Category Archives: Vocabulary Intermediate

Eisen

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to demand, to require, to claim Iconspeaker_3
[verb] Eisen
[ei-sen, eis-te, h. ge-ëist]

"Eisen" is a regular verb, but note that an ë appears in the past participle to avoid ambiguity in pronunciation. Related noun is "eis" (plural: "eisen"): demand, requirement, claim.

For the record…"eisen" has nothing to do with "ei" 🙂

Examples:
– "Het parlement heeft het vertrek van de minister geëist." 
("The parliament has demanded the minister's exit.")

– "Kom op zeg, wat je nu van me eist is echt belachelijk!" 
("Come on, your demands are really ridiculous!" Lit.: ",,,what you demand of me now…")

– "Ik eis dat ik nu word geholpen, dit is toch een ziekenhuis??" 
("I demand to be helped right now, this is a hospital, right??")

Expressions:
– "Op zijn/haar strepen staan": to pull rank. Lit.: to stand on one's stripes.

Related words:
– Eis: demand, claim, request, requirement [noun] [de eis, de eisen].
– Voorwaarde: condition, requisite [noun] [de voorwaarde, de voorwaarden/voorwaardes].

Roet in het eten gooien

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to make/cause trouble, to spoil (the fun) Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

Literally, “roet in het eten gooien” translates to “to throw soot in theRoet in het eten gooien food”. It is used when someone ruins or spoils a situation, or causes trouble that may prevent something (good) from happening.

Examples:
– “Zal Frank roet in het eten gooien met dat akkefietje?” 
(“Will Frank cause trouble with that little incident?”)

– “Gooit onze accountant weer roet in het eten? Weer een tegenslag voor het project!” 
(“Is our accountant making trouble again? Again a setback for the project!”)

– “We wilden vanmiddag gaan fietsen, maar het weer gooit roet in het eten: alleen maar miezeren…” 
(“We wanted to go biking this afternoon, but the weather is spoiling the fun: nothing but drizzle…”)

Related words:
– Bederven: 1. to spoil, to ruin [verb] [bederven, bedierf, bedorven] 2. to go bad <food>, to go sour <e.g. milk> [verb] [bederven, bedierf, bedorven].
– Roet: soot [noun] [het roet, <no plural>].
– Schoorsteenveger: chimney-sweep(er) [noun] [de schoorsteenveger, de schoorsteenvegers].
– Verpesten: to spoil, to ruin, synonymous to “roet in het eten gooien [verb] [verpesten, verpestte, h. verpest].

Example:
– “Ik ben razend! Frank heeft het hele feestje verpest met zijn onverkwikkelijke gedrag!”
(“I’m furious! Frank has ruined the entire party with his sordid behaviour!”)

Akkefietje

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little quarrel/disagreement/conflict, little (unpleasant) incident Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[het ak-ke-fiet-je, de ak-ke-fiet-jes]

laundry-413688_640As you may have guessed, “akkefietje” is a diminutive form, and is always used as such. There’s no such thing as an “akkefiet”…

The etymology is a bit unclear, but is suspected that it originates from “acquavitje”, an ironical reference to the Latin “aqua vitae”: brandy (probably used to sooth the conflict…). “Akkefietje” nowadays translates to “little quarrel/disagreement” or “little (unpleasant) incident”.

Examples:
– “Ik zit niet te wachten op een akkefietje met Frank…opzouten!.” 
(“I’m not looking for a quarrel with Frank…beat it!”)

– “Ik had een akkefietje op de snelweg: een of andere idioot haalde me rechts in…” 
(“I had a little incident on the highway: some idiot overtook me on the right…”)

– “Derek heeft een akkefietje met zijn dochter, ze heeft een aarsgewei laten zetten…” 
(“Derek has a little conflict with his daughter, she had an ass-cap tattooed…”)

Expressions:
– “Met iemand in de clinch liggen”: to be in a disagreement/fight with someone.
– “Met iemand overhoop liggen”: to be in a disagreement/fight with someone.

Related words:
– Aanvaring: 1. quarrel, conflict [noun] [de aanvaring, de aanvaringen]. 2. crash, collision [noun] [de aanvaring, de aanvaringen].
– Conflict: conflict [noun] [het conflict, de conflicten].
– Ruzie: trouble, fight [noun] [de ruzie, de ruzies].

Example:
– “Hee makker, zoek je ruzie?”
(“Hey pal, are you looking for trouble?”)

– Trammelant: trouble, hassle, fuss, fight [noun] [de trammelant, <no plural>].

Tegenslag

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setback, mishap, bad luck Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de te-gen-slag, de te-gen-sla-gen]

Tegenslag A "tegenslag" is generally more serious than a "tegenvaller" (something turning out in your disadvantage unexpectedly). It is composed of the words "tegen" (against) and "slag" (blow, stroke).

A common usage is "Met tegenslag(en) te kampen hebben", see below.

Examples:
– "Marc en Sander hebben beiden met tegenslagen te kampen, vandaar dat er onlangs weinig DWOTDs zijn gepubliceerd." 
("Both Sander and Marc suffer misfortune at the moment, that's why not many DWOTDs have been published recently." Note that the verb "kampen" originally means "to struggle/fight" but is not used that way anymore.)

– "Het project heeft vertraging opgelopen omdat we tegenslagen hebben ondervonden bij de aanbesteding." 
("The project is delayed because there were some mishaps during the call for tenders.")

– "Na herhaalde tegenslagen heeft hij de hoop opgegeven ooit nog ware liefde te ervaren." 
("After repeated setbacks he gave up hope that he would ever experience true love.")

– "Hoe gaat het met de bouw van jullie huis?" – "De ene na de andere tegenslag, echt waar, ik wou dat we er nooit aan begonnen waren!" 
("How's the construction of your new house going?" – "One setback after the other, honestly, I wish we had never started it!")

Related words:
– Tegenvaller: disappointment [noun] [de tegenvaller, de tegenvallers].
– Pech: bad/tough luck [noun] [de pech, <no plural>].

Hardnekkig

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persistent, stubborn Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]
[hard-nek-kig]

Hardnekkig "Hardnekkig" implies that whatever it is that is persistent, also proves to be very difficult to get rid of. So it is typically used when something is experienced as inconvenient. The word seems to be related to "hard" ('hard') and "nek" ('neck') but I'm not sure about the origin.

Examples:
– "Ik heb het hem nogmaals gevraagd, maar hij blijft hardnekkig volhouden dat hij het niet gedaan heeft." 
("I have asked him once more, but he stubbornly maintains that he was not the one who did it." Lit. 'that he has not done it'.)

– "Hoe is het met je verkoudheid?" – "Nog steeds niet over, het is echt hardnekkig." 
("How is your cold?" – "Still not gone, it's really persistent.")

– "Hij heeft zijn excuses meerdere malen aan haar aangeboden, maar zij trakteert hem op een hardnekkig stilzwijgen." 
("He apologized to her several times, but she offers him stubborn silence in return." Lit. 'she treats him to a stubborn silence'.)

– "Er doen hardnekkige geruchten de ronde over de kabinetsformatie." 
("Persistent rumours on the formation of the cabinet are going around.")

– "Wij hebben een mierenplaag in huis…" – "Nou, succes ermee, dat zijn echt hardnekkige beestjes." 
("We have an ant plague in the house…" -  "Well, good luck, those are persistent creatures." Note that "beest" translates as "animal" or "beast" but "beestjes" is commonly used for small insects.)

Related words:
– Volhardend: persevering [adverb/adjective].
– Volhouden: to persevere [verb] [hield vol, volgehouden].
– Persistent: persistent [adjective].
– Aanhouden: to continue, to last [verb] [hield aan, aangehouden].