Category Archives: Vocabulary Guru

Schoorvoetend

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reluctant / without enthusiasm
[adjective/adverb]
[schoor-voe-tend]

When you are reluctant to do something, in Dutch it is common to say that you do it ‘met tegenzin’ or ‘tegen je zin in’. There is an interesting synonym that you can add to your vocabulary: ‘schoorvoetend’. The verb ‘schoren’ is not used much in the Dutch language. It translates as ‘to shore/prop (up), to buttress/support’ (compare ‘schoorsteen’ (chimney) ). As ‘schoren’ is typicallly done diagonally, doing something ‘schoorvoetend’ is like putting your feet down diagonally, blocking advancement.

Examples:
– “De winkelier gaf schoorvoetend toe dat het product inderdaad defect was.” 
(“The shop owner reluctantly admitted that the goods were in fact defective.”)

– “De regering is schoorvoetend akkoord gegaan met de bezuinigingsmaatregelen.” 
(“The government reluctantly agreed to the spending cuts.” Lit. “budget/spending cut measures”. Note ‘akkoord gaan met’: to agree to.)

– “Sander heeft zich vanochtend schoorvoetend in zijn hardloopoutfit gehesen, maar na afloop had hij toch een voldaan gevoel.” 
(“This morning Sander reluctantly put on his running gear, but when finished he had a satisfied feeling after all.” Note the use of the verb ‘zich hijsen in […] ‘, which is slang for ‘to put [ (piece of) clothing] on’.)

– “Het bedrijf heeft de reorganisatie schoorvoetend doorgevoerd. Het resultaat daarvan is dat niet in alle lagen van de organisatie er voldoende draagvlak is voor de veranderingen.” 
(“The company implemented the reorganization without much enthusiasm. The result of which is that not in all layers of the organization there is sufficient support for the changes.” Literally a ‘draagvlak’ is a ‘bearing surface’.)

Expressions:
– “Je hakken in het zand zetten”: to oppose, to hinder, to refuse. Lit: “to put one’s (shoe) heels in the sand”. Difference with ‘schoorvoetend’ is that in case of ‘je hakken in het zand zetten’ you are really not cooperating.
– “Met tegenzin iets doen”: to do something reluctantly / against one’s will.
– “Iets tegen zijn zin in doen”: to do something against one’s will.

Example:
– “Om van het gezeur af te zijn heb ik uiteindelijk tegen mijn zin in mijn medewerking verleend aan de inspecteur.”
(“In order to be relieved of all the nagging, I eventually agreed to cooperate with the inspector, against my will.” The verb ‘meewerken’ can also be used (‘to cooperate’) instead of ‘zijn medewerking verlenen aan’ which is more like ‘to facilitate / to offer support’.).

Related words:
– Onwillig: unwilling, reluctant [adjective/adverb].
– Tegenstribbelen: to put up a struggle, to resist [verb] [stribbelde tegen, tegengestribbeld].

Example:
– “Heeft jouw dochter ook zwemles?” – “Ja, ze stribbelde eerst enorm tegen, maar nu gaat ze er zelfs met plezier naar toe.”
(“Does your daughter also take swimming lessons?” – “Yes, at first she put up a struggle, but now she actually enjoys going.”)

– Twijfelen: to doubt, to be indecisive [verb] [twijfelde, getwijfeld].
– Weigeren: to refuse, to reject, to turn down [verb] [weigerde, geweigerd].
– Tegendraads: recalcitrant, contrary [adjective/adverb].
– Tegenwerken: to sabotage, to hinder [verb] [werkte tegen, tegengewerkt].
– Voet: foot [noun] [de voet, de voeten].

Watertanden

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to make the mouth water / to bring water to the mouth
[verb]
[wa-ter-tan-den, wa-ter-tand-de, ge-wa-ter-tand] 

‘Watertanden’ is an intransitive verb. Most of the time the finite form of ‘watertanden’ is not used. It’s more common to say ‘daar moet ik van watertanden’ or ‘het doet mij watertanden’. The main translation given above reflects the latter use better. I couldn’t find a direct translation of the verb.

A common expression is: ‘Het is om van te watertanden’ (“it’s mouthwatering”).

Examples:
– “Als ik naar één van die kookprogramma’s op tv kijk, begin ik spontaan te watertanden!” 
(“When I watch one of those cooking shows on television, my mouth starts watering just like that!”)

– “Let maar niet op de hond hoor, die komt altijd heel zielig naar ons kijken als wij zitten te eten. Soms zit ie wel een half uur te watertanden bij de tafel!” 
(“Never mind the dog, he always comes and looks at us with sad eyes when we’re having dinner. Sometimes he sits near the table for half an hour with his mouth watering!” Note the use of ‘ie’, it is informal for ‘hij’ and the clue that the dog is male. When female, we would use ‘ze’ instead.)

– “Oòò moet je die taarten in de etalage zien, echt om van te watertanden! O en die bonbons! Lekker!!! Kom we kopen er een paar!” – “Zou je dat wel doen Sander, je begint steeds meer een buikje te krijgen!” 
(“Ooh, check out those pies in the display window, it’s really mouthwatering! Oh and those chocolates! Tasty! Come, let’s buy a few!” – “Are you sure you want to do that Sander, you are really starting to develop a bit of a belly!”)

Expressions:
– “Het water loopt me in de mond”: it makes my mouth water / my mouth is watering.

Related words:
– Likkebaarden: to lick one’s lips (when thinking about food) [verb] [likkebaardde, gelikkebaard]. A ‘baard‘ is a ‘beard’ in Dutch.
– Trek: appetite [noun] [de trek, <no plural>]. Often used with ‘hebben’, e.g. ‘ik heb trek’: I’m feeling peckish.
– Knorren (van de maag): rumbling/grumbling (of the stomach) [verb] [knorde, geknord].

Example:
– “Ik vind het altijd een beetje gênant als tijdens een vergadering mijn maag enorm begint te knorren.“
(“I always find it a bit embarrassing when my stomach starts to grumble heavily during a meeting.”)

– Water: water [noun] [het water, de wateren].
– Tand: tooth [noun] [de tand, de tanden].

Huisje-boompje-beestje

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suburban bliss / a boring suburban existence / bourgeois life
[phrase]
[huis-je-boom-pje-beest-je] 

‘Huisje-boompje-beestje’ symbolizes leading a nice and quiet conventional family life. You have a nice house (‘huisje’), a garden (‘boompje’) and probably a pet (‘beestje’). It is not necessarily a suburban life although the phrase is often used to imply exactly that. I don’t know why we use ‘boompje’ instead of ‘tuintje’ (with ‘tuin’ translating as ‘garden’), but this phrase may in fact be derived from the typical children’s drawing of a family, a house, a tree and a dog. Note that a pet is a ‘huisdier’ in Dutch (literally ‘house animal’) and not a ‘beestje’, see Related words below.

‘Huisje-boompje-beestje’ is often used as a pejorative, emphasizing the perceived boring aspect of living such a life. A related noun is ‘burgerlijk’: conventional, bourgeois. The epitome of ‘huisje-boompje-beestje’ is having a station wagon and living in a ‘Vinexwijk’, see Extra below.

Examples:
– “Sander heeft zaterdag een keuken gekocht. Hij is nog nooit zo dicht bij huisje-boompje-beestje geweest!” 
(“Sander bought a kitchen on Saturday. He has never been this close to leading a conventional bourgeois life!”)

– “Heb je gehoord dat Annette een huis heeft gekocht met haar vriend? En ze is ook nog zwanger!” – “Wauw, ik had niet verwacht dat ze nu al voor huisje-boompje-beestje zou kiezen; zij was vroeger echt een wilde!” 
(“Have you heard that Annette has bought a house with her boyfriend? And not only that, she is also pregnant!” – “Wow, I hadn’t expected her to choose a suburban life this quickly; she used to be a wild one!”)

– “Ik hoor altijd van die stoere verhalen over de wereld rondreizen en zo lang mogelijk van je vrijheid genieten, maar ik heb eigenlijk maar één wens: een huisje-boompje-beestje-leven! En wel zo snel mogelijk!” 
(“I always hear such tough stories about travelling around the world and enjoying one’s freedom as long as possible, but as it turns out I have only one wish: suburban bliss! And I want it now!” Lit. “And (in fact) as quickly as possible!”)

– “Mike! Dat is lang geleden dat ik jou gezien heb! Hoe gaat het man? Is die station wagon van jou?” – “Het gaat goed! Ja, die auto is van mij; ik ben helemaal huisje-boompje-beestje geworden, erg hè?” 
(“Mike! It’s been a long time since I last saw you! How are you doing man? Is that station wagon yours?” – “I’m doing fine! Yes, that car is mine; I have gone completely suburban, terrible isn’t it?”).

Related words:
– Burgerlijk: conventional, bourgeois [adjective].
– Ingekakt: boring, quiet [adjective]. From the verb ‘inkakken’: to doze off, to become slightly lethargic (temporarily).
– Nieuwbouwwijk: new housing estate, new housing development [noun] [de nieuwbouwwijk, de nieuwbouwwijken]. Also see Extra below on ‘Vinexwijk’.
– Voorstad: suburb [noun] [de voorstad, de voorsteden].
– Buitenwijk: suburb [noun] [de buitenwijk, de buitenwijken].
– Huisdier: pet [noun] [het huisdier, de huisdieren].
– Tuin: garden [noun] [de tuin, de tuinen].
– Huis: house [noun] [het huis, de huizen].
– Boom: tree [noun] [de boom, de bomen].
– Beest: animal, beast, bug [noun] [het beest, de beesten]. The diminutive is almost only used in the translation of ‘bug’ or ‘insect’.

Extra:
A word that has almost become a synonym for new housing development in the Netherlands is ‘Vinexwijk’. Not every new housing development area is a ‘Vinexwijk’ though. Vinex is short for ‘Vierde Nota Ruimtelijke Ordening Extra’, a (spatial planning) policy briefing note issued in 1991 detailing the designated areas in the Netherlands where massive new housing development were to be built. Well-known examples are ‘Ypenburg’ in The Hague and ‘Leidsche Rijn’ in Utrecht.

Pietje-precies

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stickler (for accuracy), fussbudget/fusspot
[noun]
[het pie-tje-pre-cies, de pie-tje-pre-cie-sen] 

The Dutch adjective for ‘precise’ is ‘precies’. It can also be used in the meaning of ‘exact(ly)’ or ‘accurate’. A common, but now old-fashioned name for men is Piet. Often when talking about the random average man, one talks about ‘Jan met de pet‘ or ‘Jantje en Pietje’. Although originally ‘Pietje’ thus refers to a man, a ‘pietje-precies’ is the general informal term for people who are sticklers for accuracy (like me 😉 ).

Examples:
– “Sander is echt een pietje-precies, op het irritante af soms.” 
(“Sander is a real stickler for accuracy, sometimes it’s plain annoying.” Note that you sometimes encounter a noun derived from an adjective in Dutch, e.g. ‘het irritante’. This is best translated as ‘the annoying part/bit’. You often see it used in the form: ‘het irritante eraan is…’: ‘the annoying part of it is…’ or ‘what makes it annoying is…’. When something is ‘op het […] af’ it means that it ‘is bordering […]’.)

– “Zie je hoe netjes hij zijn bureau heeft opgeruimd, alles ligt evenwijdig aan elkaar. Hij wordt al net zo’n pietje-precies als zijn vader.” – “Hmm, ik weet niet of je daar nu zo blij mee moet zijn…” 
(“Do you see how neatly he has cleaned up his desk, everyting is laid out in parallel. He’s already becoming the fussbudget his father is.” – “Hmm, I’m not so sure you should be happy about that…”)

– “Als je bruggen ontwerpt moet je wel een beetje een pietje-precies zijn; de kleinste afwijking kan de grootste gevolgen hebben!” 
(“When you design bridges you have to be a bit of a stickler for accuracy; the smallest deviation can have the biggest consequences!”)

Expressions:
– “Volgens de regels”: according to the rules.
– “Volgens het boekje”: by the book.

Example:
– “Het moet bij hem altijd volgens het boekje gaan, er is geen enkele ruimte voor creativiteit!”
(“He always wants things done by the book, there is zero opportunity for creativity!” Lit.: “It must always go by the book with him, there is no room at all for creativity.”).

Related words:
– Precies: precise, accurate, exact [adjective/adverb].
– Perfectionistisch: perfectionist [adjective].
– Regel: rule, procedure [noun] [de regel, de regels].
– Exact: exact [adjective/adverb].
– Nauwkeurig: accurate, close, careful [adjective/adverb].
– Zorgvuldig: careful, accurate [adjective/adverb].
– Gedetailleerd: detailed [adjective].
– Mierenneuken: to nitpick, hairsplit [verb] [mierenneukte, gemierenneukt].
– Kommaneuken: to nitpick, hairsplit [verb] [kommaneukte, gekommaneukt].

Manusje-van-alles

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factotum, dogsbody, odd-job person, jack of all trades, mr/ms fixit
[noun]
[het ma-nus-je-van-al-les, de ma-nus-jes-van-al-les] 

A ‘manusje-van-alles’ is somebody who can do different jobs. It is often used derogatory for somebody who is basically almost ‘misused’ to do all kinds of stuff, but it can also be a positive statement saying that somebody is a jack of all trades. Somebody who’s good at the odd jobs around the house, DIY or home improvement is sometimes also called a ‘manusje-van-alles’.

Manus is a somewhat old-fashioned name in the Netherlands exclusively used for men, however ‘manusje-van-alles’ (little manus of everything) can be used for both males and females. It is an example of a ‘samenkoppeling’ (compound word) that has become a common expression with a meaning of its own. In Dutch, such cases are hyphenated.

Examples:
– “Wat doe jij eigenlijk voor werk, je werkt toch op een kantoor?” – “Ja, dat klopt. Ik ben een beetje een ‘manusje-van-alles’; ik doe receptiewerk, vergadernotulen, ik organiseer bijeenkomsten en één dag per week zit ik bij PZ.” 
(“So what kind of work is it that you do, don’t you work in an office?” – “Yes that’s true. I’m a bit of the office factotum; I work at the reception desk, I take meeting notes, I organize meetings/assemblies and one day a week I do HR work.” Lit.: “… and one day a week I sit with HR”. Note the abbreviation ‘PZ’: personeelszaken (‘personnel matters’). You also often hear ‘HR’ these days (pronounced in English).)

– “Hé, ik hoorde dat jullie hier hulp nodig hebben, wat kan ik doen?” – “Te gek! Even denken… Zou je het erg vinden om het manusje-van-alles te zijn? We hebben eigenlijk overal een beetje hulp nodig: schuren, schilderen, gaten in de muren vullen…” 
(“Hey, I heard you guys need some help over here, is there something I can do?” – “Cool! Let me think… Would you mind being the odd-job person? We kind of need a bit of help everywhere: sanding, painting, fill gaps/holes in the walls…”)

– “Ik vind dat Frank iets meer is dan het ‘manusje-van-alles op kantoor’; hij heeft echt veel talenten! Hij is in feite een duizendpoot!” 
(“I think Frank is a bit more than just the ‘office dogsbody’; he is a man of many talents! As a matter of fact, he is a jack of all trades!” The Dutch word for centipede is ‘duizendpoot’ which literally means ‘thousand leg’.)

Related words:
– Duizendpoot: centipede, jack of all trades [noun] [de duizendpoot, de duizendpoten].
– Handige harrie: Mr. Fixit, somebody who’s good at home improvement [noun] [de handige harrie, de handige harries]. Although ‘Harrie’ is a name, we are no longer talking about a guy named ‘Harrie’ but a type of guy, which is why we don’t capitalize ‘harrie’.
– Persoonlijke assistent: personal assistant [noun] [de assistent, de assistenten].