Levensgevaarlijk

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perilous, very dangerous, life-threatening No_audio
[adjective/adverb]
[le-vens-ge-vaar-lijk]

Levensgevaarlijk The general adjective for 'dangerous' in Dutch is 'gevaarlijk', with related noun "(het) gevaar". When things get really dangerous and are potentially life-threatening you can use the word "levensgevaarlijk".

Examples:
– "Als het misgaat in een kerncentrale kunnen er levensgevaarlijke situaties ontstaan." 
("When things go wrong in a nuclear power plant, life-threatening situations can occur.")

– "De weg oversteken zonder te kijken is levensgevaarlijk." 
("Crossing the road without looking is perilous.")

– "Ik heb het uitgemaakt, die meid/gast is levensgevaarlijk!" 
("I ended the relationship, that chick/guy is very dangerous!")

– "De inbreker haalde levensgevaarlijke toeren uit om het huis binnen te komen." 
("In order to get into the house the burglar did a few very dangerous things." The expression "toeren uithalen" involves physical action or movement, so in this example the burglar would be hanging off ledges, jumping over fences etc.)

– "Aanraken (der) draden is levensgevaarlijk." 
("Touching of the wires is extremely dangerous." Sometimes you still see the usage of the second case in Dutch, e.g. "der", "des", but it is not common (as opposed to German).)

Related words:
– Gevaarlijk: dangerous [adjective/adverb].
– Gevaar: danger [noun] [het gevaar, de gevaren].

Example:
– "Deelnemen in het verkeer is niet zonder gevaar."
("Participating in traffic is not without danger.")

– Risico: risk [noun] [het risico, de risico's].
– Roekeloos: reckless [adjective/adverb].
– Oppassen: to watch out [verb] [paste op, opgepast]. 

Controle

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control, check, inspection 
[noun]
[de con-tro-le, de con-tro-les]

Controle “Controle” is used for the act of checking/inspecting with the purpose of verification, but you can also use it to say that you have something “under control” or are “controlling” something. Sometimes it also refers to the location where the “controle” takes place, such as a check point. The related verb “to control” is “controleren”. You can be more specific about the kind of control by adding the appropriate noun, for example “paspoortcontrole”, “tassencontrole” or “alcoholcontrole”.

Note that the second ‘o’ in ‘controle’ is a short (but slightly prolonged) vowel despite only one occurrence of the consonant ‘l’.

Examples:
– “Ik heb bijna mijn vlucht gemist want er stond een enorme rij bij de paspoortcontrole.” 
(“I almost missed my flight due to a huge queue/line at passport control.”)

– “Na een voetbalwedstrijd van het Nederlands elftal is er vaak alcoholcontrole langs de wegen.” 
(“After a football/soccer match by the Dutch football/soccer team drivers are often tested for alcohol along the roads.”)

– “Het winkelpersoneel wordt onderworpen aan een tassencontrole, want er wordt veel gestolen.” 
(“The shop/store personnel is subject to bag inspection, because there is a lot of theft.”)

– “Ik ben ingehuurd om controle uit te oefenen op het proces, dus dat ga ik ook doen!” 
(“I have been hired to exercise supervision over the process, so that’s what I’m going to do!”)

– “Het spijt me, maar ik heb geen controle meer over mijn kinderen, ze zijn totaal losgeslagen!” 
(“I’m sorry, but I no longer have control of my children, they have gone completely wild”)

– “De voetballer stond erom bekend dat hij elke bal onder controle kon krijgen.” 
(“The football/soccer player was known for his ability to get every ball under control.”)

– “De jonge bestuurder verloor de controle over het stuur en botste tegen een boom.” 
(“The young driver lost control of the steering-wheel and crashed into a tree.”)

Expressions:
– “Alles onder controle?!”: everything ok / under control?!

Related words:
– Controleren: to control, to check [verb] [controleerde, gecontroleerd].

Example:
– “Ik reis dagelijks met de trein, maar ik word zelden gecontroleerd. Ze zouden eens moeten controleren of de controleur zijn werk wel goed doet!”
(“I travel by train daily, but it rarely happens that my ticket is inspected. They should check to see whether or not the ticket inspector is doing his job properly!”)

Oor

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ear Iconspeaker_3
[noun] Dumbo
[het oor, de o-ren]

"Oor" translates to "ear". Related verb is "horen": "to hear". Don't confuse "oor" with "oog": "eye". There are a lot of expression with "oor", check them out at the section Expressions!

Examples:
– "Haar oren zijn de mooiste in de wereld, perfect gewoon…" 
("Her ears are the most beautiful in the world, just perfect…")

– "De manier waarop ze aan mijn oren knabbelde…ik mis haar verschrikkelijk…" 
("The way she nibbled my ears…I miss her terribly…")

– " <uit: Roodkapje> Grootmoeder, wat heeft u grote oren…" – "Dan kan ik je beter horen, kind!" 
("<from: Little Red Riding Hood> Grandmother, what big ears you have…" – "All the better to hear with my child!")

– "Ik luister wel, maar ik hoor niks…" – "Je moet je oren laten nakijken, volgens mij word je doof…" 
("I am listening, but I'm not hearing anything…" – "You have got to get your ears checked, I think you're getting deaf…")

Expressions:
– "Wie niet horen wil, moet voelen": (lit.: who won't hear, must feel) he that will not be taught must suffer.
– "Ergens oren naar hebben": (lit.: to have ears for something) to like an/the idea.
– "Het gaat het ene oor in, en het andere weer uit": it goes in at one ear and out at the other.
– "Een en al oor zijn": to be all ears.
– "Op een oor liggen": (lit.: to lay on one ear) to sleep, to be in bed.
– "Zijn oren spitsen": to prick up one's ears.
– "Iemand om zijn oren slaan": to box a person's ears.
– "Ter ore komen": to come to ears.
– "Tot over de oren in het werk / in de schuld zitten: to be up to one's ears in work / debt.
– "Tot over zijn/haar oren verliefd zijn": to be head over heels.

Related words:
– Doof: deaf [adjective].
– Flapoor: lop ear [noun] [het flapoor, de flaporen].
– Gehoorzaam: obedient [adjective].
– Horen: to hear [verb] [horen, hoorde, h. gehoord].
– Oorbel: earring [noun] [de oorbel, de oorbellen].

Example:
– "Dat zijn prachtige oorbellen! Waar heb je die vandaan?"
("Those are beautiful earrings! Where did you get them?")

– Oorlel: earlobe [noun] [de oorlel, de oorlellen].
– Oorsmeer: ear wax [noun] [het oorsmeer, <no plural>].

Extra:
Check out this song by former Dutch ska band "Doe Maar". The lyrics contain the lines: "…tot over mijn oren smoorverliefd op jou…"

OOR is also the oldest currently published music magazine in the Netherlands. Check it out at www.oor.nl.

Dat is (nog) toekomstmuziek

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That is still in the future Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

Another Dutch phrase to impress your friends and colleagues with: "dat is (nog) toekomstmuziek", Sunseeker 2 meaning that something is not (yet) possible. Its literal meaning is: "that is future music for the time being". You can guess that the phrase relates to something positive that might happen in the future, rather than pointing to negative future occurences. 

Examples:
– "Rond de wereld vliegen op zonne-energie? Dat is voorlopig nog toekomstmuziek." 
("Flying around the world on solar energy? That is not possible for the time being.")

– "Kun je de iPhone 4 opladen met waterstof of is dat nog toekomstmuziek?" 
("Is it possible to charge the iPhone 4 with hydrogen or is that still in the future?")

– "Ik heb in de wandelgangen gehoord dat het bedrijf weer in de zwarte cijfers zit. Klopt dat of is dat nog toekomstmuziek?" 
("I informally heard that the company is making a profit again. Is that true or is that still in the future?")

– "Wanneer studeer je nou eindelijk eens af?" – "Nou, voorlopig is dat helaas nog toekomstmuziek." 
("When are you finally going to graduate?"- "Well, unfortunately that will take some more time.")

Expressions:
– Dat klinkt me als muziek in de oren: it/that's music to my ears, I totally agree with that [literally: "that sounds like music in my ears"].

Example:
– "Een paar weken vrij? Dat klinkt me als muziek in de oren!"
("A couple of weeks off? That sounds great!")

Related words:
– Toekomst: future [noun] [de toekomst, <no plural>].
– Muziek: music [noun] [de muziek, <no plural>].

Missen

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1. to miss Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[mis-sen, mis-te, ge-mist]

Missen The verb “missen” can be used the same way as in English, ranging from “not hitting your target”, “not reaching your transport in time” to “missing your boyfriend”; check out the Examples (as well as the other two main translations) below.

Examples:
– “Ik ben op tijd vertrokken en alsnog heb ik mijn trein gemist!” 
(“I left on time and then still I missed my train!”)

– “Ben zo blij dat je er weer bent, ik heb je echt heel erg gemist!” 
(“(I) am so happy that you are back, I have really really missed you!”)

– “Deze maatregelen missen volledig het doel dat het management zich gesteld heeft.” 
(“These measures completely fail to achieve the goal that the management has set itself.”)

– “Zelfs professionele darters missen de triple 20 wel eens.” 
(“Even professional darts players miss the treble 20 now and then.”)

– “Ik mis je.” 
(“I miss you.”)

– “Gelukkig misten de bommen het doel.” 
(“Fortunately the bombs missed the target.”)

– “Wat kan ik zeggen, je had beter op moeten letten, dit is echt een gemiste kans!” 
(“What can I say, you should have paid attention better, this is really a missed chance!”)

Expressions:
– “Dat/het kan niet missen”: that/it can’t go wrong, that/it’s bound to work.

Related words:
– Raken: to hit [verb] [raakte, geraakt].

Example:
– “Nadat zijn eerste schot het doel volledig miste, raakte hij de lat.”
(“After his first shot had completely missed the goal, he hit the crossbar.”)

2. to be missing Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[mis-sen, mis-te, ge-mist]

puzzle-654963_640In this translation, “missen” is used when an object or parts thereof are missing, leading to an ‘incomplete’ state. In case of missing persons we use the verb “vermissen”, see Related Words.

Examples:
– “We kunnen nog niet vertrekken, want we missen 3 passagiers.” 
(“We can’t leave yet, there are 3 passangers missing.”)

– “Het oude boek is ondanks de missende pagina’s nog steeds veel waard.” 
(“Despite the missing pages the old book is still worth a lot (of money).”)

Related words:
– Ontbreken: to be missing, to lack [verb] [ontbrak, ontbroken].

Example:
– “Er ontbraken spannende momenten in de voorspelling en de hoofdrolspeler ontbrak het aan techniek.”
(“The show lacked exciting moments and the main character was lacking in technique.”)

– Vermissen: to miss [verb] [vermiste, vermist].

Example:
– “Na de ramp werden 10 mensen vermist.”
(“After the disaster, 10 people were missing.”)

3. to do without, to get along without
[verb]
[mis-sen, mis-te, ge-mist]

Missen3 In addition to the translation of “to (be able to) do without”, the verb “missen” can also be used when a person or something ‘lacks something’, e.g. confidence, see the Examples.

Examples:
– “Ik kan mijn mobiele telefoon niet meer missen, jij?” 
(“I can’t do without my cell phone anymore, can you?”)

– “Pff, ik kan het geld eigenlijk niet missen, maar toen ik deze spijkerbroek zag, moest ik hem gewoon kopen!” 
(“Pff, I can’t really spare the money, but when I saw these jeans, I just had to buy them!”)

– “Kun je je auto toevallig een paar uurtjes missen, ik moet naar de IKEA, alsjeblieft??” 
(“Can you by any chance do without your car for a few hours, I have to go to IKEA, please??”)

– “Kunt u een euro missen, ik heb geld nodig voor een slaapplaats.” 
(“Can you spare a euro, I need money for a place to sleep.”)

– “De presentatie van Frank miste overtuiging.” 
(“Frank’s presentation was unconvincing.”)

– “Hij is talentvol maar mist nog te veel zelfvertrouwen.” 
(“He is talented but lacks too much self confidence.”)

Related words:
– Nodig hebben: to need, to require [verb] [had nodig, nodig gehad].