Category Archives: Vocabulary Intermediate

Pakkans

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chance of getting arrested after committing a crime  Iconspeaker_3
 [noun]
[de pak-kans, de pak-kan-sen]
Pakkans

This is a great word – both because of its pronunciation and its meaning. "Pakkans" consists of two words: "pak" from "pakken" which means "to take". In "pakkans", "pakken" rather refers to its passive form: "gepakt worden" or "getting caught". "Kans" means "chance" (or "probability"). The "pakkans" is therefore the chance of getting caught.  

Examples:
– "Minister van Veiligheid en Justitie Opstelten wil de pakkans van zware criminelen verhogen." 
("Minister of Public Safety and Justice Opstelten wants to increase chances that heavy criminals are caught.")

– "Het aantal overvallen is de afgelopen jaren gestegen terwijl de pakkans aanzienlijk is afgenomen." 
("The number of robberies increased in the past years whereas the number of arrests declined substantially.")

– <Poster:> "In het echt valt een overval minder op. Ziet u iets verdachts, bel 1-1-2." 
(<Picture:> "In real life, a robbery is less obvious. If you see anything suspicious, dial 1-1-2.")

– "Een aantal juweliers probeerde de pakkans van overvallers te vergroten door camerabeelden uit te wisselen met elkaar." 
("A couple of jewellers tried to increase the chance of robbers getting caught by exchanging camera footage with each other.")

Expressions:
– "In de kraag gevat worden": to get arrested.

Example:
– "De overvaller dacht dat hij was ontsnapt, maar door de camerabeelden kon de politie hem toch in de kraag vatten."
("The robber thought he'd escaped, but due to the camera footage the police could arrest him after all.")

– "Iemand van zijn bed lichten": to arrest someone in the middle of the night.

Example:
– "De overvaller dacht dat hij was ontsnapt, maar de politie lichtte hem dezelfde nacht nog van zijn bed."
("The robber thought he'd escaped, but the police arrested him the same night.")

Related words:
– Arresteren: to arrest [verb] [arresteerde, heb gearresteerd].
– Gearresteerd worden: to get arrested [verb] [werd gearresteerd, is gearresteerd].

Pitten

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1. to sleep Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[pit-ten, pit-te, heb ge-pit]Pitten

"Pitten" is informal Dutch for "to sleep". It has a few formal meanings too, which are explained below.

Examples:
– "Kan ik na dat etentje vanavond bij jou pitten?" 
("Can I sleep at your place after that dinner tonight?")

– "Ik heb echt geen zin meer om helemaal naar huis te rijden; kan ik bij jou blijven pitten?" 
("I really don't feel like driving all the way home; can I crash at your place?")

– "Ik heb echt heerlijk liggen pitten! Ik voel me weer helemaal uitgerust." 
("I slept really well! I feel all energetic again.")

– "Wil je nu gaan of wil je nog even pitten vantevoren?" 
("Do you want to go now of do you want to take a nap first?")

– "Ik kan mijn ogen niet openhouden vandaag; ik moet echt meer pitten!" 
("I can't keep my eyes open today; I really should sleep more!")

Related words:
– Tukken: to doze, snooze [verb] [tukte, heb getukt].
– Tukje: catnap [noun] [het tukje, de tukjes].
– Dutten: to doze, to snooze [verb] [het dutje, de dutjes].
– Dutje: nap [noun] [het dutje, de dutjes].
– Ingedut: dull [adjective/adverb]. 

2. seeds, stones Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de pit, de pit-ten]

"Pitten" is also the plural of "pit". It is also the verb "to stone", but in the latter sense, it is only used when referring to cherries. "Ontpitten" is more regularly used when referring to "to stone".

Examples:
– "Als we vroeger kersen gingen (ont)pitten in de tuin, zagen we er daarna helemaal rood uit." 
("When we used to stone cherries in the garden, we would look red all over afterwards.")

– "Heb je de pitten uit de pompoen gehaald?" 
("Did you remove the seeds from the pumpkin?")

Tegen beter weten in

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against (one’s) better judgement, while knowing better Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[te-gen be-ter we-ten in]

The implied verb in this phrase is “doen”. To do something against (one’s) better judgement, or while knowing better: “Tegen beter weten iets doen”. You can replace “doen” with other verbs of course, see the Examples.

Examples:
– “Tegen beter weten in haalde hij geen kaartje bij de parkeerautomaat.” 
(“Even though he knew better, he did not get a ticket at the (parking ticket) machine.” Note that it is common in Dutch to say “parkeerkaartje” for the ticket you get in order to pay for parking. The ticket machine is called “parkeerautomaat”. A “parking ticket” as in a “fine”, is “parkeerboete” in Dutch.)

– “Ik geef toe, ik heb het tegen beter weten in gedaan, maar ik vond het de gok waard. Achteraf gezien heeft het goed uitgepakt!” 
(“I admit, I did it against my better judgement, but I though it was worth the bet/shot. With hindsight it turned out well!”)

– “Tegen beter weten in bliezen de regeringsleiders de top af.” 
(“The heads of government cancelled the summit against their better judgement.”)

– “Ik dacht nog, zal ik mijn regenkleding meenemen… Maar helaas. Ach ja, ik doe wel vaker iets tegen beter weten in.” 
(“I thought to myself, shall I take my rain gear with me… But alas… Oh well, it’s not the first time I do something against better judgement.” Lit. “…, more often I do something against …”)

Related words:
– Weten: to know [verb] [wist, geweten].
– Waarschuwen: to warn [verb] [waarschuwde, gewaarschuwd].

Example:
– “Ik heb je nog zo gewaarschuwd! Je moet uitkijken bij het oversteken!”
(“Haven’t I warned you? You have to watch out when crossing (the road)!” Lit. “You have to watch out with the crossing.”)

– Beter: better [adjective/adverb].
– Achteraf: afterwards [adverb].
– Achteraf gezien: with hindsight.
– Dom/stom: stupid, silly, ignorant [adjective/adverb].
– Naïef: naive [adjective/adverb].

Overleven

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to survive Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[o-ver-le-ven, o-ver-leef-de, o-ver-leefd]

Overleven "Overleven" can be used both in the meaning of "to live through" and "to outlive". The related noun is "overlevende": survivor. Which is very different from an "overledene": deceased.

You may encounter the English noun "survival" in Dutch conversation; sometimes we use the English expression "survival of the fittest" instead of the Dutch alternative "recht van de sterkste(n)" or somebody may "op survival gaan" meaning he/she is going on a survival trip.

Examples:
– "Hoe gaan we dit in godsnaam overleven?" 
("How in God's name are we going to survive this?")

– "Hoe was je eerste werkdag?" – "Ach ja, ik heb het weer overleefd hè!" 
("How was your first day at work?" – "Oh well, I've survived it (you know)!")

– "De president heeft de aanslag overleefd, echter, drie van zijn lijfwachten zijn omgekomen." 
("The president survived the attack, however, three of his body-guards were killed." Note the verb "omkomen": to die, to be killed, to perish.)

– "En we kunnen weer rustig ademhalen mensen, het Nederlands elftal heeft de eerste ronde overleefd." 
("And we can breath comfortably again people, the Dutch team has survived the first round." Without context "Het Nederlands elftal" usually refers to the Dutch national team football/soccer, which consists of 11 players hence 'elftal'.)

– "Het stamhoofd heeft zijn kinderen reeds overleefd en lijkt vooralsnog niet van plan het loodje te leggen." 
("The tribal chief has already outlived his children and seemingly has no intention to die just yet." Note the informal expression "het loodje leggen": to kick the bucket, turn up one's toes, etc.)

– "Wanneer men in de jungle wil overleven, moet men niet te kritisch zijn wat eten betreft." 
("When one wants to survive in the jungle, one must not be too critical when it comes to food.")

Related words:
– Overlevende: survivor [noun] [de overlevende, de overlevenden].

Example:
– "Helaas zijn er geen overlevenden van de vliegramp."
("Unfortunately there are no survivors of the plane crash.")

– Overleving: survival [noun] [de overleving, <no plural>].

Onderhouden

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to maintain, to support, to keep up, to keep in repair Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[on-der-hou-den, on-der-hield, on-der-hou-den]

Onderhouden "Onderhouden" has several translations, but I choose to cover them all at once 🙂

You can use "onderhouden" both for people (as in maintaining your social life) and objects (maintaining your house, servicing your car etc.). In case of people there is the additional translation of "to support, to provide for", see the Examples below.

The noun is "onderhoud" which you may also encounter in the meaning of a (formal) conversation/appointment. The associated verb in that case is reflexive: "zich onderhouden", although you will mostly hear the noun being used.

The adjective (or adverb) "onderhoudend" you will mostly encounter in the meaning of "entertaining, amusing"; the verb "onderhouden" in its translation of "to entertain" is less often used.

Examples:
– "Ik ben heel slecht in het onderhouden van contacten, en jij?" 
("I'm very bad at keeping in touch, what about you?" Lit.:"…at maintaining contacts".)

– "Te koop: Volkswagen Golf, bouwjaar 1993, dealer onderhouden." 
("For sale: 1993 Volkswagen Golf, serviced by dealership." Lit."Volkswagen Golf, year of manufacture 1993, …")

– "Zal ik huren of kopen?" – "Tja, ik weet het niet. Een koophuis zal op lange termijn in waarde toenemen, maar je moet het wel zelf onderhouden." 
("Should I rent or (should I) buy?" – "H'm, I don't know… A house that you own will increase in value in the long-term, however you will have to maintain it yourself." A "koophuis" can either mean a house that is for sale or 'owner-occupied'.)

– "Haar man is onlangs overleden, zielig hè?" – "Ja, en nu moet ze in haar eentje drie kinderen onderhouden." 
("Her husband has recently passed away, sad isn't it?" – "Indeed, and now she has to support three kids on her own…" Note the use of "in haar eentje"; an alternative would be "alleen": 'alone'.)

Related words:
– Onderhoud: maintenance/upkeep, support, conversation/hearing [noun] [het onderhoud, <no plural>].
– Onderhoudsbeurt: service, overhaul [noun] [de onderhoudsbeurt, de onderhoudsbeurten].
– Onderhoudscontract: (maintenance and) service agreement [noun] [het onderhoudscontract, de onderhoudscontracten].
– Onderhoudend: entertaining, amusing [adjective/adverb].

Example:
– "Ik beloof je dat je je niet zal vervelen; Frank is een heel onderhoudende gesprekspartner."
("I promise you that you will not be bored; Frank is a very entertaining guy to talk to." A "gesprekspartner" literally is a "conversation partner".)