Category Archives: Vocabulary Intermediate

Gebruiksaanwijzing

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manual [noun] [de gebruiksaanwijzing, de gebruiksaanwijzingen] [‘gu-bruiks-aan-wij-zing’] Iconspeaker_3

Literally a "gebruiksaanwijzing" is a "direction" ("aanwijzing") of use ("gebruik").

Examples:
– "Het lukt me niet om de dvd-speler in te stellen, weet jij waar de gebruiksaanwijzing is?"
("I’m unable to set/program the dvd player, do you know where the manual is?")

– "U kunt de gebruiksaanwijzing ook downloaden op www.philips.nl ."
("You can also download the manual at www.philips.nl .")

– "Mijn vriendin zegt dat ik een gebruiksaanwijzing heb… Nou, zij anders ook!"
("My girlfriend says I have a manual… Well, so does she!" Here we mean the behaviour of course.)

Related words:
– "Gebruiken": to use.
– "Aanwijzen": to point at, to direct.

Aan de lopende band

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constantly, all the time [Dutch phrase of the week] Iconspeaker_klein

Literally translated, a "lopende band" would be something like a "running belt". Actually, "lopende band" is the translation for "conveyor belt" (as part of an assembly line in a factory). The expression "aan de lopende band" is used to refer to the continuous or repetitive nature of a certain event or activity.
In the case of a continuous activity "aan de lopende band" is synonymous to "de hele tijd", which is the literal translation of "all the time", see the Examples.

Examples:
– "Tijdens de vergadering moest Frank aan de lopende band hoesten."
("During the meeting, Frank had to cough constantly.")

– "Het kan toch niet zo zijn dat jij me aan de lopende band beledigt, en dat ik mijn mond moet houden!"
("It can’t possibly be the case that you insult me all the time, and that I have to keep my mouth shut!")

– "Schat, je zit aan de lopende band in je neus te peuteren." – "Moet jij nodig zeggen!"
("Honey, you’re picking your nose all the time." – "Look who’s talking!" Note that the typical
Dutch construction for continuous activities is used here: [subject]  + [conjugation
of verbs suchs as "lopen" / "zitten" / "staan" / "hangen"]  + ["te"] +
[infinitive].)

– "Die man met dat blotebillengezicht zit de hele tijd naar me te gluren…wat een engerd!"
("That man with the pudding-face is peeping at me all the time…what a creep!" In Dutch, "scary" or "spooky" is translated with "eng".)

Related words:
– "Lopen": to walk, to run.
– "Band": band, belt, strip, tire.

Op het nippertje

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at the very last moment, only just in time, a close call [Dutch phrase of the week] Iconspeaker_3

A "nipper" does not exist, nor does "nippertje" have a meaning of its own. You’ll only hear and use it in this phrase. Another version is "op het laatste nippertje": at the very very last moment.

Examples:
– "Vanochtend heb ik op het nippertje de trein gehaald."
("This morning I only just managed to catch the train." Note that the Dutch say "de trein halen".)

– "De scholier stak zonder te kijken de spoorwegovergang over, en is op het nippertje aan de dood ontsnapt."
("The pupil/student crossed the railway/road crossing without looking, and escaped death by a hair’s breadth.")

– "Iedereen was ruimschoots op tijd, terwijl Frank weer eens op het laatste nippertje arriveerde."
("Everybody arrived well on time, while Frank once again arrived at the very very last moment.")

Pleite

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"Pleite" is slang and is only used informally. It can be used in two ways:

1. gone, out of here [adjective] [‘plei-tu’] Iconspeaker_klein

Here it is also often used in the phrase "pleite gaan", which translates to "to clear/take off".

Examples:
– "Jongen, ik ben pleite."
("Dude/Mate, I’m out of here.")

– "Weet jij waar Eline is?" – "Nee, ze was ineens pleite."
("Do you know where Eline is?" – "No, all of a sudden she was gone.")

– "Kunnen we nu pleite gaan?" – "Nog heel even Yolanda, het is zo gepiept."
("Can we clear off now?" – "Just a moment Yolanda, it won’t take long.")

 Related words:
– "Peren": to leave.
– "Pleiten": "Pleite" is not to be confused with the verb "pleiten", which translates to "to plead". The following example contains both 🙂

– "Na het pleiten in de rechtszaal ging de advocaat pleite."
("After pleading in court, the lawyer cleared off.")

Extra: more on the background of "pleite" and "pleiten" can be found in this article (in Dutch).

2. nowhere to be found, gone, missing [adjective] [‘plei-tu’] Iconspeaker_klein

Examples:
– "M’n sleutels zijn pleite. Wat nu?"
("My keys are gone. Now what?")

– "Sinds de verhuizing is de afstandsbediening van de TV pleite."
("Since the move, the remote control of the TV is missing.")

Related words:
– "Weg": gone, left missing away.
– "Kwijt": gone, missing.
– "Foetsie": [informal] gone, missing.
– "Verschwunden": [informal] past particple of the German verb "verschwinden": to disappear, and for some reason informally used when something is nowhere to be found and you have absolutely no clue.

 

Chagrijnig

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grumpy, grouchy, cranky, bad-tempered [adjective] [‘sja-grij-nug’] Iconspeaker_klein

The related verb is "chagrijnen", which translates to "to grouch/grumble". The related noun is "chagrijn", which can be either a grouchy person, or the bad temper of that person. Both the verb and the noun are not used as frequently as the adjective "chagrijnig".

Often you will hear the pronunciation "sja-gu-rij-nug" or "sja-ga-rij-nug".

Examples:
– "Frank is altijd chagrijnig ‘s morgens."
("Frank is always grumpy in the morning.")

– "Waarom ben je zo chagrijnig?" – "Ik heb gisteravond een blauwtje gelopen bij Ludmilla…"
("Why are you so bad-tempered?" – "I was turned down by Ludmilla last night…")

– "Wat is er met je zus aan de hand?" – "O, niets ernstigs, ze is een beetje chagrijnig."
("What’s wrong with your sister?" – "Oh, nothing serious, she is a bit grumpy." Note the common expression: "aan de hand zijn".)

– "Ik word zo chagrijnig van al die files! Het moet niet gekker worden in dit land!!"
("All these traffic jams make me so cranky! This country has reached the limit!!" Lit.: "I become so cranky… It must not become any crazier in this country!!")

Related words:
– "Chaggie"/"chagge"/"sjaggie"/"sjagge": informal version of "chagrijnig" that you might hear in speech.

Example:
– "Sorry hoor, maar ik ben een beetje chaggie vanochtend."
("I hope you don’t mind, but I’m a bit bad-tempered this morning.")

– "Ochtendhumeur": bad morning temper.
– "Nors": grumpy.
– "Ontvreden": dissatisfied.
– "Boos": angry.
– "Mopperen": to grumble.