurs" has other meanings too which are explained below.

1. stock exchange, stock market [noun] [de beurs, de beurzen] [‘beurs‘]

Here "beurs’ can also be used for the building in which the trading takes place.

Examples:Beursplein5
– "De beurs zakte gisteren tot haar diepste punt sinds 11 september 2001."
("The stock market plunged to its lowest level since September 11, 2001.")

– "De negatieve verwachtingen van de Amerikaanse economie zorgden voor paniek op de beurs."
("Negative expectations of the US economy caused panic on the stock exchange.")

– "Unilever is een beursgenoteerde onderneming."
("Unilever is quoted on the stock exchange.")

Related words:
– "Beurskoers": quotation, share price.
– "Beurskrach": crash, slump.

2. scholarship, grant [noun] [de beurs, de beurzen] [‘beurs‘]

Example:
– "Zij heeft een beurs gekregen voor Columbia University."
("She has gained a scholarship for Columbia University.")

3. wallet, purse [noun] [de beurs, de beurzen] [‘beurs‘]

The related word "portemonnee" is a bit more common.

Example:
– "Mijn beurs is al twee keer door zakkenrollers gestolen."
("My wallet has already been stolen twice by pickpockets.")

Related word:
– "Portemonnee": wallet. Derived from French ‘porter’ (to carry) and ‘monnaie’ (money).

4. fair, exhibition [noun] [de beurs, de beurzen] [‘beurs‘]

Example:De_nationale_carriere_beurs
– "In januari vond de Vakantiebeurs plaats in de Jaarbeurs in Utrecht."
("The Vacation/Holiday/Travel Fair took place at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht in January.")

5. overripe / mushy, black and blue [adjective] [‘beurs‘]

Examples:
– "Na mijn eerste twee dagen snowboarden waren mijn billen helemaal beurs."
("After my first two days snowboarding my behind was completely black and blue.")

– "De bokser sloeg zijn tegenstander beurs / tot moes."
("The boxer beat his opponent to pulp.")

This DWOTD was provided by guest author Laura.

349. Vlag

flag [noun] [de vlag, de vlaggen] [‘vlag‘]

Vlag_en_wimpel
Are you still wondering why flags were put out everywhere yesterday? Of course because of our Queen’s 70th birthday yesterday! As explained in DWOTDs "Koninginnedag" and "Verjaardag", the Queen’s (late) mother’s birthday is celebrated on Queen’s Day (instead of her own), and Queen Beatrix’ birthday is on January 31st.

You can tell that the event bears a relationship to the Royal House if the flag is accompanied by a small orange streamer attached to the top of the flagpole. On Queen’s Day and all royal birthdays and births, both the orange streamer ("wimpel") and the national red-white-blue flag are put out. On all other events (Remembrance Day, Liberation Day, etc.), only the national flag is put out.

When adolescents pass their high school exams, the national flag is put out accompanied by a couple of schoolbooks or a schoolbag, see 227. Slagen.

In villages near the coast and now predominantly in Scheveningen, ‘Vlaggetjesdag’ (Lit.: ‘little flags day’) is celebrated since the 1950s. First it was celebrated the day before the Dutch herring fleet went out to sea. Nowadays, people celebrate the arrival of ‘Nieuwe Haring’, Dutch herring. Check out www.vlaggetjesdag.com for the programme of this year’s ‘Vlaggetjesdag’ (which will take place on June 7).

All twelve provinces of the Netherlands have their own flags, as do capitals of the provinces and many municipalities.

Examples:
– "De Nederlandse vlag is rood-wit-blauw."
("The Dutch flag is red-white-blue.")

– "De 7-jarige Ajax-supporter zwaaide met zijn vlag tijdens de wedstrijd".
("The 7-year old Ajax supporter waved his flag during the match").

Expressions:
– "Met vlag en wimpel": with flying colours. Literally: "with flag and streamer".
– "Is ze nog steeds boos op je? – Ik weet het niet, ik zal eens kijken hoe de vlag erbij hangt."
("Is she still mad at you? -I don’t know, I will see which way the wind blows" Lit.: "…how the flags hangs.").

Related words:

– "Vlaggen": to wave, raise, put/hang out the flag.

Example:
– "De scheidrechter vlagde voor buitenspel."
("The referee raised the flag for offside").

– "Vlaggenstok": flagpole, flagstaff.
– "Zwaaien": to wave, to swing/sway.

This DWOTD was provided by guest author Laura.