Hulp

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help, assistance Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de hulp, de hul-pen]

Hulp "Hulp" is the Dutch noun for "help", however the verb "to help" is "helpen" and not "hulpen", which is the plural of "hulp". Let's see if the examples will help 🙂

Examples:
– "Bedankt voor je hulp, zonder jou was het niet gelukt!" 
("Thanks for your help, I wouldn't have been able to do it without you!" Lit.:"…, without you it would not have succeeded.")

– "Als een Nederlander om "hulp" roept, dan schreeuwt hij 'help!' " 
("When a Dutch person screams for "help", he or she screams 'help!' ")

– "Het is zaak dat jongeren in een vroeg stadium de juiste hulp geboden wordt. Daarmee kunnen we veel problemen voorkomen." 
("It's imperative that young people are offered the right help at an early stage. By doing so we can prevent many problems.")

– "Volgens mij heeft Sander professionele hulp nodig, wat denk jij?" 
("I think Sander needs professional help, what do you think?")

– "Voor de laatste keer: ik heb jouw hulp niet nodig, ik heb niet om jouw hulp gevraagd, ik kan op eigen benen staan!" 
("For the last time: I do not need your help, I did not ask for your help, I can support myself!" Lit.", .. I can stand on (my) own legs!")

– "Wat sta je nu te kijken, bied die arme vrouw je hulp aan!" 
("What are you looking at, offer that poor lady your assistance!")

Related words:
– Helpen: to help [verb] [hielp, geholpen].
– Hulpeloos: helpless [adjective/adverb].
– Assistentie: assistance [noun] [de assistentie, <no plural>]. Often used with the verb "verlenen": to offer assistance.
– Hulp in de huishouding: cleaning lady, help with the housekeeping [noun] [de hulp, de hulpen]. This is a bit more general than just "cleaning lady" which would be "schoonmaakster" in Dutch. A popular politically correct alternative is "interieurverzorger/ster": "somebody looking after your (house) interior". 
– Eerste Hulp Bij Ongelukken (EHBO): first aid [noun] [de EHBO, <no plural>].
– Spoedeisende hulp: emergency room. Literally "urgency-requiring help".
– Kraamhulp: maternity assistant [noun] [de kraamhulp, de kraamhulpen]. 

Nuchter

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1. sober, fasting/empty Iconspeaker_3
[adjective]
[nuch-ter]

When you are not drunk, we say that you are "nuchter". "Nuchter" is also the state you are in when you have been fasting for a (short) while, for example when awaiting surgery. 

Examples:
Nuchter2 – "Ik kan me niet herinneren wanneer oom Gerrit voor het laatst nuchter was." 
("I can't remember the last time when uncle Gerrit was sober.")

– "Volgens mij heeft u te veel gedronken meneer!" – "Nou nee hoor, ik ben zo nuchter als wat!" 
("I think you have drunk too much sir!" – "I beg to differ, I'm as sober as one can be!")

Nuchter – "Wil je een bakje koffie?" – "Nee bedankt, ik moet eerst wat eten, koffie valt bij mij niet lekker op een nuchtere maag."  
("Would you like some coffee?" – "No thanks, I need to eat something first, coffee doesn't go down well for me when my stomach is still empty.")

– "Neem nog wat te eten!" – "Nee bedankt, ik mag niet meer eten, ik word vanmiddag geopereerd en moet nuchter zijn." 
("Come on, have something else to eat!" – "No thanks, I'm not allowed to eat anything else, this afternoon I'll undergo surgery and I must have an empty stomach.")

Related words:
– Dronken: drunk [adjective/adverb].
– Vasten: to fast [verb] [vastte, gevast]. Often used in religious context. Otherwise it is common to just say "niet eten".

2. sensible, down-to-earth, level-headed Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]
[nuch-ter]

Boer The other common translation of "nuchter" regards your mentality or attitude. When you are not easily excited or put-off, when you are down to earth and sensible, we say that you are "nuchter". Quite often farmers have the image of being "nuchter". This translation of "nuchter" does not only pertain to people, see the Examples.

Examples:
– "Sita is mij een beetje te nuchter, ik ben op zoek naar een extraverter iemand." 
("Sita is a bit too level-headed for my taste, I'm looking for a more extravert person.")

– "Tante Sjaan stond bekend als een nuchter mens. En dat terwijl ze vaak een borreltje nam! Ha ha, vat je 'm??" – "Zeg, vind je het gepast om nu al grappen te maken over tante Sjaan, ze is pas net overleden!"
("Aunt Sjaan was known as a down-to-earth woman. While she often had a drink! Ha ha, do you get it??" – "Hey, don't you think it is inappropriate to joke about aunt Sjaan already, she has just passed away!")

– "Geen paniek, laten we proberen de situatie nuchter te bekijken." 
("Don't panic, let's try to approach the situation in a down-to-earth way.")

Expressions:
– "De nuchtere werkelijkheid": cold/harsh reality.
– "Met beide benen op de grond blijven staan": to remain level-headed. Lit. "to keep standing with both legs on the ground".
– "Ergens nuchter in zijn": to be sensible/down-to-earth about something. 

Related words:
– Realistisch: realistic [adjective].
– Pragmatisch: pragmatic [adjective].
– Reëel: real, realistic [adjective].
– Zakelijk: business(like), professional/objective, clinical, concise [adjective].

Tippen

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1. to inform someone Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[tip-pen, tip-te, heeft ge-tipt]  Tip

As in English, a "tip" is an advice or a piece of useful information. The verb "tippen" is "to give someone a tip". Its passive form – to receive information – is "getipt worden". Don't confuse "tippen" with "tippelen" which is what prostitutes do.

Examples:
– "De politieman werd getipt over de drugsdeal." 
("The policeman got a tip on the drugsdeal.")

– "Ik heb hem getipt over die vacature, omdat ik vond dat hij geknipt was voor die baan." 
("I told him about that job vacancy, because I thought he was cut out for that job.")

– "Zij tipten hun vrienden over het huis, zodat zij een bod konden doen voordat het op de markt kwam." 
("They told their friends about the house, so they could put in a bid before it was put on the market.")

– "De criminelen werden getipt dat de politie een inval zou doen." 
("The criminals were given information that the police would barge in.")

– "Ik zit middenin een moeilijke onderhandeling; kun jij me niet nog wat goede tips geven?" 
("I'm in the middle of a tough negotiation; can't you give me some good advice?")

Expressions:
– "Tips en trucjes": tips and tricks.
– "Getipt worden als": to be seen as the successor of someone in an important position.

Example:
– "Zij wordt getipt als de volgende president van Egypte."
("She has a big chance of becoming the next president of Egypt.")

Related words:
– Advies: advice [noun] [het advies, de adviezen].
– Adviseren: to advise [verb] [adviseerde, heeft geadviseerd].

2. to give a tip Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[werk-woord, ver-le-den tijd, vol-tooid deel-woord]

"Tippen" can also mean "to give a tip". To complicate things, the Dutch word for the tip is totally unrelated to the verb: "fooi". "Een fooi geven" (to give a tip) is synonymous to "tippen".

Examples:
– "De meeste Nederlanders tippen behoorlijk weinig." 
("Most Dutch people don't give a lot of tip.")

– "Amerikanen tippen tot wel 20%; Nederlanders geven een fooi van maximaal 10%." 
("Americans tip to up to 20%; Dutch people tip to up to 10%.")

– "Vind je dat de service goed moet zijn of tip je altijd in de horeca?" 
("Do you think the service should be good or do you also give a tip in hotels, restaurants, and bars?")

Related words:
– Fooi: tip [noun] [de fooi, de fooien].

Example:
– "Hoeveel fooi hebben we gekregen vanavond?"
("How many tips did we get tonight?")

3. to equal someone's performance Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[werk-woord, ver-le-den tijd, vol-tooid deel-woord]

A third meaning of "tippen" is used when comparing achievements of persons. The expression used is "aan iemand tippen" (to equal someone or someone's performance) and it is usually used in the negative sense.

Examples:
– "Hoewel hij het zijn hele leven geprobeerd heeft, kon hij nooit aan de successen van zijn tweelingbroer tippen." 
("Despite his life-long attempts, he could never match the successes of his twin brother.")

– "De wedstrijdzwemmer kon niet tippen aan zijn concurrent die het wereldrecord op zijn naam heeft staan." 
("The professional swimmer could not perform better than his competitor who holds the world record.")

– "Denk jij dat je kunt tippen aan je baas?" 
("Do you think you can perform equally good or better than your boss?")

Te pas en te onpas

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all the time, again and again Iconspeaker_3 Te pas en te onpas
[Dutch phrase of the week] 

"Te pas en te onpas" is used to describe an event that occurs time and time again. It often reflects a certain degree of annoyance as well.

"Pas" literally translates to "step", but in ancient Dutch "pas" also referred to a "convenient moment in time. "On" translates literally to "un-"/"in", hence "onpas" would refer to an "inconvenient moment in time".

Examples:
– "Ik vind te pas en te onpas remsporen in de toiletpot, bah!" 
("I find skid marks in the toilet bowl all the time, yuck!")

– "Frank leent te pas en te onpas geld van me, maar hij betaalt me nooit terug…" 
("Frank borrows money from me all the time, but he never pays me back…")

– "Ik zeg je te pas en te onpas dat je aan de lijn moet doen, maar je luistert nooit!" – "Ik ben toch niet dik??" 
("I'm telling you again and again to go on a diet, but you never listen!" – "I'm not fat, am I??.")

Expressions:
– "Om de haverklap": (at) every moment, continuously, at the merest trifle.
– "Van pas komen": to come in handy.

Example:
– "Ik heb een lekkage in de badkamer…" – "<ironisch> Dan komt een dweil wel van pas, denk je niet?"
("I have a leakage in the bathroom…" – "<ironically> Well, a mop would come in handy, don't you think?")

Related words:
– Frequent: frequent [adjective].
– Tig: (so) many, a lot of [indefinite numeral].
– Vaak: often, many times [adverb].

Example:
– "Hoe vaak moet ik het zeggen? Ik heb geen seksuele knipperlichtrelatie met deze dame gehad."
("How many times do I need to say this? I did not have a sexual on-and-off relationship with this lady..")

Remspoor

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skid mark(s) Iconspeaker_3  Remsporen
[noun]
[het rem-spoor, de rem-spo-ren]

"Remspoor" is composed of "rem" and "spoor", which respectively translate to "brake" and "trail/track".

Like in English, "remspoor" has an alternative meaning….see Extra.

Examples:
– "Dit zijn remsporen van een grote auto, waarschijnlijk een SUV." 
("These are skid marks from a big car, probably an SUV.")

– "Door het bestuderen van de remsporen kunnen we het verloop van het ongeluk reconstrueren." 
("By examining the skid marks we can reconstruct the course of the accident.")

– "Dit remspoor is erg onduidelijk…we kunnen nog geen verdachte arresteren…" 
("This skid mark is very unclear…we cannot arrest a suspect yet…")

Expressions:
– "Alle remmen losgooien": to get completely wild/out of control, to get rid of all your inhibitions. Lit.: to throw all breaks loose.

Example:
– "Wat is Frank toch een feestbeest, iedere weekend gooit hij alle remmen los…"
("Frank is such a party animal, he gets completely wild every weekend…")

Related words:
– Rem: brake [noun] [de rem, de remmen].
– Remmen: to brake [verb] [remmen, remde, h. geremd].
– Remweg: braking distance [noun] [de remweg, de remwegen].

Example:
– "Deze auto heeft een enorme remweg, echt link!"
("The braking distance of this car is huge, really dangerous.")

– Slippen: to slip, to slide [verb] [slippen, slipte, geslipt].
– Spoor: track, trail [noun] [het spoor, de sporen].Remspoor

Extra:
Like in English, "remspoor" is also used for skid marks in one's underpants or in a toilet bowl…check out the picture if you're not familiar with skid marks caused by the human body…