Eitje

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piece of cake [Dutch phrase of the week] Iconspeaker_3

"Eitje" is the diminutive of "ei", and literally translates to "(little) egg"… Apart from its literal use, "eitje" is used as an expression to say that it is very easy to a perform a certain activity, in other words: to say that something is a piece of cake. Ei

There are a number of equivalent expressions, all translating to "a piece of cake", see Expressions.

Examples:
– "Hoe ging je examen Nederlands?" – "Eitje."
("How did your Dutch exam go?" – "Piece of cake.")

– "Ben je niet helemaal uitgeput na 10 kilometer rennen?" – "Nee man, eitje!"
("Aren’t you totally exhausted after running 10 kilometres?" – "No dude, piece of cake!")

– "Ik zit nu al een half uur naar deze sudoku te koekeloeren, maar ik kom niet verder…"  – "Kom hier, deze is echt een eitje."
("I’m staring at this sudoku for half an hour now already, but I can’t seem to get any further…" – "Come here, this one’s really a piece of cake.")

Expressions:
– "Appeltje-eitje": a piece of cake. Lit.: little apple, little egg. An extended version the expression "eitje".
– "Een fluitje van een cent": a piece of cake. Lit.: a little whistle of a cent.
– "Een inkoppertje": a piece of cake.
– "Een peuleschil": a piece of cake. Lit.: a bean’s peel.

Example:
– "Deze kruiswoordpuzzel is echt geen peuleschil, level ‘Goeroe’ is in feite onbegonnen werk…"
("This crossword puzzle is really not a piece of cake, level "Guru" is in fact a hopeless task…")

– "Een koud kunstje": a piece of cake. Lit.: a cold little trick.
– "Een abc’tje": a piece of cake. Lit.: a little a-b-c.

Related words:
– Ei: egg [noun] [het ei, de eieren].

Aap

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monkey [noun] [de aap, de apen] Iconspeaker_3

Leesplankje_2
Even though there is not a single "aap" to be found in the Netherlands (other than in zoos obviously), there is a lot of "aap" related vocabulary. I don’t think this DWOTD is complete, so readers are invited to comment 🙂

Note that although there is a distinction between a "monkey" and an "ape", it is common in spoken Dutch to refer to both as "apen". If you want to be specific, say "mensaap" in the case of an "ape".

Examples:
– "Heb jij wel eens een aap in het wild gezien?" 
("Have you ever seen a monkey in the wild?")

– "Aap, noot, mies…" 
("Monkey, nut, mies." First three words of the traditional reading board ("leesplankje") used in the Netherlands end of the 19th century till mid 20th century (is my guess). See the picture above.)

– "Een aap die geen bananen eet." 
("A monkey that does not eat bananas." This is a memory aid to help you tune your (regular 6 string) guitar. Take the first letter of each word: E-A-D-G-B-E.")Katja_apekoppen

– "Madelon is gek op apekoppen." 
("Madelon really likes ‘apekoppen’." Dutch people in general like liquorice ("drop") and many different kinds are for sale, for example ‘apekoppen’ ("monkey heads"). Note that one should write "apenkoppen" according to the most recent spelling rules.)

– "Apen maken handig gebruik van lianen." 
("Monkeys make clever use of lianes.")

Expressions:
– "Daar komt de aap uit de mouw": the truth is revealed, the real intentions become clear, etc.. Literally "there the monkey comes out of the sleeve".
– "Voor aap staan": to be made a fool of, to look a right monkey. When you do this to somebody, the expression becomes "iemand voor aap zetten".
– "In de aap gelogeerd zijn": to be in a fix, to be up the creek (shit creek without a paddle if you so prefer 🙂 ). Allegedly, there once was an inn called "de aap" in Amsterdam, and it was really really bad. (The verb "logeren" means "to stay (at), to spend the night".)
– "Brutale/lelijke aap!": literally ‘cheeky/ugly monkey’, this is used to address (very) insolent children.

Related words:
– Mensaap: ape [noun] [de mensaap, de mensapen].
– Na-apen: to imitate, mimic [verb] [aapte na,nageaapt].

Extra:
There is a zoo in the Netherlands near the town of Apeldoorn that is dedicated to monkeys and apes. It is called the "Apenheul" and is a popular family-with-kids outing.

Traag

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slow [adjective/adverb] Iconspeaker_3

"Traag" refers to the slowness of events, people, internet and so on. A more often-used synonym of "traag" is "langzaam". The difference between the two words is that people will choose "traag" if they are starting to get a bit annoyed, whereas "langzaam" can also be a good thing.

Examples:
– "Hij loopt zo traag als een slak hoewel er niets mis is met zijn conditie." 
("He walks like a snail although there’s nothing wrong with his fitness.")

– "Ik kom echt traag op gang elke dag, vooral nu het nog steeds donker is als ik opsta ‘s ochtends." 
("I really get off to a slow start every day, especially now it’s still dark when I get up in the morning.")

– "Zij is een beetje traag van begrip vandaag omdat ze maar drie uur heeft geslapen vannacht." 
("She’s a bit slow-witted today since she’s only slept three hours last night.")

– "Internet is zo traag vandaag, is er een technische storing ofzo?"  Traag_3
("Internet is so slow today, is there a technical malfunction or something?")

– "<Plaatje:> Graag traag (rijden)".
(" ("<Picture:> (Drive) slowly please.")

– "De bestuurder in de auto voor ons rijdt zo traag als een oma." 
("The driver in the car before us drives as slow as a grandma.")

Related words:
– Langzaam: slow [adjective/adverb].
– Snel: fast [adjective/adverb].
– Traagheid: slowness, tardiness [noun] [de traagheid, no plural].

Beroerd

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miserable, nasty, rotten, awful [adjective] Iconspeaker_3

"Beroerd" is synonymous to "belabberd". It also indicates an opposite state of well-being. Like "belabberd", "beroerd" can be used for mental and physical state, situations and performance.

Sickdog

Examples:
– "Ik heb flinke keelpijn, ik voel me erg beroerd." 
("My have a very sore throat, I feel really miserable.")

– "Vanochtend had ik een gigantische kater, ik heb me nog nooit zo beroerd gevoeld…"
("This morning I had a terrible hangover, I’ve never felt so miserable…")

– "De situatie in Congo is beroerd nu de oorlog tussen de Hutu’s en de Tutsi’s weer begonnen is." 
("The situation in Congo is nasty now the war between the Hutus and the Tutsis has started again.")

– "10 km in twee en een half uur? Dat is een beroerde prestatie van Frank…" 
("10km in two and a half hour? That’s a lousy achievement of Frank….")

Expressions:
– "De beroerdste niet zijn": to be not that difficult. (Used to indicate one’s flexible attitude)

Example:
– "Liefie, wil jij de afwas doen?" – Tuurlijk scheetje, ik ben de beroerdste niet."
("Sweetie, do you want to do the dishes?" – "Of course my little darling, I’m not that difficult.")

Related words:
– Belabberd: lousy, miserable [adjective].
– Slecht: bad [adjective].

Uitgeput

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exhausted, worn out, empty, depleted [adjective] Iconspeaker_3

Uitgeput
"Uitgeput" is derived from the verb "uitputten": to exhaust, to deplete. You will often encounter the word "uitgeput" in the context of energy/strength, or supplies/budget.

Examples:
– "Ik heb geen fut vandaag." – "Geen fut? Volgens mij ben je uitgeput!" 
("I do not have a lot of energy today." – "Not a lot of energy? I think you are exhausted!" Note that "fut" translates to something like "energy/strength, zip, kick, drive".)

– "Helaas kan het boek nog niet geleverd worden, onze voorraden zijn uitgeput." 
("Unfortunately the book cannot be delivered yet, our supplies are exhausted.")

– "Het spijt me, een nieuwe laptop zit er dit jaar niet in. Het budget is volledig uitgeput." 
("I’m sorry, a new laptop will not be possible this year. The budget is completely depleted." Note the expression "het zit er niet in": it is not going to happen, it will not be possible.)

Related words:
– Uitputten: to exhaust, deplete, finish up [verb] [putte uit, uitgeput].
– Moe: tired [adjective].
– Energie: energy [noun] [de energie, no plural].