Category Archives: Vocabulary Guru

Gevoelstemperatuur

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wind chill, chill factor Iconspeaker_3
[noun] Gevoelstemperatuur
[de ge-voels-tem-pe-ra-tuur, de ge-voels-tem-pe-ra-tu-ren]

"Gevoelstemperatuur" is composed of "gevoel" and "temperatuur" (connected by an 's'), which respectively translate to "feeling" and "temperature". The "gevoelstemperatuur" is the (outside) temperature that is perceived by people under influence of the wind. The "gevoelstemperatuur" is lower than the actual temperature. In English, this phenomenon is called 'wind chill'.

Sometimes, "gevoelstemperatuur" is used to qualify the atmosphere in a room or among people, see the Examples.

Examples:
– "Door de wind kan de gevoelstemperatuur het vriespunt bereiken." 
("Because of wind chill, it may feel like the temperature reaches freezing point.")

– "Het vriest dat het kraakt!" – "Dat valt wel mee, de gevoelstemperatuur is gewoon heel laag door de wind." 
("It freezes really hard!" – "It's not so bad, there's just a high chill factor because of the wind.")

– "Frank is vorige week vreemdgegaan, de gevoelstemperatuur thuis is nu tot onder het vriespunt gedaald…" 
("Frank cheated on his wife last week, the temperature at home has dropped below zero now…")

Expressions:
– "Het vriest dat het kraakt": it freezes really hard / there is a sharp frost, very cold (while frosty). Lit.: "it freezes that it cracks".

Related words:
– Gevoel: feeling(s) [noun] [het gevoel, de gevoelens].

Example:
– "Mijn gevoel voor jou is alleen maar sterker geworden…ik hou van jou!"
("My feelings for you have only become stronger…I love you!")

– Temperatuur: temperature [noun] [de temperatuur, de temperaturen].

Extra:
The Dutch measure temperature in degrees Celsius. The "vriespunt" lies at 0 (zero) degrees Celsius (that's 32 degrees Fahrenheit). The "kookpunt" lies at 100 degrees Celsius (that's 212 degrees Fahrenheit). Click here to go to the website of the The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), where you can convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit, or even better: convert from 'normal' temperature to "gevoelstemperatuur"!

Nageslacht

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offspring, future generations Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[het na-ge-slacht, de na-ge-slach-ten]

images“Nageslacht” is related to the word “nakomeling”. The latter translates as “descendant” (literally “the one coming after”). All “nakomelingen” of a parent together form the “nageslacht”.

“Nageslacht” is also the term for the people who will live after us: “future generations”.

Examples:
– “Het is de taak van de man te zorgen voor voldoende nageslacht.” – “Bah, wat een paternalistische opmerking!” 
(“It is the duty of the man to ensure that there will be enough offspring.” – “Ugh, what a paternalistic remark!”)    

– “Het nageslacht kan niet beoordeeld worden op de daden van hun ouders.” 
(“Offspring cannot be judged (based) on the actions of their parents.”)

– “Het nageslacht van je moeder is niet noodzakelijkerwijs gelijk aan het nageslacht van je vader.” 
(“Your mother’s offspring is not necessarily identical to your father’s offspring.”)

– “We moeten goed zorgen voor het milieu. Doen we het niet voor onszelf, dan doen we het voor het nageslacht.” 
(“We have to take proper care of the environment. If we don’t do it for ourselves, then we (should) do it for future generations.”)

Related words:
– Nakomeling: descendant [noun] [de nakomeling, de nakomelingen].
– Nazaat: descendant [noun] [de nazaat, de nazaten].
– Geslacht: gender, (the male or female) sex, genitals, family, race [noun] [het geslacht, de geslachten].
– Slachten: to butcher, to slaughter [verb] [slachtte, geslacht].

Example:
– “Het paard werd geslacht zonder dat het voor nageslacht had kunnen zorgen.”
(“The horse was slaughtered without it having been able to produce offspring.”)

– Geslachtsgemeenschap: sexual intercourse [noun] [de geslachtsgemeenschap, <no plural>].
– Voortplanting: reproduction, procreation [noun] [de voortplanting, <no plural>].

Binnenpretje

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private joke, secret amusement Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[het bin-nen-pret-je, de bin-nen-pret-jes]

Binnenpretje "Binnenpretje" is composed of "binnen" (inside) and "pretje": diminutive of "pret" (fun, amusement) and means something like "fun on the inside" or: "private joke". When somebody is suddenly smiling or chuckling to himself without any context, you may assume he or she has a "binnenpretje". The noun is "binnenpret" but we typically use the diminutive.

Common usage: "Waarom lach je?" – "O niks, gewoon, binnenpretje!"

Examples:
– "Hij dacht dat ik hem uitlachte, maar ik zweer het je, ik had gewoon een binnenpretje." 
("He thought I was making fun of him, but honestly, I just had to chuckle to myself." Lit. "I swear it to you".)

– "Sander kijkt altijd zo serieus, heb jij die gast ooit betrapt op een binnenpretje?" 
("Sander always looks so serious, have you ever caught that bloke/dude chuckling to himself?")

– "Met Irene valt echt niet samen te werken, de hele tijd dagdromen en binnenpretjes!" 
("Irene is impossible to work with, all the time it's daydreaming and private jokes!")

Related words:
– Binnen: inside, indoors [adverb].
– Pret: fun, pleasure, amusement [noun] [de pret, <no plural>].
– Prettig: pleasant, enjoyable, nice [adverb/adjective].
– Gniffelen: to chuckle [verb] [gniffelde, gegniffeld].

Extra:
A popular brand for liquorice, wine gums etc. in the Netherlands is "Red Band". Their slogan is well known amongst children and adults: "Red Band, als je voor pret bent!" I mean, who is against fun??

Ik ben gekke Henkie niet!

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Bungy do they/you think I'm stupid or what Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[Ik ben gek-ke Hen-kie niet]

You can use this expression when you want to say that you are surely not stupid enough to do or believe something. "Ik ben gekke Henkie niet" (I am not crazy Henkie) is an informal expression; Henk is a common but slightly old-fashioned name. 'Henkie' is what I call the informal diminutive; derived from 'Henkje' (which one would never say). Who Henkie is in this context, no one knows 🙂

You may also hear: "Ik ben toch gekke Henkie niet" and "Ik ben toch zeker gekke Henkie niet" (surely I am not crazy Henkie, am I?).

Examples:
– "En dan verwacht hij dat het eten klaar staat als hij thuiskomt; ik ben gekke Henkie niet, hij doet het zelf maar!" 
("And then he expects dinner to be ready when he comes home; what is he thinking, he can do it himself!")

– "Ja ik ben toch zeker gekke Henkie niet, ze ruimen zelf die troep maar op!" 
("Do they think I'm stupid or what; they can clean up the mess themselves!")

– "Ik ga hier echt niet zitten wachten totdat meneertje eindelijk klaar is; ik ben gekke Henkie niet!" 
("Surely I'm not going to sit here and wait till his lordship is finally ready; what does he think I am, crazy??" You can use the diminutive "meneertje" when you want to be ironic.)

– "500 euro? Ik bestel 'm wel op internet, daar is ie 100 euro goedkoper; ik ben gekke Henkie niet!" 
("500 euro? I'll order it from the internet, it's 100 euro cheaper there; I'm not stupid!" Note the use of " 'm " and "ie"; both informal usage of "hem" and "hij".)

– "Luister, ik ben toch zeker gekke Henkie niet, als hij per se met de auto wil dan gaat hij zelf maar in de file staan!" 
("Listen, I'm no fool, if he wants to go by car at all costs then he can be the one getting stuck in traffic!" Lit. 'then he himself can go and stand in the "file" '.)

Expressions:
– "Ik ben toch niet gek!": I'm not stupid/dumb.
 - "Ja, daaag!": with prolonged short 'a' and some irony this says something like "no way", "do it yourself" or "get lost".

Related words:
– Gek: crazy, loony [adjective/adverb].

Praatjesmaker

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boaster, windbag Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de praat-jes-maker, de praat-jes-makers]

Bla-bla The translation above is what the dictionary says, but a "praatjesmaker" is not necessarily somebody who boasts, but more like somebody who is all talk and no action, doesn't live up to what he/she claims, talks nonsense, claims to know what he/she is talking about but not really, a smart talker etc.

The noun is derived from "praatje" and "maken". The verb is "praten": to talk. A "praatje maken" in general is "to have a brief informal conversation with somebody". See the expressions below for more.

Examples:
– "Hoe was de lezing van Frank?" – "Het sloeg helemaal nergens op; weet je, het is gewoon een praatjesmaker." 
("How was Frank's lecture?" – "It did not make any sense at all; you know, he is just all talk and no action.")

– "Let wel, op praatjesmakers zitten we hier niet te wachten; wij verwachten inzet en kunde!" 
("Be aware, we have no need for boasters; we expect dedication and skills!" Lit. "we are not waiting on boasters here".)

– "Zeg praatjesmaker, nu is het genoeg geweest; het is tijd om naar bed te gaan!" 
("Hey mister know-it-all, that's enough now; it's time for bed!")

Expressions:
– "Een praatje maken met iemand": to briefly and informally chat with somebody.
– "Praatjes hebben": to talk big, to be a 'know-it-all'.

Example:
– "Let maar niet op hem; hij heeft praatjes."
("Don't mind him, he is just talking big.")

– "Mooie praatjes": sweet talk.
– "Een praatje houden": informal way of saying "to give a lecture". Note the use of "houden": to hold; this is the reason Dutch people often say they have to "hold a speech".

Related words:
– Praten: to talk [verb] [praatte, gepraat].
– Praatje: quick conversation, lecture [noun] [het praatje, de praatjes].
– Onzin: nonsense [noun] [de onzin, <no plural>].
– Liegen: to lie [verb] [loog, gelogen].
– Opscheppen: to brag/boast [verb] [schepte op, opgeschept]. Note this verb also means to serve/spoon/ladle out (as in putting food on your plate).