Het zal wel aan mij liggen

It’s probably (just) me Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

The verb "liggen" usually translates to "to lie" (position of the body), or "to be" (location of an object). "Liggen aan" can therefore mean "to be located at", but it can also take on the meaning of "to depend on", "to be caused by" or "to be due to". When you say "het zal wel aan mij liggen", you mean to say that it is probably because of the way you are, or the way that you interpret something, that you are somewhat bothered (by something).Zal_wel

Other examples of the use of "liggen aan" are: "het ligt altijd aan een ander" (it is always somebody else’s fault) or the classic "het ligt niet aan jou, maar aan mij" (it’s not you, it’s me).

Examples:
– "Het zal wel aan mij liggen, maar ik vind 2,40 voor een biertje behoorlijk duur!" 
("I think 2,40 for a beer is quite expensive, but that’s probably just me!")

– "Ik dacht eerst, het zal wel aan mij liggen, maar later gaf zij zelf toe dat ze fout zat." 
("At first I thought it was because of me, but later she admitted that she was wrong.")

– "Ik vind het asociaal als mensen afval op straat gooien, maar goed, het zal wel weer aan mij liggen." 
("I think it is antisocial when people litter, but hey, it is probably just me again." Literally we say: "throw rubbish on the street.")

Related word:
– Oorzaak: cause, origin [noun] [de oorzaak, de oorzaken].

Haar

"Haar" is a common or a neuter noun, depending on the meaning. Note that "haar" can also be a possessive or personal pronoun, see 3. and 4. below.

1. hair Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[het haar, <no plural>]

Haar
You say "het haar" when talking about hair in general (such as body hair) or your haircut/style/do.

Examples:
– "Mijn haar ziet er niet uit, sorry, maar zo kan ik echt niet uit." 
("My hair looks really bad, I’m sorry, but I can’t possibly go out like this.")

– "Wat zit je haar leuk!" – "Nou, dankjewel!" 
("Your hair looks really nice!" – "Well, thank you!")

– "Sander heeft gisteravond zijn haar gemillimeterd." 
("Sander trimmed/cropped his hair last night." Here the verb "millimeteren" is obviously derived from the length of the hairs left after trimming.)

– "Haar haar zit leuk, vind je ook niet?" 
("Her hairstyle is really nice, don’t you think?")

– "Is jouw haar geverfd, of is dat je echte haarkleur?" 
("Is your hair dyed, or is that your real hair colour?")

Expressions:
– "Als je haar maar goed zit…": literally "as long as your hair looks fine…" this says something like "why worry over something…"

Related words:
– Kapsel: hairstyle/do [noun] [het kapsel, de kapsels].
– Haarstijl: hairstyle [noun] [de stijl, de stijlen].
– Borst/been/schaam/okselhaar: chest/leg/pubic/armpit hair [noun] [het haar, <no plural>].
Kaal: bald [adjective].

2. hair
[noun]
[de haar, de ha-ren]

You say "de haar" when talking about a single hair, or "de haren" in case you mean a collection of single hairs as opposed to a hairdo.

Examples:
– "Van al dat harde werken krijg je grijze haren als je niet oppast." 
("All that hard work may cause grey hairs (to appear) if you don’t watch out.")

– "Van wie zijn die blonde haren?" – "Ik heb geen idee, echt waar schat…" 
("Whose blonde hairs are those?" – "I haven’t got a clue, honestly darling.")


– "Er zit een haar in mijn salade." – "Bah, wat vies!"

("There is a hair in my salad." – "Yuck, how disgusting!")

Expressions:
– "Daar krijg je grijze haren van": that will turn your hair grey.
– "Op een haar na": very nearly.

Example:
– "De auto raakte de voetganger op een haar na."
("The car very nearly hit the pedestrian.")

– "Geen haar op mijn hoofd die daar aan denkt": I would not dream of it. Lit.: "Not a single hair on my head that will think of that".

Related words:
– Behaard: hairy [adjective].

3. her
[possessive pronoun]

Example:
– "Ik zweer het, dat is mijn haar, niet haar haar!" 
("I swear, that is my hair, not her hair!")

4. her
[personal pronoun]

Example:
– "Ok, ik zal het haar zeggen." 
("OK, I will tell her.")

Tosti

toasted ham and cheese sandwich Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de tos-ti, de tos-ti’s]

3210709896_f184c5b327_zThere’s not really an equivalent in English for “tosti”. In French, there is, though: “croque-monsieur”. “Tosti” apparently originates from the Italian “tosto” (from which “tosti” is the plural form), which is short for “tostato”, which is the past particple of “tostare”: to toast.
(Photo: Heather-D (flickr.com) – some rights reserved.)

A “tosti” is two slices of bread, by default with cheese and ham in between,
toasted all together. The ingredients may vary, but cheese (of any
kind) seems to be mandatory. If you order a tosti without further
specification, you will receive a ham and cheese tosti, mostly served with a small bowl of ketchup.

Examples:
– “Ik wil graag een tosti.”  – “Ham en kaas?” – “Ja, graag.”
(“I would like to have a tosti.” – “Ham and cheese?” – “Yes, please.”)

– “Lara maakt de allerbeste tosti’s!! Met Franse salami, tomaatjes en oude kaas…”
(“Lara makes the absolute best tostis!! With French salami, little tomatoes and old cheese…”)

– “Ober, mag ik mayonaise bij mijn tosti in plaats van ketchup?” – “Vanzelfsprekend, meneer.”
(“Waiter, can I have mayonaise with my tosti instead of ketchup?” – “Naturally, sir.”)

Related words:
– Tosti-apparaat: toaster device (for making tostis) [noun] [het tosti-apparaat, de tosti-apparaten].
– Tosti-ijzer: toaster device (for making tostis, lit.: tosti iron) [noun] [het tosti-ijzer, de tosti-ijzers].
– Broodrooster: toaster (for toasting slices of bread) [noun] [het broodrooster, de broodroosters].
– Roosteren: to toast [verb] [roosterde, geroosterd].

Extra:
You have a “broodrooster” (toaster) and a “tosti-apparaat/ijzer”. They are different devices. The former is a device used to toast bread, especially by exposure to electrically heated wire coils. The latter is a device for making tostis by heating/toasting a ham/cheese sandwich between two metal plates. These plates are usually heated electrically.

Toveren

to practise sorcery / witchcraft, to conjure (up) Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[to-ver-de, ge-to-verd]

witch-947530_640“Toveren” is often used in its literal sense: witches and sorcerers do it all the time 🙂 It can also be used when someone does something which seems impossible.

Examples:
– “De tovenaar leerde de toverspreuken uit zijn hoofd.” 
(“The sorcerer learned the magic charms by heart.”)

– “Harry Potter gaat naar de school van tovenarij Zweinstein.” 
(“Harry Potter attends the school for witchcraft Hogwarts.”)

– “Toen ik vroeg of zij een tissue had toverde zij een hele rol keukenpapier te voorschijn uit haar tas.” 
(“When I asked her for a tissue, she conjured up an entire kitchen roll out of her purse.”)

– “Wil je binnen 10 minuten een artikel van twee pagina’s? Onmogelijk! Ik kan niet toveren.” 
(“Do you want a two-page article within 10 minutes? Impossible! I’m no wizard.”)

– “Wie heeft van de toverdrank gedronken? Asterix of Obelix?” 
(“Who drank (of) the magic potion? Asterix or Obelix?”)

– “Hans Klok is een van de bekendste Nederlandse illusionisten/goochelaars.”
(“Hans Klok is one Holland’s most famous illusionists.”)

Related words:
– Goochelen: to conjure, to perform conjuring tricks [verb] [goochelde, gegoocheld].
– Goochelkunst: conjuring trick [noun] [de goochelkunst, de goochelkunsten].
– Goochelaar: illusionist [noun] [de goochelaar, de goochelaars].
– Tovenaar: sorcerer [noun] [de tovernaar, de tovenaars].
– (Tover)heks: witch, sorceress [noun] [de toverheks, de toverheksen].
– Toverspreuk: magic spell, charm [noun] [de toverspreuk, de toverspreuken].
– Toverkol: witch, hag [noun] [de toverkol, de toverkollen].
– Toverdrank: magic potion [noun] [de toverdrank, de toverdranken].

Extra:
Dutch singer Herman van Veen – who slightly resembles a sorcerer himself – had a hit in the eighties with his song “Toveren“.

Dat gaat je niets aan!

That’s none of your business! Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

cat-717394_640The verb “aangaan” is mostly used in the translation of “to be switched/turned on” or “to be activated”. But as always there is a completely different meaning, in this case “to concern”. “Dat gaat je niets/niks aan” can therefore also be translated with “that does not concern you”. Of course you can create your own variation of the phrase, see the Examples.

Examples:
– “Is Dave gisteravond nog mee naar binnen geweest?” – “Wat?! Dat gaat je niets aan!” 
(“Did Dave go inside with you last night?” – “What?! That is none of your business!”)

– “Ik weet dat het mij eigenlijk niets aangaat, maar hoeveel verdien jij eigenlijk?” – “Je hebt gelijk, dat gaat je inderdaad niets aan!”
(“I know it is not really my business, but how much do you earn anyway?” – “You are right, it is  none of your business for sure!”)

– “Wat ben je aan het doen?” – “Dat gaat je niets aan, oprotten!”
(“What are you doing / up to?” -“That’s none of your business, beat it / bugger off!”)

– “Dit is iets tussen mij en Esther en het gaat je niets aan!” – “Ho eens even, Esther is mijn vriendin, dus het gaat mij wel aan!”
(“This is something between me and Esther and it does not concern you!” – “Hold it right there, Esther is my girlfriend, so it does concern me!”)

Expressions:
– “Dat ga ik jou niet aan je neus hangen”: that is none of your business, I am not telling you that, as if I would tell you, etc. (Lit.: “I am not going to hang that on your nose.”)

Related word:
– Nieuwsgierig: nosy, curious [adjective/adverb]