Category Archives: Vocabulary Guru

319. Taakstraf

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community service [noun] [de taakstraf, de taakstraffen] [‘taak-straf’]

Dutch law allows a judge to impose punishment in the form of community service. The word "taakstraf" consists of "taak" and "straf". In general "straf" means "punishment", "penalty" or any other "disciplinary action". A "taak" is a "task", "duty" or "job". So basically a "taakstraf" is punishment in the form of some kind of duty.

Examples:
– "De rechter legde de veroordeelde een taakstraf op."
("The judge imposed community service on the convicted person.")

– "Meneer, u kunt kiezen: of u betaalt de boete, of u gaat een week de cel in, of u krijgt een taakstraf van 240 uur. Zegt u het maar!"
("Sir, these are the options: either you pay the fine, or you will go to prison/jail for a week, or you will get community service for 240 hours. What will it be?!" Literally: "Sir, you can choose: …, or you will go into the cell for a week, … Please say it!")

Related words:
– "Taak": task, duty, (small) job.
– "Straf": punishment, penalty, disciplinary action.
– "Boete": fine, penalty.
– "Veroordeling": sentence, conviction.
– "Rechtbank": court of law/justice.

314. Na-apen

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to imitate, to mimic, to ape [verb] [aapte na, nageaapt] ['naa-aa-pun']

An ape in Dutch is an "aap". The Dutch word "aap" translates as "monkey". The similar English "ape" translates to "mensaap" (a "mens" is a "human"). The preposition "na" usually means "after" but also indicates behaviour or movement of "following something/somebody". Even though the non-existent verb "apen" could already mean "to imitate" – based on the behaviour of apes – we still put "na" in front of it: "na-apen".

The hyphen in "na-apen" is necessary to avoid ambiguity in pronunciation since "aa" is also a Dutch vowel combination. However, the advanced readers might say that if a long "aa" was meant in the first place, then one should have written "napen". This is correct, but the rule is still as applied 🙂 .
You might also see "naäpen" – this used to be the spelling until 1995 (when a big change in spelling occurred).

"Na-apen" is mostly used informally and can sometimes have a stronger meaning than just imitation, see the Examples.

Examples:
– "Toen ik klein was, aapte mijn zus mij altijd na."
("When I was little, my sister always imitated me.")

– "Een rage kan ontstaan als mensen elkaar gaan na-apen."
("A craze/mania can happen when people start to imitate each other.")

– "Mijn presentatie leek op die van Frank, en nu beweert de leraar dat ik hem heb nageaapt!"
("My presentation was similar to Frank's, and now the teacher claims that I stole his ideas!")

Related words:
– "Na-aper": an imitator.
– "Imiteren": to imitate.
– "Nadoen": to imitate.

311. Zo kan-ie wel weer

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That’s enough now [Dutch Phrase Of The Week]

"Zo kan-ie wel weer" is used if one wants to make a stop to what’s been/being said or done by someone else. The phrase is used direcly towards that other person, and its use is mostly informal. The phrase is sometimes followed by "met" to link to the subject that should be made a stop to, commonly translated with "of", see the first example.

Examples:
– "Zo kan-ie wel weer met die vieze praat van je!"
("That’s enough of that dirty talk of yours now!")

– "Zo kan-ie wel weer, jonge dame! Je hebt genoeg limonade gehad."
("That’s enough of that lemonade, young lady! You’ve had plenty." Lit.: "That’s enough, young lady! You’ve had enough lemonade.")

Zo is het maar net

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And that’s the way it is [Dutch Phrase Of The Week]

“Zo is het maar net” is an expression that can be used to confirm
what has been said/stated before, often a profundity, but basically
anything you agree with. A more literal translation would be “It’s
just like that” or “That’s just how it is.”

Examples:
– “En zo is het maar net! Ik geef je groot gelijk!”
(“And that’s the way it is! You are absolutely right (in doing so)!” Literally: “I give you great right…”)

– “Als je goed je tanden poetst, heb je minder kans op gaatjes! – Zo is het maar net!”
(“If you brush your teeth properly, this will reduce the chance of cavities! – And that’s the way it is!”)

– “Het leven is een stuk leuker als je lacht! – Zo is het maar net!”
(“Life is a lot more fun if you smile! – And that’s the way it is!”)

– “Zoals het klokje thuis tikt, tikt het nergens! – Zo is het maar net!”
(“There’s no place like home! – And that’s the way it is!” Lit.: “The way the little clock ticks at home, it ticks nowhere.”)

Buikspreker

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ventriloquist [noun] [de buikspreker, de buiksprekers] [‘buik-spree-kur’]

We admit that you will probably not use this word much, but the separate words “buik” and “spreker” are very common. A “spreker” is somebody who speaks, and is derived from the verb “spreken”: to speak, to talk. In general the word “spreker” is used for a lecturer, or an inivited speaker. A “buik” is a “belly” so a “buikspreker” is a “belly talker”, which in a way makes sense 🙂

Examples:
– “Vroeger had ik maar één droom: buikspreker worden!”
(“I used to have just one dream: to become a ventriloquist!”)

– “Wanneer heb jij voor het laatst een buikspreker zien optreden? Volgens mij zijn ze vrij zeldzaam.”
(“When was the last time you saw a ventriloquist perform? I think they are quite rare.” Literally: “According to me they are quite rare”.)

Related words:
– “Maag”: stomach.
– “Spreken”: to speak, to lecture.

Extra:
Check out this funny ventriloquist performance: Achmed the dead terrorist. The first few minutes are the best!