Presentator

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presenter Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de pre-sen-ta-tor, de pre-sen-ta-tors / de pre-sen-ta-to-ren]

Willemruis In general a "presentator" (or "presentatrice" when female) is somebody who presents something. However, we mostly use it for radio or tv shows. When you give a lecture/presentation or are a speaker at a conference, we say "spreker". Somebody who introduces all speakers could be a "presentator" but can also be referred to as "gastheer" or "gastvrouw" ('host/hostess').

The related verb is "presenteren" ('to present'). A presentation is a "presentatie".

Examples:
– "Ik vind het een leuk programma, maar die presentator trek ik voor geen meter." 
("I like the show, but the presenter annoys me enormously." Lit.:"I think the show is nice, but…" Note the expressions "het niet trekken" (not being able to stand it, to not last long) and "voor geen meter" (not at all). )

– "De presentator van de middagsessie was bijna niet te verstaan. Gelukkig waren de sprekers wel goed." 
("The host of the afternoon session could hardly be heard. Luckily the speakers (themselves) were good." Here we use "wel" to emphasize that they were good as opposed to the host who was not.)

– "Een bekende Nederlandse tv-presentator uit de jaren tachtig is Willem Ruis." 
("A well-known Dutch TV host from the eighties is Willem Ruis.")

Related words:
– Presenteren: to present [verb] [presenteerde, gepresenteerd].
– Presentatie: presentation [noun] [de presentatie, de presentaties].

Example:
– "Sorry maar ik kan vanavond niet uit; ik moet morgenvroeg een belangrijke presentatie geven." – "Nou en, lekker belangrijk!"
("I'm sorry but I can't go out tonight; tomorrow morning I have to give an important presentation." – "So what, who cares?!")

– Gastheer/vrouw: host/hostess [noun] [de gastheer/vrouw, de gastheren/vrouwen].
– Spreken:to speak/talk [verb] [sprak, gesproken].

Example:
– "Volgende week ga ik naar een conferentie." – "Leuk, moet je ook spreken of ga je alleen luisteren?"
("Next week I'm going to a conference." – "Nice, do you also have to present or are just attending?" Lit. "… or are you only going to listen?")

– Spreker: speaker [noun] [de spreker, de sprekers]. 

 

Tegen beter weten in

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against (one’s) better judgement, while knowing better Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[te-gen be-ter we-ten in]

The implied verb in this phrase is “doen”. To do something against (one’s) better judgement, or while knowing better: “Tegen beter weten iets doen”. You can replace “doen” with other verbs of course, see the Examples.

Examples:
– “Tegen beter weten in haalde hij geen kaartje bij de parkeerautomaat.” 
(“Even though he knew better, he did not get a ticket at the (parking ticket) machine.” Note that it is common in Dutch to say “parkeerkaartje” for the ticket you get in order to pay for parking. The ticket machine is called “parkeerautomaat”. A “parking ticket” as in a “fine”, is “parkeerboete” in Dutch.)

– “Ik geef toe, ik heb het tegen beter weten in gedaan, maar ik vond het de gok waard. Achteraf gezien heeft het goed uitgepakt!” 
(“I admit, I did it against my better judgement, but I though it was worth the bet/shot. With hindsight it turned out well!”)

– “Tegen beter weten in bliezen de regeringsleiders de top af.” 
(“The heads of government cancelled the summit against their better judgement.”)

– “Ik dacht nog, zal ik mijn regenkleding meenemen… Maar helaas. Ach ja, ik doe wel vaker iets tegen beter weten in.” 
(“I thought to myself, shall I take my rain gear with me… But alas… Oh well, it’s not the first time I do something against better judgement.” Lit. “…, more often I do something against …”)

Related words:
– Weten: to know [verb] [wist, geweten].
– Waarschuwen: to warn [verb] [waarschuwde, gewaarschuwd].

Example:
– “Ik heb je nog zo gewaarschuwd! Je moet uitkijken bij het oversteken!”
(“Haven’t I warned you? You have to watch out when crossing (the road)!” Lit. “You have to watch out with the crossing.”)

– Beter: better [adjective/adverb].
– Achteraf: afterwards [adverb].
– Achteraf gezien: with hindsight.
– Dom/stom: stupid, silly, ignorant [adjective/adverb].
– Naïef: naive [adjective/adverb].

Tig

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(so) many, a lot of Iconspeaker_3 Tig
[indefinite numeral]
[tig]

A you may know, a lot of Dutch numerals end with "-tig", for example: "twintig" (twenty), "dertig" (thirty), "veertig" (forty), etc. Now, the suffix "tig" can also be used separately, as an indefinte numeral that translates to "(so) many" or "a lot of".

"Tig" can also be used in combination with "honderd" (hundred), "duizend" (thousand), "miljoen" (million), "miljard" (billion), etc. See the Examples.

The use of "tig" is informal.

Examples:
– "Ik heb tig keer gebeld om de reis te annuleren, maar ik krijg steeds een antwoordapparaat." 
("I've called many times to cancel the trip, but I keep getting an answering machine.")

– "Ik heb haar tig standjes gegeven, maar ze wil niet luisteren." 
("I've given her a lot of reprimands, but she won't listen.")

– "Ik heb de TV van mijn oma al tig keer ingesteld, maar ze slaagt er iedere keer weer in de afstandsbediening kwijt te raken…" 
("I've set up my grandmother's TV so many times already, but every time she manages to lose the remote control…")

– "Ik heb geen zin om tig honderd euro te betalen voor een bekeuring…" 
("I don't feel like paying hundreds of euros on a fine…")

Related words:
– Vaak: often, many times [adverb].

Example:
– "Ik heb Franks bouwvakkersdecolleté te vaak gezien. Er zijn grenzen."
("I've seen Frank's builders cleavage too often. There are limits.")

– Veel: many, much [adverb/indefinite numeral].

Example:
– "Dit wordt me te veel, ik peer 'm."
("This is getting too much for me, I'm out of here.")

Overleven

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to survive Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[o-ver-le-ven, o-ver-leef-de, o-ver-leefd]

Overleven "Overleven" can be used both in the meaning of "to live through" and "to outlive". The related noun is "overlevende": survivor. Which is very different from an "overledene": deceased.

You may encounter the English noun "survival" in Dutch conversation; sometimes we use the English expression "survival of the fittest" instead of the Dutch alternative "recht van de sterkste(n)" or somebody may "op survival gaan" meaning he/she is going on a survival trip.

Examples:
– "Hoe gaan we dit in godsnaam overleven?" 
("How in God's name are we going to survive this?")

– "Hoe was je eerste werkdag?" – "Ach ja, ik heb het weer overleefd hè!" 
("How was your first day at work?" – "Oh well, I've survived it (you know)!")

– "De president heeft de aanslag overleefd, echter, drie van zijn lijfwachten zijn omgekomen." 
("The president survived the attack, however, three of his body-guards were killed." Note the verb "omkomen": to die, to be killed, to perish.)

– "En we kunnen weer rustig ademhalen mensen, het Nederlands elftal heeft de eerste ronde overleefd." 
("And we can breath comfortably again people, the Dutch team has survived the first round." Without context "Het Nederlands elftal" usually refers to the Dutch national team football/soccer, which consists of 11 players hence 'elftal'.)

– "Het stamhoofd heeft zijn kinderen reeds overleefd en lijkt vooralsnog niet van plan het loodje te leggen." 
("The tribal chief has already outlived his children and seemingly has no intention to die just yet." Note the informal expression "het loodje leggen": to kick the bucket, turn up one's toes, etc.)

– "Wanneer men in de jungle wil overleven, moet men niet te kritisch zijn wat eten betreft." 
("When one wants to survive in the jungle, one must not be too critical when it comes to food.")

Related words:
– Overlevende: survivor [noun] [de overlevende, de overlevenden].

Example:
– "Helaas zijn er geen overlevenden van de vliegramp."
("Unfortunately there are no survivors of the plane crash.")

– Overleving: survival [noun] [de overleving, <no plural>].

Annuleren

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to cancel Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[an-nu-le-ren, an-nu-leer-de, ge-an-nu-leerd]

Vertrekhal3 "Annuleren" is the general verb for "to cancel". When cancelling appointments or meetings with friends it is common to use the verb "afzeggen", see the Related words.

Examples:
– "Zullen we gewoon dit hotel boeken? We kunnen altijd nog annuleren…" 
("Why don't we just book this hotel? We can always cancel…")

– "Ja, mama ziet nu een schermpje met de knoppen 'OK' en 'Annuleren'. Wat moet ik nu doen? Kun je wat harder praten, mama kan je niet horen." 
("Yes, now mama sees a small window with two buttons 'OK' and 'Cancel'. What should I do next? Can you speak a little louder, mama can't hear you.")

– "Goedemiddag, u spreekt met Hans de Groot. Ik zou graag mijn reservering annuleren." 
("Good afternoon, this is Hans de Groot speaking. I would like to cancel my reservation.")

– "Het concert van vanavond is geannuleerd. U kunt uw geld terugkrijgen bij de kassa." 
("Tonight's concert has been cancelled. You can get your money back at the box/booking office.")

– "Het spijt me, maar uw vlucht is geannuleerd. Ik kan u omboeken naar de vlucht van 15u45." 
("I'm sorry, but your flight has been cancelled. I can book you on the 15h45 flight." )

Expressions:
– "Ergens van afzien": to decide not to do something, to think better of something.

Example:
– "Ik heb er nog even over nagedacht en ik zie toch af van de verkoop. Mijn excuses."
("I gave it some more thought and I've decided not to sell after all. My apologies.")

Related words:
– Afzeggen: to cancel [verb] [zei/zegde af, afgezegd]. Typically used for meetings/appointments.

Example:
– "Je zou toch weggaan vanavond?" – "Klopt, maar het gaat niet door, Frank heeft op het laatste moment afgezegd."
("Weren't you supposed to go out/away tonight?" – "Correct, but it was called off, Frank cancelled at the last moment.")

– Bevestigen: to confirm [verb] [bevestigde, bevestigd].
– Reserveren: to reserve [verb] [reserveerde, gereserveerd].
– Annulering: cancellation [noun] [de annulering, de annuleringen].
– Verzekering: insurance [noun] [de verzekering, de verzekeringen].
– Annuleringsverzekering: cancellation insurance [noun] [de ~verzekering, de ~verzekeringen].

Example:
– "Ik kan niet op vakantie gaan want ik ben ziek geworden. Gelukkig heb ik een annuleringsverzekering…"
("I can't go on holiday because I fell ill. Luckily I have cancellation insurance.")