Category Archives: Vocabulary Intermediate

Schaamluis

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crab louse, crabs Click to listen
Schaamluis
[noun]
[de schaam-luis, de schaam-lui-zen]

“Schaamluis” is composed of “schaam” (from “zich schamen”) and “luis”, which respectively translate to “to be ashamed” and “louse”.

The Dutch call the area in which crabs tend to nest the “schaamstreek”: the pubic area, literally the shame area…

If you have crabs, your doctor will tell you: “U heeft schaamluis” (<note: in this case the singular form is used>), or “Je hebt platjes” (<plural form again>), which is more informal…

Examples:
– “Ik ben gisteren naar de dokter geweest…ik heb schaamluis…” – “Balen!” 
(“I went to the doctor yesterday…I’ve got crabs…” – “Tough luck!”)

– “Heb je het al gehoord? Frank heeft schaamluis!” – “Dat verbaast me niks met al zijn knipperlichtrelaties…” 
(“Have you already heard? Frank has crabs!” – “I’m not surprised, with all his on-and-off relationships…” Lit.: “That surprises me nothing…”)

– “Schaamluizen leven van menselijk bloed.” 
(“Crab lice feed on human blood.”)

Related words:
– Condoom: condom [noun] [het condoom, de condooms].
– Geslachtsziekte: sexually transmitted disease, venereal disease [noun] [de geslachtsziekte, de geslachtsziekten].
– Jeuk: itch [noun] [de jeuk, <no plural>].

Example:
– “Ik heb jeuk in mijn schaamstreek…” – “Misschien moet je je laten controleren op schaamluis.”
(“I have an itch in my pubic area…” – “Maybe you need to go have yourself checked for crabs.”)

– Schaamstreek: pubic/genital area [noun] [de schaamstreek, de schaamstreken].
– Soa (seksueel overdraagbare aandoening): STD (sexually transmitted disease) [noun] [de soa, de soa’s].
– Zich schamen (voor): to be ashamed (of) [verb] [zich schamen, schaamde zich, h. zich geschaamd,].

Extra:
Now we’re on the subject, here’s the STD top 7 in the Netherlands (from SOA Aids) (although crabs aren’t necessarily an STD…):
– Chlamydia (chlamydia)
– Genitale wratten (genital warts)
– Gonoroe / druiper (gonorrhea / (lit.) dripper)
– Hepatitis B (hepatitis B)
– Genitale herpes (herpes simplex)
– HIV (hiv)
– Syfilis

Het is een bittere pil…

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It is a bitter pill to swallow… Click to listen
[Dutch phrase of the week]

Redpill_bluepill A lot of phrases to choose from today after yesterday’s loss… however, an unpleasant (to some: disastrous) fact that must be accepted. We had our hopes up and as a result the pill is bitter 🙂

You can also include for whom the pill is bitter, see the examples, however we never include ‘slikken’ (‘to swallow’).

Examples:
– “We hadden er zo op gehoopt, maar het heeft niet zo mogen zijn; het is een bittere pil…” 
(“We really had our hopes up but it wasn’t meant to be; a bitter pill to swallow…”)

– “Toen zij hoorde dat haar grote liefde met een ander trouwde was dat een bittere pil voor haar.” 
(“When she heard that her great love married somebody else, it was a bitter pill for her to swallow.”)

– “Hoe voel je je na gisteravond?” – “Wat zal ik zeggen, een bittere pil jongen, ik ben erg teleurgesteld!” 
(“So how do you feel after last night?”- “What can I say, a bitter pill to swallow man, I am really disappointed.”)

– “Het verlies tegen Spanje is een bittere pil voor alle Oranjesupporters.” 
(“The loss against Spain is a bitter pill to swallow for all supporters of ‘Oranje’.”)

– “Heb je voor mij een biertje?” – “Man, het is half tien ‘s ochtends!” – “Ik weet het, maar ik moet even die bittere pil wegspoelen!” 
(“Do you have a beer for me?” – “Dude/mate, it is half past nine in the morning!” – “I know, but I need to wash down that bitter pill!”)

Expressions:
– “Terug naar de orde van de dag!”: back to the order of the day!
– “Er kan er maar één de winnaar zijn!”: there can only be one winner!
– “Ah joh, het is maar een spelletje!”: hey, it is just a game!
– “Je kan niet alles hebben!”: you can’t have it all!
– “Volgende keer beter!”: better luck next time! Lit. ‘next time better!’.

Related words:
– Verlies: loss [noun] [het verlies, de verliezen].
– Hoop: hope [noun] [de hoop, <no plural>].
– Teleurstelling: disappointment [noun] [de teleurstelling, <no plural>].
– Desastreus: disastrous [adverb/adjective].

Reikhalzend

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longingly, anxiously Click to listen
Reikhalzend
[adverb]
[reik-hal-zend]

"Reikhalzend" is composed of "reik" and "halzend" from respectively  "reiken" and "hals". "Reiken" translates to "to reach" and "hals" translates to "neck". "Reikhalzend" would literally be something like "neck stretching"… 🙂

"Reikhalzend" is often used in combination with the verb "uitkijken naar": to look forward to. So, "reikhalzend uitkijken naar" would literally translate to "to look longingly forward to".

Examples:
– "Iedereen in Nederland kijkt reikhalzend uit naar de finale…de verwachtingen zijn hooggespannen…" 
("Everybody in the Netherlands is really looking forward to the final…the expectations are sky high… ")

– "Ik kan niet wachten tot zondag! ik kijk reikhalzend uit naar de overwinning!! Hup Holland hup!" 
("I can't wait till Sunday! I'm longing for victory!! Go Holland go!")

– "Frank kijkt reikhalzend uit naar een nieuwe liefde…" – "Kansloos, hij is de koning van de knipperlichtrelatie." 
("Frank is yearning for a new love…" – "Hopeless, he's the king of the on-off relationship.")

Expressions:
– "De wens is de vader van de gedachte": (lit.: the wish is the father of the thought) wishful thinking, used when you believe something because you want it to be true.
– "Hoop doet leven": (lit.: hope does living) hope springs eternal.

Example:
– "Hup Holland hup! We worden wereldkampioen!!" – Hoop doet leven vriend, hoop doet leven…"
("Go Holland Go! We''re going to be world champion!!" – Hope springs eternal my friend, hope springs eternal…")

Related words:
– Hals: neck, throat [noun] [de hals, de halzen].
– Hoop: hope [noun} [de hoop, <no plural>].
– Reiken: to reach, hand, pass, give, hand over, give to [verb] [reiken, reikte, h. gereikt].

Extra:
Because of the soccer world championship 2010, our small country is in the picture quite a bit now…here's a little bit more info on the name of our beloved country: the official name of our country is "Nederland". However, the country "Nederland" is part of a kingdom: "het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden": the Kingdom of the Netherlands. So, the English name for our country – the Netherlands <plural> – refers actually to our kingdom, which is in fact incorrect: it should be Netherland (but we forgive you 🙂 ). The word "neder" is synonymous to "laag": low. Sometimes, the Netherlands are referred to  – in a historical context – as "De Lage Landen" (or "De Nederlanden"): the Low Countries, which are the historical lands
around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt,
and Meuse rivers, including the modern
countries of Belgium, the Netherlands,
Luxembourg
and parts of northern France and western Germany. You may have heard from the Dutch popfestival Lowlands, which is quite popular in the Netherlands.
Nederlandse vlag

To increase the confusion, the name of our country "Nederland" is also often translated with "Holland". However…"Holland" is the name of an important historical province in the Netherlands. Currently there are two 'Holland provinces': Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland (North Holland and South Holland). But because this province was so important in the past, its name has apparently become an equivalent for the whole country…

To confuse you even more, let's take a quick look at the adjective "Dutch". This is an (English) derivation of "Diets" or "Dietsch", a collective name for a number of closely related dialects which were spoken and written between 1150 and 1500 in the Netherlands, from which later standard Dutch would be derived. "Dutch" and "Diets(ch)" are also etymologically related to "Duits", which, in modern Dutch, translates to "German", which translates to "Deutsch" in the German language…still following?? 😉 Anyhow, the Dutch call themselves "Nederlanders", literally: Netherlanders or Lowlanders. 

It seems that if you add the adjective "Dutch" to something, it gets a negative connotation, for example the phrase "go Dutch" or "Dutch treat". This can be traced back to a time when England and the Netherlands fought constantly over trade routes and political boundaries during the 17th century. The British used the term "Dutch" in a number or derogatory or demeaning ways, including "Dutch courage" (bravery through alcohol) and "Dutch  treat", which was actually no treat at all. The Dutch were said to be very stingy with their wealth, almost miserly, so the British used the word "Dutch" informally to imply all sorts of negative behaviours… <from wiseGEEK>

And finally, if you're wondering why we refer to our national soccer team – in fact, every Dutch national sports team – as "Oranje", well…that's because our royal family is from the house of Oranje-Nassau. "Oranje" translates to "orange", as you probably would have guessed…Also check out Oranjekoorts!

Duimen

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to keep one’s fingers crossed Click to listen
[verb]
[dui-men, duim-de, ge-duimd]

people-484966_640Literally ‘to thumb’, this is the Dutch equivalent of ‘to cross your fingers’. I don’t know why we apparently ‘thumb’ to wish somebody good luck or to hope for a good outcome. It also seems that we don’t really know how to ‘thumb’ exactly so it is best used figuratively 🙂

Another translation of ‘duimen’ is ‘to suck one’s thumb’ but you will probably not use it too much (we hope).

Examples:
– “Vanavond duimen wij voor Oranje!!” 
(“Tonight we keep our fingers crossed for the Dutch team!!”)

– “Heb je morgen je examen? Ja? Dan zal ik voor je duimen!” 
(“Is your exam tomorrow? It is? Then I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you!”)

– “Wij duimen voor de winst tegen Uruguay!” 
(“We’ll keep our fingers crossed that we’ll win against Uruguay!” Lit. ‘we thumb for the victory’.)

Related words:
– Duimendraaien: to twiddle one’s thumbs, to sit around doing nothing, to be inactive [verb] [draaide duimen, duimengedraaid].
– Duimen/duimzuigen: to suck one’s thumb [verb] [duimde / zoog duim, geduimd / duimgezogen].

Example:
– “Volgens mij heeft hij tot zijn elfde geduimd.”
(“I think he sucked his thumb until the age of eleven.” Lit. ‘until his eleventh’.)

– Duim: thumb [noun] [duim, duimen].

Lekkage

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leak, leakage Click to listen
Lekkage
[noun]
[de lek-ka-ge, de lek-ka-ges]

A "lekkage" is a leakage. "Lekkage" is typically used in case of a pipe, tube or other container leaking water.

The related "lek" translates as a noun also to "leak" in general, or as an adjective to "leaky/punctured".

Examples:
– "Marcs kantoor is dit weekend getroffen door een flinke waterlekkage." – "Daar is hij mooi klaar mee!" 
("Marc's office has been struck by quite a water leakage this weekend." – "A fine state of affairs!")

– "De bovenburen hebben lekkage en nu loopt het water bij ons langs de muur naar beneden…" – "Jeetje, het is bij jullie altijd kommer en kwel…" 
("The upper neighbours have a leak and now the water is running down our wall…" – "Oh my, you guys are always in a miserable situation…" Note the use of 'jeetje'; this is a variant of 'jee' which is in its turn derived from 'Jezus'.)

Expressions:
– "Het loopt de spuigaten uit": it's getting out of hand.
– "In het water vallen": to fall through, to be cancelled. Lit.: to fall into the water

Example:
–
"Het is mijn verwachting dat Franks plannen vrij snel in het water zullen vallen."
("I expect Frank's plans to fall through quite quickly." Lit.: "It is my expectation that Frank's plans will fall through quite quickly.")

Related words:
– Lek: 1. leak [noun] [het lek, de lekken]. 2. leaky, punctured [adjective].

Example:
– "Eerst had ik wind tegen, daarna kreeg ik een lekke band, en toen begon het te regenen." –
"Jongen, wat een ellende!"
("First I had the wind against me, then I got a flat tyre, and then it
started to rain…" – "Dude, what a distress!")

– Lekken: to leak [verb] [lekken, lekte, h. gelekt].
– Loodgieter: plumber [noun] [de loodgieter, de loodgieters].