Category Archives: Vocabulary Intermediate

Werknemer

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employee Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de werk-ne-mer]

Werknemer Literally "werknemer" means "work taker". It is the formal term for "employee". Typically you'd never say that you are a "werknemer" somewhere, you would say "ik werk bij …" ("I work at …")

Examples:
– "Dit bedrijf heeft veel tevreden werknemers." 
("This company has a lot of satisfied employees.")

– "De plaatsvervangend directeur heeft besloten alle werknemers vanmiddag vrij te geven in verband met de warmte." 
("The deputy general manager has decided to give all employees the afternoon off due to the heat.")

– "De relatie tussen werkgever en werknemers is verslechterd door het langdurige conflict." 
("The relationship between employer and employees has deteriorated because of the long-lasting conflict.")

– "Uiteindelijk zijn de werknemers overgegaan tot een staking, maar dat was het laatste redmiddel." 
("Eventually the employees decided to go on strike, but that was the last resort.")

Related words:
– Werk: work [noun] [het werk, de werken].
– Werkgever: employee employer [noun] [de werkgever, de werkgevers].
– Vakbond: trade/labor union [noun] [de vakbond, de vakbonden].
– Staken: to strike [verb] [staakte, gestaakt].
– Staking: strike [noun] [de staking, de stakingen]. 

Ze kunnen me wat!

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they can forget about it, I don’t care what they want/think, to hell with them! Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[ze kun-nen me wat]

Kat slaapt en heeft nergens zin in“Ze kunnen me wat” literally translates as “they can me something” and basically says that they can do/think whatever they want and you don’t care. Depending on the severity, translations vary from “they can forget about it” to “to hell with them!”.

You can also use other personal pronouns, or a specific person. see the Examples.

Examples:
– “Ze kunnen me wat, het is weekend, dat rapport komt maandag wel af!” 
(“I don’t care about what they want, it’s weekend, that report will have to be completed on Monday!” Note that the word “wel” calls for “will have to be”; without “wel” it would be “will be completed”.)

– “Zij laat niets van zich horen en nu moet ik contact opnemen? Ze kan me wat!” 
(“I hear nothing from her and now I’m the one who has to initiate contact? To hell with her!” Lit. “She does not let anything hear from her”.)

– “Ik ga echt niet opnieuw behangen, de huisbaas kan me wat! Toen ik het appartement kreeg was het behang ook al oud!” 
(“No way I’m going to re-paper the room, the landlord can forget about it! When I got the apartment/flat the wallpaper was old to begin with!”)

– “Hij kan me wat met zijn gezeur over wie de eer toekomt!” 
(“To hell with him with his complaining about who deserves the credits!”)

Expressions:
– “Ze bekijken het maar!”: they can forget about it! Lit. “they can look at it”.
– “Echt niet!”: no way!
– “Ze kunnen de pot op!”: I don’t care what they want; they can forget about it! Lit. “they can go on the potty”.
– “Schijt hebben aan”: to not care about something/someone, to not give a shit about something/someone. This informal expression literally means “to have shit on/at somebody/something”.

Example:
– “Ze kunnen me wat, ik heb schijt aan deze regels!”
(“They can forget about it, I don’t give a shit about these rules!”)

Peuter

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1. toddler Iconspeaker_3 Peuter
[noun]
[de peu-ter, de peu-ters]

A "peuter" is a child from 1 year old until approximately three years old, i.e. the age that the child goes to kindergarten. From that point on they're called "kleuters".

The age barrier between "peuter" and "kleuter" is not very distinct, though. "Toddler" can be used as a translation for both "peuter" and "kleuter". Fact is that a "peuter" is younger than a "kleuter".

Examples:
– "Kleine Luke is een heel leuke peuter!" 
("Little Luke is a very sweet toddler!" Lit.: "…a very nice toddler.")

– "Sara is een erg drukke peuter, dat belooft wat voor de pubertijd…" 
("Sara is a very active toddler, puberty will be a blast…" Lit.: "…that sounds promising for puberty.")

Related words:
– Baby: baby  [noun] [de baby, de baby's].
– Kinderopvang: children day care (center) [noun] [de kinderopvang, <no plural>].
– Kleuter: little boy/girl, infant, toddler [noun] [de kleuter, de kleuters].

Example:
– "Ik heb je hulp nodig!" – "Onzin, je bent toch geen kleuter?!"
("I need your help!" – "Nonsense, you're not a little boy, are you?!")

– Zuigeling: baby (lit.: suckling) [noun] [de zuigeling, de zuigelingen].

2. to pick one's nose, to fumble, to tinker, to tamper Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[peu-te-ren, peu-ter-de, h. ge-peu-terd]Neuspeuteren

"Peuteren" generally translates to "to fumble/tinker", but when applied to one's nose, the appropriate translation is "to pick one's nose". 

In case of nose picking, you can also use "neuspeuteren", but only as an infinitive. When conjugating, "peuteren" is usually combined with "in je neus" (in one's nose), see the Examples.

Examples:
– "Frank houdt erg van neuspeuteren…" – "Waardeloos…" 
("Frank loves to pick his nose…" – "That sucks…")

– "Don peutert te pas en te onpas in zijn neus…" – "Een onverkwikkelijke situatie…" 
("Don picks his nose all the time…" – "An unpleasant situation…")

Related words:
– Neus: nose [noun] [de neus, de neuzen].

Example:
– "Pardon, ik moet even mijn neus snuiten."
("Excuse me, I have to blow my nose.")

– Pietepeuterig: very detailed, finicky [adjective].
– Pulken: (syn. to "peuteren") to pick one's nose [verb] [pulken, pulkte, h. gepulkt].
– Snot: mucous [noun] [het snot, <no plural>].
– Snuiten: to blow one's nose [verb] [snuiten, snoot, h. gesnoten].

Nuchter

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1. sober, fasting/empty Iconspeaker_3
[adjective]
[nuch-ter]

When you are not drunk, we say that you are "nuchter". "Nuchter" is also the state you are in when you have been fasting for a (short) while, for example when awaiting surgery. 

Examples:
Nuchter2 – "Ik kan me niet herinneren wanneer oom Gerrit voor het laatst nuchter was." 
("I can't remember the last time when uncle Gerrit was sober.")

– "Volgens mij heeft u te veel gedronken meneer!" – "Nou nee hoor, ik ben zo nuchter als wat!" 
("I think you have drunk too much sir!" – "I beg to differ, I'm as sober as one can be!")

Nuchter – "Wil je een bakje koffie?" – "Nee bedankt, ik moet eerst wat eten, koffie valt bij mij niet lekker op een nuchtere maag."  
("Would you like some coffee?" – "No thanks, I need to eat something first, coffee doesn't go down well for me when my stomach is still empty.")

– "Neem nog wat te eten!" – "Nee bedankt, ik mag niet meer eten, ik word vanmiddag geopereerd en moet nuchter zijn." 
("Come on, have something else to eat!" – "No thanks, I'm not allowed to eat anything else, this afternoon I'll undergo surgery and I must have an empty stomach.")

Related words:
– Dronken: drunk [adjective/adverb].
– Vasten: to fast [verb] [vastte, gevast]. Often used in religious context. Otherwise it is common to just say "niet eten".

2. sensible, down-to-earth, level-headed Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]
[nuch-ter]

Boer The other common translation of "nuchter" regards your mentality or attitude. When you are not easily excited or put-off, when you are down to earth and sensible, we say that you are "nuchter". Quite often farmers have the image of being "nuchter". This translation of "nuchter" does not only pertain to people, see the Examples.

Examples:
– "Sita is mij een beetje te nuchter, ik ben op zoek naar een extraverter iemand." 
("Sita is a bit too level-headed for my taste, I'm looking for a more extravert person.")

– "Tante Sjaan stond bekend als een nuchter mens. En dat terwijl ze vaak een borreltje nam! Ha ha, vat je 'm??" – "Zeg, vind je het gepast om nu al grappen te maken over tante Sjaan, ze is pas net overleden!"
("Aunt Sjaan was known as a down-to-earth woman. While she often had a drink! Ha ha, do you get it??" – "Hey, don't you think it is inappropriate to joke about aunt Sjaan already, she has just passed away!")

– "Geen paniek, laten we proberen de situatie nuchter te bekijken." 
("Don't panic, let's try to approach the situation in a down-to-earth way.")

Expressions:
– "De nuchtere werkelijkheid": cold/harsh reality.
– "Met beide benen op de grond blijven staan": to remain level-headed. Lit. "to keep standing with both legs on the ground".
– "Ergens nuchter in zijn": to be sensible/down-to-earth about something. 

Related words:
– Realistisch: realistic [adjective].
– Pragmatisch: pragmatic [adjective].
– Reëel: real, realistic [adjective].
– Zakelijk: business(like), professional/objective, clinical, concise [adjective].

Tippen

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1. to inform someone Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[tip-pen, tip-te, heeft ge-tipt]  Tip

As in English, a "tip" is an advice or a piece of useful information. The verb "tippen" is "to give someone a tip". Its passive form – to receive information – is "getipt worden". Don't confuse "tippen" with "tippelen" which is what prostitutes do.

Examples:
– "De politieman werd getipt over de drugsdeal." 
("The policeman got a tip on the drugsdeal.")

– "Ik heb hem getipt over die vacature, omdat ik vond dat hij geknipt was voor die baan." 
("I told him about that job vacancy, because I thought he was cut out for that job.")

– "Zij tipten hun vrienden over het huis, zodat zij een bod konden doen voordat het op de markt kwam." 
("They told their friends about the house, so they could put in a bid before it was put on the market.")

– "De criminelen werden getipt dat de politie een inval zou doen." 
("The criminals were given information that the police would barge in.")

– "Ik zit middenin een moeilijke onderhandeling; kun jij me niet nog wat goede tips geven?" 
("I'm in the middle of a tough negotiation; can't you give me some good advice?")

Expressions:
– "Tips en trucjes": tips and tricks.
– "Getipt worden als": to be seen as the successor of someone in an important position.

Example:
– "Zij wordt getipt als de volgende president van Egypte."
("She has a big chance of becoming the next president of Egypt.")

Related words:
– Advies: advice [noun] [het advies, de adviezen].
– Adviseren: to advise [verb] [adviseerde, heeft geadviseerd].

2. to give a tip Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[werk-woord, ver-le-den tijd, vol-tooid deel-woord]

"Tippen" can also mean "to give a tip". To complicate things, the Dutch word for the tip is totally unrelated to the verb: "fooi". "Een fooi geven" (to give a tip) is synonymous to "tippen".

Examples:
– "De meeste Nederlanders tippen behoorlijk weinig." 
("Most Dutch people don't give a lot of tip.")

– "Amerikanen tippen tot wel 20%; Nederlanders geven een fooi van maximaal 10%." 
("Americans tip to up to 20%; Dutch people tip to up to 10%.")

– "Vind je dat de service goed moet zijn of tip je altijd in de horeca?" 
("Do you think the service should be good or do you also give a tip in hotels, restaurants, and bars?")

Related words:
– Fooi: tip [noun] [de fooi, de fooien].

Example:
– "Hoeveel fooi hebben we gekregen vanavond?"
("How many tips did we get tonight?")

3. to equal someone's performance Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[werk-woord, ver-le-den tijd, vol-tooid deel-woord]

A third meaning of "tippen" is used when comparing achievements of persons. The expression used is "aan iemand tippen" (to equal someone or someone's performance) and it is usually used in the negative sense.

Examples:
– "Hoewel hij het zijn hele leven geprobeerd heeft, kon hij nooit aan de successen van zijn tweelingbroer tippen." 
("Despite his life-long attempts, he could never match the successes of his twin brother.")

– "De wedstrijdzwemmer kon niet tippen aan zijn concurrent die het wereldrecord op zijn naam heeft staan." 
("The professional swimmer could not perform better than his competitor who holds the world record.")

– "Denk jij dat je kunt tippen aan je baas?" 
("Do you think you can perform equally good or better than your boss?")