Category Archives: Vocabulary Intermediate

Vreemdgaan

Posted on by

to stray, commit adultery, be unfaithful, to
cheat Click to listen 
[verb]
[vreemd-gaan, ging vreemd, i. vreemd-ge-gaan]Vreemdgaan

"Vreemdgaan" is composed of "vreemd" and "gaan", which respectively translate to "strange" and "to go". "To go strange" is of course a somewhat literal description of engaging in sexual intercourse with someone other than one's regular partner…

Examples:
– "1 op de 4 mensen gaat vreemd."- "Ja, doei!" – "Nee, echt!" 
("1 out of 4 people commits adultery." – "Yeah right!" – "No, really!")

– "Er zit geen vooruitgang in Franks gedrag. Ik voorspel je dat hij binnen een week weer vreemdgaat." 
("There's no progress in Frank's behaviour. I'm telling you, he will be unfaithful again within a week.")

– "Staatssecretaris Jack de Vries is afgetreden nadat bekend werd dat hij vreemdging met zijn assistente." 
("State Secretary Jack de Vries resigned from office after it became public that he committed adultery with his assistant.")

Expressions:
– "Overspel plegen": to commit adultery. Synonymous to "vreemdgaan".
– "Buitenechtelijke relatie": extramarital relationship.
– "Een scheve schaats rijden": (lit.: to ride a crooked skate) to have an affair.
– "Buiten de deur neuken": (lit.: to f*ck outside the door) <vulgar> to have a sexual, extramarital relationship.

Related words:
– Affaire: affair [noun] [de affaire, de affaires].
– Bedriegen: to cheat (on) [verb] [bedriegen, bedroog, h. bedrogen].

Example:
– "Als ik wil, kan ik je zo bedriegen. Ik heb vele aanbidders." – "Schat, wil je me iets duidelijk maken?"
("If I want, I can cheat on you just like that. I have many worshippers." – "Honey, do you want to make something clear to me?")

– Overspel: adultery [noun] [het overspel, <no plural>].
– Schuinsmarcheerder: adulterer (lit.: he who marches askew [noun] [de
schuinsmarcheerder, de schuinsmarcheerders].
– Slippertje: affair [noun] [het slippertje, de slippertjes].
– Vrijen: to make love [verb] [vrijen, vree/vrijde, gevreeën/gevrijd].
– Verhouding: affair, relationship [noun] [de verhouding, de verhoudingen].

Dat zal mij worst wezen

Posted on by

I couldn't care less Click to listen
[Dutch phrase of the week]Worst

Literally "that would be sausage to me", this expression is used to say that you couldn't care less about something. Note that you cannot use it to say that you don't care about somebody. Often the "mij" becomes "me". You will also hear "dat zal me worst zijn".

Check out the comments to this post for a discussion on the use of 'wezen'.

Examples:
– "De Giro d'Italia start in Amsterdam dit jaar!" – "O ja? Dat zal me worst wezen, wielrennen boeit me niet." 
("The Giro d'Italia starts in Amsterdam this year!" – "Really? I couldn't care less, bicycle racing does not interest me at all.")

– "Dit kun je toch niet maken man? Asociaal!" – "Ik doe waar ik zin in heb, OK? Wat jij van mij vindt zal me worst wezen!" 
("You can't do this / be serious about this! That is so rude! – "I can do what I want, OK? I couldn't care less about what you think of me!")

– "Heb je je targets van dit jaar al met je manager besproken?" – "Targets? Dat zal me allemaal worst wezen, want iedereen wordt toch ontslagen door de crisis!" 
("Have you already discussed this year's targets with your manager?" – "Targets? I couldn't care less about my targets because due to the crisis everybody will get the sack anyway!" Note that when the Dutch use management terminology it is often in English.)

Expressions:
– "Wat kan mij het schelen!": what do I care!
– "Dat kan me niet rotten": I couldn't care less [informal].
– "Boeien!": Boring / not interesting at all / I so not care etc… The verb "boeien" translates as "to fascinate/captivate".

Related words:
– Worst: sausage [noun] [de worst, de worsten].
– Saucijzenbroodje: 'sausage roll' [noun] [het saucijzenbroodje, de saucijzenbroodjes]. Popular Dutch snack that you can often buy in department stores or at train stations.
– Slager: butcher [noun] [de slager, de slagers].

Extra:
Hema rookworst The "HEMA" is a popular department store in the Netherlands, where you can buy almost anything of reasonable quality at a reasonable price. This includes the famous "HEMA rookworst": HEMA smoked sausage. Although the Dutch are not really 'sausage minded' (as some people would say of the Germans) the HEMA rookworst is a popular snack amongst the old and young. After having successfully expanded to Belgium, HEMA tried its luck in Germany. Soon the number one selling item was… the rookworst!

Opklaren

Posted on by

to clear/brighten up Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[op-kla-ren, klaar-de op, op-ge-klaard]

Opklaren
Today is Koninginnedag and that is one of the days in the year of which you can be sure there will be no DWOTD… Well, as the weather is not cooperating much, I haven’t gone ‘downtown’ yet 🙂 However, it seems the sky is clearing up! "Opklaren" can also be used figuratively.

Examples:
– "Het leek vandaag een grauwe dag te worden, maar nu klaart het gelukkig op."
("It looked like today was going to be a gray day, but fortunately it’s brightening up now.")

– "Gaat het nog regenen denk je?" – "Volgens mij niet, de lucht is opgeklaard!" 
("Do you think it will rain?" – "I don’t think so, the sky has cleared up!")

– "En, hoe is het nu?" – "Nou, de situatie leek uitzichtloos, maar nu lijkt het op te klaren!" 
("So, how are things now?" -"Well, the situation seemed hopeless, but now it looks like it’s brightening up!" ‘Uitzichtloos’ translates as something like "without a positive outlook at all"; you can also use ‘hopeloos’.)

Expressions:
– "Na regen komt zonneschijn": after a storm comes a calm. Lit.: "after rain comes sunshine".

Related words:
–
Betrekken: to become overcast, to cloud over [verb] [betrok, betrokken].

Example:
– "De lucht was opgeklaard, en nu betrekt hij weer. Wat hebben we daar nu aan?!"
("The sky cleared up, and now it’s clouding over again. What good is that to us?!")

– Onbewolkt: cloudless, clear [adjective].
– Zonnig: sunny [adjective].

Ik heb met hem te doen

Posted on by

I feel sorry for him Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

5344612871_40eaf88962_z“Met iemand te doen hebben” does not translate as “to have to do with somebody” but as “to feel sorry for somebody” and implies you feel empathy for that person. Today’s phrase with “hem” is just an example of its usage, see the examples below for more. It’s quite common to emphasize with the word “echt”: I feel really sorry for him.

Note that the Dutch also use the word “sorry”, but then as an “excuse me” or a weak “I apologize”. Infamous is the “sorry hoor!” 🙂
(Photo: The Pug Father (flickr.com) – some rights reserved.)

Examples:
– “Simons vriendin heeft het uitgemaakt en nu zit hij in de put. Ik heb echt met hem te doen.” 
(“Simon’s girlfriend broke up with him and now he feels really down. I really feel sorry for him.” Lit.: “and now he sits in the pit/hole/well.)

– “Annelies had net een nieuw fietsje gekregen en toen werd het direct dezelfde dag gestolen! Ik had zo met haar te doen…” 
(“Annelies just got a new bicycle and then it got stolen the exact same day! I felt really sorry for her.” Note that the use of “fietsje” implies that Annelies is a child.)

– “Al die gestrande reizigers op het vliegveld… Je zou er maar 4 nachten moeten slapen; ik heb met ze te doen.” 
(“All those stranded travellers at the airport… Imagine having to spend 4 nights there; I feel sorry for them.” Literally “je zou” translates as “you should” but is also often used as in this example.)

– “Na al die jaren nog steeds geen promotie, het is een schande, ik heb met je te doen hoor!” 
(“After all these years still no promotion, it is a disgrace, believe me I feel sorry for you!”)

Related words:
– Medelijden: pity [noun] [het medelijden, <no plural>].
– Meeleven: to feel for, to empathize with [verb] [leefde mee, meegeleefd].

Example:
– “Wij hebben enorm met de slachtoffers meegeleefd.”
(“We really empathized with the victims.”)

As

Posted on by


1. ash, ashes Iconspeaker_3 Aswolk
[noun]

[de as, de as-sen]

The grayish-white to black powdery residue left when something
is burned, is called "as". "As" has no plural form, so both ash and ashes translate to "as".

Examples:
– "Pas op met die peuk, de as valt op de vloerbedekking." 
("Watch out with that cigarette, the ash is dropping on the carpet.")

– "De vulkaan in IJsland heeft een enorme wolk van as de dampkring ingestoten." 
("The Iceland volcano has thrust a huge cloud of ash into the atmosphere.")

Expressions:
–
"In de as leggen": (lit.: to lay in the ash) to reduce to ashes.

Related words:
– Peuk: smoke, fag, cig(arette) [noun] [de peuk, de peuken].
– Asbak: ash tray [noun] [de asbak, de asbakken].

Example:
– "Schat
heb je weer gerookt? Je ruikt naar asbak…"
("Baby have you been
smoking again? You smell like an ashtray…") 

– Assepoester: Cinderella [noun] [de Assepoester, de Assepoesters], see Extra.

Extra:
In Dutch, Cinderella is called Assepoester. She’s called "assepoester" because – forced by the wicked stepmother and her daughters – she’s had to do a lot of dirty shores, such as lighting the fireplace, which made her have a lot of ash stains on her face and clothes. "Poester" is probably derived from or a corruption of "poetsen": to clean. So literally "Assepoester" would be "ash cleaning woman"…


2. axis Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de as, de as-sen]

An "as" is also an axis. In this case, "as" has a plural form: "assen".Xyas

Examples:
– "De as van het kwaad bestaat uit een aantal schurkenstaten." 
("The axis of evil consists of a number of rogue states.")

– "De aarde draait in 24 uur om zijn as." 
("The earth revolves on its axis in 24 hours.")

– "Tijd staat op de x-as, winst op de y-as." 
("Time is on the x-axis, profit on the y-axis.")

Related words:
– Spil: pivot [noun] [de spil, de spillen].


3. A flat Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de as, de as-sen]

"As" is also a musical note or key. As

Examples:
– "Chopins wals in As Groot is niet erg makkelijk om te spelen." 
("Chopin’s waltz in A-flat major is not very easy to play.")

– "Chopin stond erom bekend dat hij veel stukken in as groot componeerde."
("Chopin was known for composing a lot of pieces in A-flat major.")

Expressions:
–
"Een gevoelig snaar raken": to touch (upon) a tender string, to strike a sensitive chord.

Example:
– "Heb je hem al gevraagd of hij wil trouwen?"
– "Nee, dat raakt een gevoelige snaar…"
("Have you already asked him if he wants to get
married?" – "No, that touches upon a tender string…") 

Related words:
– Toonladder: scale [noun] [de toonladder, de toonladders].
– Noot: note, key [noun] [de noot, de noten].
– La: <musical note> la [noun] [de la, de la’s].

Example:
– "Do – re – mi – fa – sol – la – si – do!"
("Do – re – mi – fa – sol
– la – ti – do!" Note that the "si" is not a typo!)