Category Archives: Vocabulary Intermediate

Te pas en te onpas

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all the time, again and again Iconspeaker_3 Te pas en te onpas
[Dutch phrase of the week] 

"Te pas en te onpas" is used to describe an event that occurs time and time again. It often reflects a certain degree of annoyance as well.

"Pas" literally translates to "step", but in ancient Dutch "pas" also referred to a "convenient moment in time. "On" translates literally to "un-"/"in", hence "onpas" would refer to an "inconvenient moment in time".

Examples:
– "Ik vind te pas en te onpas remsporen in de toiletpot, bah!" 
("I find skid marks in the toilet bowl all the time, yuck!")

– "Frank leent te pas en te onpas geld van me, maar hij betaalt me nooit terug…" 
("Frank borrows money from me all the time, but he never pays me back…")

– "Ik zeg je te pas en te onpas dat je aan de lijn moet doen, maar je luistert nooit!" – "Ik ben toch niet dik??" 
("I'm telling you again and again to go on a diet, but you never listen!" – "I'm not fat, am I??.")

Expressions:
– "Om de haverklap": (at) every moment, continuously, at the merest trifle.
– "Van pas komen": to come in handy.

Example:
– "Ik heb een lekkage in de badkamer…" – "<ironisch> Dan komt een dweil wel van pas, denk je niet?"
("I have a leakage in the bathroom…" – "<ironically> Well, a mop would come in handy, don't you think?")

Related words:
– Frequent: frequent [adjective].
– Tig: (so) many, a lot of [indefinite numeral].
– Vaak: often, many times [adverb].

Example:
– "Hoe vaak moet ik het zeggen? Ik heb geen seksuele knipperlichtrelatie met deze dame gehad."
("How many times do I need to say this? I did not have a sexual on-and-off relationship with this lady..")

Remspoor

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skid mark(s) Iconspeaker_3  Remsporen
[noun]
[het rem-spoor, de rem-spo-ren]

"Remspoor" is composed of "rem" and "spoor", which respectively translate to "brake" and "trail/track".

Like in English, "remspoor" has an alternative meaning….see Extra.

Examples:
– "Dit zijn remsporen van een grote auto, waarschijnlijk een SUV." 
("These are skid marks from a big car, probably an SUV.")

– "Door het bestuderen van de remsporen kunnen we het verloop van het ongeluk reconstrueren." 
("By examining the skid marks we can reconstruct the course of the accident.")

– "Dit remspoor is erg onduidelijk…we kunnen nog geen verdachte arresteren…" 
("This skid mark is very unclear…we cannot arrest a suspect yet…")

Expressions:
– "Alle remmen losgooien": to get completely wild/out of control, to get rid of all your inhibitions. Lit.: to throw all breaks loose.

Example:
– "Wat is Frank toch een feestbeest, iedere weekend gooit hij alle remmen los…"
("Frank is such a party animal, he gets completely wild every weekend…")

Related words:
– Rem: brake [noun] [de rem, de remmen].
– Remmen: to brake [verb] [remmen, remde, h. geremd].
– Remweg: braking distance [noun] [de remweg, de remwegen].

Example:
– "Deze auto heeft een enorme remweg, echt link!"
("The braking distance of this car is huge, really dangerous.")

– Slippen: to slip, to slide [verb] [slippen, slipte, geslipt].
– Spoor: track, trail [noun] [het spoor, de sporen].Remspoor

Extra:
Like in English, "remspoor" is also used for skid marks in one's underpants or in a toilet bowl…check out the picture if you're not familiar with skid marks caused by the human body… 

Lenen

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1. to lend Iconspeaker_3
[verb] Lenen
[le-nen, leen-de, h. ge-leend]

The Dutch have only one verb to describe the act of allowing the temporary use of something on the condition that the same or its equivalent will be returned. In English however, depending on context, “lenen” may translate to either “to lend” or “to borrow“.

“Lenen” may combined with the preposition “aan” – “lenen aan”: to lend to.

Examples:
– “Kun je me wat geld lenen? Mijn huisbaas wordt ongeduldig…” 
(“Can you lend me some money? My landlord is getting impatient…”)

– “Ik heb Frank een tijdje geleden mijn bivakmuts geleend, maar ik heb die nooit terug gehad.” 
(“I lent Frank my balaclava a while ago, but I never got it back..”)

Expressions:
– “Een handje helpen”: to lend a hand.

Example:
– “Kun je me een handje helpen?” – “Ik ben gekke Henkie niet! Je speelt een gevaarlijk spelletje…”
(“Can you lend me a hand?” – “I’m not crazy! You play a dangerous game…”)

Related words:
– Lening: [noun] [de lening. de leningen].

Example:
– “Ik heb een persoonlijke lening afgesloten bij de bank.”
(“I got a personal loan at the bank.”)

– Uitlenen: to lend (out) [verb] [uitlenen, leende uit, h. uitgeleend].

2. to borrow Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[le-nen, leen-de, h. ge-leend]

You can use “lenen” in this context also with the preposition “van” – “lenen van“: to borrow from.

Examples:
– “Kan ik een tientje lenen?” – “Echt niet, ik heb je al tig keer geld geleend!” 
(“Can I borrow a ten?” – “No way, I’ve lent you money a million times already!”)

– “Mag ik dit boek van je lenen?” – “Weet je het zeker? Het is erg saai…” 
(“Can I borrow this book from you?” – “Are you sure? It’s pretty boring…”)

Related words:
– Woekeraar: loan shark [noun] [de woekeraar, de woekeraars].

Example:
– “Mijn huisbaas heeft me geld geleend, maar hij is een echte woekeraar, ik moet nu het dubbele terugbetalen…” – “Balen…”
(“My landlord las lent me money, but he’s a real loan shark, I have to pay him back the double amount..” – “Tough luck…”)

Huisbaas

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landlord, landlady Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de huis-baas, de huis-ba-zen]

SandersOldApartment With owning a house being more or less a luxury for young professionals in “de Randstad“, many of us are stuck in a rented (studio) apartment for years. Apartments for rent are typically privately owned and often multiple apartments are created in what used to be just one “herenhuis”. When you sign a contract with the owner, he/she becomes your “huisbaas”: ‘house owner’ (literally ‘boss’).

As many of us have experienced, in order to have a good and working relationship with your landlord, you will need to demonstrate sufficient negotiation skills and be capable of exercising the right amount of diplomatic pressure that will avoid him getting annoyed, but will finally have him repair your window!!

When people have a landlady you will sometimes hear “huisbazin”, but in most cases “huisbaas” is understood to mean both.

Examples:
– “Mijn huisbaas klaagt altijd tegen mij over geluidsoverlast, maar ik zweer het je, het is de onderbuurvrouw die al die herrie maakt!” 
(“My landlord always complains to me about noise, but I swear, it’s the neighbour below who’s making all the noise!” Note that “onderbuurvrouw” is the “female neighbour living in the apartment below yours”. The word “overlast” is generally used for “inconvenience, nuisance, trouble”.)

– “Ik ga morgen het huurcontract tekenen met de huisbaas. Het leek me wel een aardige kerel, maar ja, dat zijn ze altijd in het begin.” 
(“Tomorrow I’ll sign the rental agreement with the landlord. He seemed like a nice guy, but you know, they always do in the beginning.”)

– “Marc heeft nog steeds zijn borg niet teruggekregen van zijn vorige huisbaas. Een schande, maar ja, wat doe je eraan?” 
(“Marc still has not received his deposit back from his previous landlord. A disgrace, but hey, what are you going to do about it?”)

– “Ik mag van mijn huisbaas geen huisdieren hebben, maar ik doe het stiekem lekker toch!” 
(“My landlord does not allow me to have pets, but I’m doing it secretly anyway, ha!”)

– “Mijn huisbaas zou dit weekend het raam komen maken, maar zoals te doen gebruikelijk is, gebeurt er weer helemaal niks tenzij ik hem continu achter de broek aan zit!”
(“My landlord was supposed to come over and repair the window this weekend, but as is usual, nothing happens at all unless I keep chasing him!”)

Related words:
– Baas: boss [noun] [de baas, de bazen].
– Huis: house [noun] [het huis, de huizen].
– Huurhuis: rented house, house you rent [noun] [het huurhuis, de huurhuizen].

Example:
– “Ik wil graag een huis kopen, maar nu de eisen voor een hypotheek zijn verzwaard, wordt het waarschijnlijk toch weer een huurhuis. En dan zit ik weer opgescheept met een huisbaas!”
(“I would like to buy a house, but now that the requirements for (getting) a mortgage have been increased, it will probably be a rented house again. And then I’m stuck with a landlord again!”)

– Huren: to rent [verb] [huurde, gehuurd].
– Verhuren: to let, to rent [verb] [verhuurde, verhuurd].
– Borg: deposit [noun] [de borg, de borgen].
– Conflict: conflict [noun] [het conflict, de conflicten].
– (Huur)contract: contract, (rental) agreement [noun] [het contract, de contracten].

Voor spek en bonen

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to count for nothing, to sit there for show, to be purely decorative Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[voor spek en bo-nen]

Bonen When you are participating in or joining an activity and your participation has no significant impact or you don’t care about the outcome, then you can say you are in it “voor spek en bonen” (literally ‘for the bacon and the beans’). This phrase is typically used in conjunction with the verb “meedoen”: to participate.

Spek I heard this phrase yesterday when I was watching the popular Dutch reality show “Boer zoekt vrouw” (‘Farmer wants a wife’). Farmer Richard was supposed to choose from three women after spending some time with them on the farm. However, he had secretly met with one of them before their stay, thereby sealing the deal beforehand. The other women then complained that they had been part of the show “voor spek en bonen” only!

You also frequently here “voor de show” (‘just for show’).

Examples:
– “We gaan zo poker spelen, doe je mee?” – “Nou vooruit, maar alleen voor spek en bonen.” 
(“We are about to play poker, will you join?” – “Hm. Ok! But I’m not playing for real…”)

– “Ga je me nu vertellen dat ik al die tijd voor spek en bonen meedoe? Daar ben ik mooi klaar mee!” 
(“Are you telling me that all this time my participation has count for nothing? A fine state of affairs, … not!”)

– “Mag ik met jullie mee voetballen?” – “Ok, je bent wel veel te klein, maar goed, dan doe je voor spek en bonen mee.” 
(“Can I play football/soccer with you guys?” – “Alright, you are in fact way too short, but ok, then you play just for show.”)

– “Ik waardeer het dat jullie me hebben uitgenodigd voor de vergadering, maar als ik niets mag zeggen, zit ik er dus gewoon voor spek en bonen bij! Dat lijkt me niet de bedoeling, of wel soms?!” 
(“I appreciate it that you have invited me for the meeting, but when I’m not allowed to say anything I’m basically here for decoration only! I don’t think that’s the way it is supposed to be, is it now?!”)

Expressions:
– “Voor de show”: just for show.

Related words:
– Spek: pork, bacon [noun] [het spek].
– Boon: bean [noun] [de boon, de bonen].
– Show: show [noun] [de show, de shows].