Ze kunnen me wat!

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they can forget about it, I don’t care what they want/think, to hell with them! Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[ze kun-nen me wat]

Kat slaapt en heeft nergens zin in“Ze kunnen me wat” literally translates as “they can me something” and basically says that they can do/think whatever they want and you don’t care. Depending on the severity, translations vary from “they can forget about it” to “to hell with them!”.

You can also use other personal pronouns, or a specific person. see the Examples.

Examples:
– “Ze kunnen me wat, het is weekend, dat rapport komt maandag wel af!” 
(“I don’t care about what they want, it’s weekend, that report will have to be completed on Monday!” Note that the word “wel” calls for “will have to be”; without “wel” it would be “will be completed”.)

– “Zij laat niets van zich horen en nu moet ik contact opnemen? Ze kan me wat!” 
(“I hear nothing from her and now I’m the one who has to initiate contact? To hell with her!” Lit. “She does not let anything hear from her”.)

– “Ik ga echt niet opnieuw behangen, de huisbaas kan me wat! Toen ik het appartement kreeg was het behang ook al oud!” 
(“No way I’m going to re-paper the room, the landlord can forget about it! When I got the apartment/flat the wallpaper was old to begin with!”)

– “Hij kan me wat met zijn gezeur over wie de eer toekomt!” 
(“To hell with him with his complaining about who deserves the credits!”)

Expressions:
– “Ze bekijken het maar!”: they can forget about it! Lit. “they can look at it”.
– “Echt niet!”: no way!
– “Ze kunnen de pot op!”: I don’t care what they want; they can forget about it! Lit. “they can go on the potty”.
– “Schijt hebben aan”: to not care about something/someone, to not give a shit about something/someone. This informal expression literally means “to have shit on/at somebody/something”.

Example:
– “Ze kunnen me wat, ik heb schijt aan deze regels!”
(“They can forget about it, I don’t give a shit about these rules!”)

Peuter

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1. toddler Iconspeaker_3 Peuter
[noun]
[de peu-ter, de peu-ters]

A "peuter" is a child from 1 year old until approximately three years old, i.e. the age that the child goes to kindergarten. From that point on they're called "kleuters".

The age barrier between "peuter" and "kleuter" is not very distinct, though. "Toddler" can be used as a translation for both "peuter" and "kleuter". Fact is that a "peuter" is younger than a "kleuter".

Examples:
– "Kleine Luke is een heel leuke peuter!" 
("Little Luke is a very sweet toddler!" Lit.: "…a very nice toddler.")

– "Sara is een erg drukke peuter, dat belooft wat voor de pubertijd…" 
("Sara is a very active toddler, puberty will be a blast…" Lit.: "…that sounds promising for puberty.")

Related words:
– Baby: baby  [noun] [de baby, de baby's].
– Kinderopvang: children day care (center) [noun] [de kinderopvang, <no plural>].
– Kleuter: little boy/girl, infant, toddler [noun] [de kleuter, de kleuters].

Example:
– "Ik heb je hulp nodig!" – "Onzin, je bent toch geen kleuter?!"
("I need your help!" – "Nonsense, you're not a little boy, are you?!")

– Zuigeling: baby (lit.: suckling) [noun] [de zuigeling, de zuigelingen].

2. to pick one's nose, to fumble, to tinker, to tamper Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[peu-te-ren, peu-ter-de, h. ge-peu-terd]Neuspeuteren

"Peuteren" generally translates to "to fumble/tinker", but when applied to one's nose, the appropriate translation is "to pick one's nose". 

In case of nose picking, you can also use "neuspeuteren", but only as an infinitive. When conjugating, "peuteren" is usually combined with "in je neus" (in one's nose), see the Examples.

Examples:
– "Frank houdt erg van neuspeuteren…" – "Waardeloos…" 
("Frank loves to pick his nose…" – "That sucks…")

– "Don peutert te pas en te onpas in zijn neus…" – "Een onverkwikkelijke situatie…" 
("Don picks his nose all the time…" – "An unpleasant situation…")

Related words:
– Neus: nose [noun] [de neus, de neuzen].

Example:
– "Pardon, ik moet even mijn neus snuiten."
("Excuse me, I have to blow my nose.")

– Pietepeuterig: very detailed, finicky [adjective].
– Pulken: (syn. to "peuteren") to pick one's nose [verb] [pulken, pulkte, h. gepulkt].
– Snot: mucous [noun] [het snot, <no plural>].
– Snuiten: to blow one's nose [verb] [snuiten, snoot, h. gesnoten].

Zonder

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without Iconspeaker_3
[preposition]

picture-frame-715885_640“Zonder” is a preposition and translated with “without“. The opposite of “zonder” is “met”: “with”

Examples:
– “Ik kan niet leven…met of zonder je.” 
(“I can’t live…with or without you.”)

– “Zonder jouw hulp had ik dit niet bereikt.” 
(“Without your help I would not have achieved this.”)

– “Frank heeft gisteren een bekeuring gekregen voor rijden zonder verlichting…” – “Beetje dom…” 
(“Frank got a fine yesterday for driving without lights…” – “Bit stupid…”)

– “Hoe kun je dit boek beoordelen zonder het gelezen te hebben?” 
(“How can you say something about this book without having read it?”)

Expressions:
– “Zonder meer”: without restriction/reservation, certainly.

Example:
– “Als hij me zou vragen, zou ik zonder meer ja zeggen…” – “Wat?? Je wil toch niet trouwen met die flapdrol??!!”
(“If he asked me, I would say yes without reservations…” – “What?? You don’t want to get married with that dweeb, do you now?”)

Related words:
– Met: with [preposition].

Example:
– “Een patatje met mayonaise, alstublieft.”
(“One portion of French fries with mayonnaise, please.”)

Waardeloos

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useless, worthless, no good at all Iconspeaker_3 Waardeloos
[adjective]
[waar-de-loos]

"Waardeloos" is composed of "waarde" and "loos", which respectively translate to "worth/value" and "-less".

In English there's a very good translation for "waardeloos zijn" (to be worthless/no good at all): to suck. And because we liked it so much, we even introduced the figurative meaning back into (informal) Dutch: "zuigen" is used when something is no good at all, see also Related words.

Examples:
– "Franks presentatie was echt waardeloos…balen…" 
("Frank's presentation was really no good at all…disappointing…")

– "Nuchter zijn terwijl de rest dronken is, is echt waardeloos!" 
("To be sober while the rest is drunk really sucks!")

– "Alweer een remspoor in het toiletpot…echt waardeloos!" 
("Again a skid mark in the toilet bowl…that really sucks!")

– "Mijn huisbaas is echt een waardeloze vent… als er iets kapot is, duurt het een eeuwigheid voordat hij het repareert." 
("My landlord is really a worthless guy…when something is broken, it takes an eternity for him to fix it.")

Expressions:
– "De moeite niet waard": not worth the effort.

Related words:
– Ellende: misery, distress [noun] [de ellende, <no plural>].
– Goed: good [adjective].
– Slecht: bad [adjective].
– Waarde: value [noun] [de waarde, de waarden/waardes].
– Waarderen: 1. to appreciate 2. to value [verb] [waarderen, waardeerde, h. gewaardeerd].
– Zuigen: to suck [verb] [zuigen, zoog, gezogen].

Example:
– "Hoe gaat het met je?" – "Kommer en kwel, jongen…" – "Dat zuigt, gast…"
("How are you?" – "All sorrow and misery, buddy…" – "That sucks dude…")

Hoe dan ook

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anyway, nevertheless, nonetheless, one way or the other, no matter what Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]Hoe dan ook

“Hoe dan ook” is composed of “hoe”, “dan” en “ook”, which respectively translates to “how“, “then” and “too“. “Hoe dan ook” is used in situations where you go into a certain direction, although there are reasons to go into another direction. Sounds a bit vague, doensn’t it? 🙂 Just check out the Examples.

Examples:
– “Hoe dan ook, de huisbaas is een bullebak, wat je ook zegt.” 
(“Nevertheless, the landlord is a bully, no matter what you say.”)

– “Mam, ik ga naar dat feestje vanavond, hoe dan ook!” – “Geen sprake van, jongedame!” 
(“Mum, I am going to that party tonight, no matter what!” – “No way, young lady!”)

– “Frank is zo oppervlakkig de laatste tijd…” – “Hij heeft hoe dan ook hulp nodig…” 
(“Frank is so shallow lately…” – “One way or the other, he needs help…”)

Expressions:
– “In ieder geval”: at least, anyway.

Example:
– “Kun je me in ieder geval zeggen hoe laat het is?”
(“Can you at least tell me what time it is?”)

– “Hoe het ook zij”: be this as it may.

Example:
– “Hoe het ook zij, feit is dat Valentijnsdag behoorlijk commercieel is.”
(“Be this as it may, fact is that Valentine’s day is pretty commercial.”)

Related words:
– Desalniettemin: nevertheless, nonetheless.
– Sowieso: anyhow, in any case.

Example:
– “Door de spits zal ik sowieso niet op tijd zijn…”
(“In any case, I won’t be on time because of rush hour.”)