Category Archives: Vocabulary Intermediate

Rukwind

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squall, gust [noun] [de rukwind, de rukwinden]

The past week two storms have passed over the Netherlands, leading to very strong winds primarily at the coast. In general, storms in the Netherlands are not very serious, but cyclists and motorists can definitely get in trouble due to "rukwinden": sudden sharp increases in wind speed.
The word "rukwind" consists of "ruk" and "wind". The noun "ruk" comes from the verb "rukken" which translates to "to jerk/tug/pull"; quick consecutive strong pulls. And yes, it can be used in a sexual context (see ‘Related words’).

Examples:
– "Door hevige rukwinden kwamen diverse automobilisten in de problemen op de A4 in de richting van Amsterdam."
("Due to strong squalls/gusts several motorists got into trouble on the A4 in the direction of Amsterdam.")

– "Het Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut (KNMI) waarschuwt fietsers morgen niet de weg op te gaan in verband met mogelijke rukwinden."
("The Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute for Meteorology warns cyclists not to go on the roads tomorrow because of possible squalls/gusts.")

Related words:
1. "Windstoot": synonym for "rukwind".
2. "Storm": storm.
3. "Wind": wind.
4. "Waaien": to blow (by the wind, see DWOTD "72. Waaien").
5. "Rukken": to jerk/tug/pull.
6. "(Af)rukken": (informal) to jerk off, to masturbate (by a man).

Burgemeester

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mayor [noun] [de burgemeester, de burgemeesters]

"Burgemeester" is composed of "burger" and "meester", where the "r" of "burger" is lost. "Burger" translates to "citizen" and "meester" translates to "master". Hence "burgemeester" literally translates to "master of citizens". "Burgemeester" is a uni-sex word: it is used for both mayors and mayoresses.

Examples:
– "Gisteren is in Nijmegen een nieuwe burgemeester benoemd."
("Yesterday, a new mayor was appointed in the city of Nijmegen.")

– "Wim Deetman is de burgemeester van Den Haag."
("Wim Deetman is the mayor of The Hague.")

Related words:
– "Gemeentehuis": town hall, city hall (also "stadhuis" in Dutch).
– "Gemeente": municipality.
– "College van burgemeester en wethouders": (the bench of) Mayor and Aldermen, see ‘Extra’.
– "Gemeenteraad": local council, city council, see ‘Extra’.

Extra:
The Netherlands is currently divided in 443 municipalities. Municipalities are governed by the Mayor and his Aldermen. They have to answer to the (members) of the local council. Every four years, municipal elections are held.

Vuurwerk

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fireworks [noun] [het vuurwerk, <no plural>]

In the Netherlands it is common that people let off their own fireworks. Since fireworks is not cheap, some people complain about the waste of money that could have been spent on more useful things or on the less fortunate people on this planet.
Fireworks is usually sold in the Netherlands from the 28th of December till the 31st. Safety laws are strict for the shops that sell fireworks, and not all fireworks are allowed by Dutch law. For this reason border control between the Netherlands and Belgium is enforced in this time of the year, since more dangerous fireworks are allowed in Belgium and people try to bring it into the Netherlands.

Examples:
– “Op oudejaarsavond wordt om twaalf uur vuurwerk afgestoken.”
(“At New Year’s Eve, fireworks are let off at twelve o’clock.”)

– “Veel kinderen steken al eerder dan twaalf uur klein vuurwerk af, zoals rotjes.”
(“Many kids let off small fireworks earlier than twelve o’clock, like firecrackers.”)

– “In Nederland mag vuurwerk alleen worden afgestoken op 31 december vanaf 10 uur ‘s ochtends tot ‘s nachts 2 uur.”
(“In the Netherlands, fireworks are only allowed to be let off at December 31st from ten o’clock in the morning till two o’clock at night.”)

– “De discussie die ik gisteren met haar had, man…vuurwerk!”
(“The discussion I had with her yesterday, man…fireworks!”)

Related words:
– “Jaarwisseling”: turn of the year.
– “Rotje”: firecracker.
– “Strijker”: heavy (illegal) firecracker, literally “striker”.
– “Gillende keukenmeid”: whizzer, literally: “screaming kitchen maid” 🙂
– “Vreugdevuur”: bonfire.

Extra:
The Dutch city of Den Haag is notorious for its high amount of bonfires after New Year’s Eve. Some neighbourhoods are temporarily changed into warzones. Because not all fires can be prevented, the authorities allow bonfires at certain locations under certain circumstances. Not many people stick to those rules though…;-)

Every year the Dutch government makes an effort to warn teenagers for the dangers of fireworks. With all the “common” violence on tv and in videogames, realistic commercials with blown off fingers do not have so much impact anymore. This year, the Dutch government tries to get the message across by creating a web site with a fictitious Chinese guy explaining the dangers in YouTube like videos. Check it out at www.chinesefireworks.cn.

Flap

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1. bank note [noun, informal] [de flap, de flappen]

In this translation, the plural “flappen” is most common, but it is only used informally and jestingly. See ‘Examples’ for common usage.

Examples:
– “Heb jij nog flappen? Ik ben blut.”
(<in a club:> “Do you have any money left? I am broke.”)

– “Waar is Marc?” – “Hij is even naar de flappentap.”
(“Where is Marc?” – “He is off to the cash machine / ATM.” The word “flappentap” is informally/jestingly used, don’t go asking for the nearest “flappentap” but use “pin automaat” instead! The word “tap” is commonly used in conjunction with beer: “tapbier” translates to “beer on tap/draught” or “draft beer”.)

– “Waar is Amanda?” – “Zij is even flappentappen.”
(“Where is Amanda?” – “She went off to withdraw some money.” Here the word “flappentappen” is a verb.)

2. flap [noun] [de flap, de flappen]

In this translation the most common appearance of the word “flap” is in the compound “flapoor” which translates to “flap-ear” or “protruding ear”.

Example:
– “Dat jongetje heeft flaporen!”
(“That boy’s ears stick out!” Literally: “… has flap-ears!”)

Extra:
The way to create a diminutive in Dutch is by adding “je” or “tje” to the noun. It is very common to use diminutives in the Dutch language. A specific kind of words even has an extra informal diminutive.
This is also the case with “flap”. The diminutive is “flapje” which is not really used unless of course you are talking about a specific small flap. The informal diminutive is “flappie”.
A child with “flaporen” can be mockingly called “flappie”, but it would be more common to call your rabbit “Flappie”, since rabbits have protruding ears, some breeds even more so than others.

Around Christmas time you always hear the same classic popular songs by Wham, Chris Rea etc. and in the Netherlands there is one popular song by a comedian called ‘Youp van ‘t Hek‘ that gets a lot of air time in the days leading up to Christmas. The song is called “Flappie” and he sings about how he was a young boy and his rabbit “Flappie” went missing on Christmas day. Then later it turns out that “Flappie” is served for dinner! It is both a funny and sad song and you can read the lyrics, as well as listen to the song here.

Bijeenkomst

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gathering, meeting, session [noun] [de <bij><een><komst>, de bijeenkomsten]

The word "bijeenkomst" consists of the following parts:
– "bij": to.
– "een": one.
– "komst": coming, arrival.

The word "bijeen" then translates to "together", so "bijeenkomst" literally means "together-coming", which of course explains the link to "gathering", "meeting" and "session".
Although two people can get together, the word "bijeenkomst" is more commonly used when a bigger group of people is involved.

Examples:
– "Het genootschap hield ieder weekend een geheime bijeenkomst."
(" The fellowship held a secret meeting every weekend.")

– "De directeur heeft ons officieel uitgenodigd voor de nieuwjaarsbijeenkomst op 2 januari."
("The CEO has officially invited us to the New Year’s gathering/reception on January 2nd.")

– "Een borrel is een informele sociale bijeenkomst waarbij mensen iets drinken."
("A ‘borrel’ is an informal social gathering at which people drink (something)." See also "DWOTD 102. Kerstborrel".)

Related words:
– "Bijeenkomen": to meet, to gather, to get together (formally).
– "Afspreken": to get together (informally).
– "Vergadering": meeting.
– "Receptie": reception.