Scheiding

separation, divorce, parting  Iconspeaker_3
Parting_hair
[noun]
[de schei-ding, de schei-din-gen]

In general, "scheiding" translates to "separation". In a specific context, the translation may be different. For example: in the context of a marriage, "scheiding" translates to "divorce". In the context of a haircut, "scheiding" translates to "parting".

"Scheiding" is often followed by the preposition "tussen" – "scheiding tussen" – which usually translates to "separation of".

Examples:
– "Ik ben voor een duidelijke scheiding tussen kerk en staat." 
("I’m in favour of a clear separation of church and state.")

– "De scheiding van Vanessa is groot nieuws in showbizland." 
("The divorce of Vanessa is big news in the world of showbiz.")

– "In Franks haar zit een vreemde scheiding…hij kan zijn hoofd beter kaal scheren…" 
("Frank’s hair has a funny parting…he’d better shave his head (bold)…")

Expressions:
– "Het kaf van het koren scheiden": to separate the wheat from the chaff, to separate the good from the bad.

Related words:
– Scheiden: to separate, to divorce [verb] [scheiden, scheidde, gescheiden].Divorce
– Echtscheiding: divorce [noun] [de echtscheiding, de echtscheidingen]. Mark that "echt" translates to "matrimony" in this context, so the literal translation would be: matrimony separation. You may sometimes see the pun "vechtscheiding", lit.: fighting divorce, meaning an ugly divorce.

Example:
– "Een echtscheiding in de wereld van BN’ers is  vaak een vechtscheiding…"
("A divorce in the world of famous Dutch people is often ugly…")

– Ex: ex [noun] [de ex, de exen].
– Huwelijk: marriage [noun] [het huwelijk, de huwelijken].
– Hereniging: reunion [noun] [de hereniging, de herenigingen].

Dat is geen zuivere koffie

that’s not to be trusted, that’s suspicious Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

You probably all know the Dutch way to order a café latte ("koffie verkeerd"; lit.: "wrong coffee") and that’s not the only Dutch expression in which coffee plays a big role. "Dat is geen zuivere koffie" literally means: "that’s no pure coffee". Its meaning points to a fishy situation or business. "Zuiver" can be translated as "clean" and "pure", used in both literal and figurative meanings. The related weak regular verb "zuiveren" can be used in its literal sense ("to purify") and in a figurative sense, e.g. "to exonerate oneself" ("zich van alle blaam zuiveren").Koffie

Examples:
– "Mijn werkloze buurman heeft gisteren een Maserati gekocht.. Dat is geen zuivere koffie." 
("My unemployed neighbour has bought a Maserati yesterday.. That’s suspicious.")

– "Op marktplaats.nl worden precies dezelfde jassen te koop aangeboden die vorige maand in de PC Hooftstraat zijn gestolen.. Dat is geen zuivere koffie." 
("On marktplaats.nl are exactly the same jackets for sale that were stolen last month in the PC Hooftstraat.. That’s suspicious.")

– "Elke maand zit er weer een andere winkel in dat pand; dat is geen zuivere koffie." 
("Every month another store is located in that building; there’s something fishy about it.")

Expressions:
– "Op de koffie komen": 1. to drop by for coffee (lit.); 2. to be faced with the consequences of one’s actions (fig.).

Example:
– "Het lijkt alsof ze zomaar wegkomt met al haar leugens, maar ze komt nog wel op de koffie."
("It seems like she gets away with all her lies, but she’ll be faced with the consequences.")

– "Dat is andere koffie": that’s something else (Lit.: "that’s other coffee").

Example:
– "De eerste voorstelling viel een beetje tegen maar dit is andere koffie!"
("The first performance was a bit disappointing, but this is something else!")

– "Koffie verkeerd": café latte, coffee with a lot of milk (lit.: "wrong coffee").

Related words:
– Zuiver: 1. clean; 2. pure [adjective/adverb].
– Zuiveren: to purify [verb] [zuiverde, heeft gezuiverd].
– Thee: tea [noun] [de thee, de theeën].

Jammer maar helaas!

(That’s just) too bad… Iconspeaker_3 Disappointment
[Dutch phrase of the week]

When you combine "jammer" ("pity", "too bad") and "helaas" ("alas", "regrettably") in this phrase, you do not only show disappointment, but you also indicate that you accept that it is just the way it is…

Examples:
– "Het Nederlands vrouwenelftal heeft gisteren de halve finale verloren van Engeland. Ze zijn ver gekomen, maar het mocht niet zo zijn… Jammer maar helaas!" 
("The Dutch women soccer team lost the semi finals against England yesterday. They got really far (into the tournament), but it was not meant to be… Too bad, but that’s just the way it is!")

– "Uiteindelijk heeft Frank de deal niet kunnen sluiten. Het zag er goed uit, maar ketste op het laatste moment af… Jammer maar helaas!" 
("Eventually Frank was not able to close the deal. It looked good, but at the last moment it fell apart. That’s just too bad!" Literally: "at the last moment it bounced off.")

– "Ik had op Funda een leuk huis gezien maar toen ik de makelaar belde, bleek het al verkocht te zijn. Jammer maar helaas!" 
("I spotted a nice house at Funda, but when I called the real estate agent, (it appeared that) the house was already sold… What a pity (but these things happen)!")

Expressions:
– "Helaas pindakaas!": too bad! (Informal. Literally it says: "alas, peanut butter!". We have no clue who started it 🙂 )

Related words:
– Jammer: too bad, (a) pity, shame [interjection, adjective].
– Helaas: alas, sadly, regrettably [interjecion, adverb].
– Teleurstelling: disappointment [noun] [de teleurstelling, de teleurstellingen].

Niet te filmen!

indescribable, unbelievable! Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

"Filmen" is the verb derived from the noun "film" and obviously means "to record on film". Unless it is really a film that you are shooting, you will more commonly use "een video opnemen" or "opnemen" ("to record" in general). Apparently this expression is used to say that something is that incredible, it can’t be recorded on film (whatever that means 🙂 ). You can use the expression both for positive and negative astonishment. Or just say: "ongelofelijk!" 🙂

Examples:
– "Moet je die man zien fietsen met die gekke hoed. Niet te filmen…" 
("Look at that man biking over there with that strange hat! Incredible…")

– "Hoe was het congres afgelopen zaterdag?"- "Het was niet te filmen zo slecht… echt, niets was geregeld!" 
("How was the convention last Saturday?" – "It was so bad… it’s indescribable… honestly, nothing had been arranged!")

Slingeraap
– "Ik ben dit weekend in Artis geweest."- "Was het leuk?" – "Zeker, vooral die slingerapen, niet te filmen joh hoe die hun staart gebruiken als extra arm!"
 
("I went to the Artis Zoo this weekend." – "Did you have a good time?" –  "Absolutely, especially those spider monkeys, it is unbelievable how they use their tail as an additional arm!" The use of the word "joh" is a bit like "ey".)

Voorgevel

1. façade, face, front Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de voor-ge-vel, de voor-ge-vels]

De "voorgevel" is the front side of a house or building. One
typically uses the general "gevel" (façade) unless you want to
distinguish from the "achtergevel" (rear façade) or potential
"zijgevels" (side façades).

Examples:
– "Dat oude huis heeft een prachtige voorgevel."  Gevel2

("That old house has a beautiful façade.")

– "Langs de Amsterdamse grachten staan huizen met voorgevels die dateren uit de 17e, 18e en 19e eeuw." 
("Along the Amsterdam canals, there are houses with façades that date from the 17th, 18th and 19th century.")

– "Nieuwsflits: vrachtwagen ramt voorgevel huis in Rotterdam." 
("Newsflash: truck rams front of house in Rotterdam.")

Related words:
– Voor: before, in front of [preposition].
– Voorkant: front [noun] [de voorkant, de voorkanten].
– Gevel: façade [noun] [de gevel, de gevels].
Huis: house [noun] [het huis, de huizen].
Dak: roof [noun] [het dak, de daken].

Extra:
Some of the older houses in the Netherlands have a tilted façade. To
the untrained eye this may look like subsidence, but in most cases it
was a deliberate choice. A plausible explanation is that a tilted
façade made it easier to hoist up goods. (Other explanations are that
the (originally wooden) façade was less affected by rain, or that one
tried to increase the surface area of the higher floors whilst only
paying tax based on the surface area of the ground floor.)

2. bosom Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de voor-ge-vel, de voor-ge-vels]

Voorgevel_2

"Voorgevel" can be used colloquially to refer to a woman’s bosom,
much like "knockers", "boobs" etc. It is very informal and can come
across a bit sexist.

Examples:
– "Debbie heeft een flinke voorgevel, zeker in dat strakke shirt…" 
("Debbie is very bosomy, especially in that tight shirt…")

– "Pamela’s voorgevel is indrukwekkend, maar het is natuurlijk allemaal nep." 
("Pamela’s boobs are impressive, but it’s of course all fake.")

Related words:
Borst: chest, breast [noun] [de borst, de borsten].
– Boezem: bosom [noun] [de boezem, de boezems].