Kat in het bakkie

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child's play, straightforward, piece of cake Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[Kat in het bak-kie]

KatInHetBakkie With "bak" meaning "bin, can, container, tray" this expression makes you think it's about getting the cat in the (cat's) box, which in fact can be very difficult (unless the cat wants to of course 🙂 ). However, "kat" in this expression may in fact mean "money" and the original meaning could be "bringing in the cash" (read more here (in Dutch) ). These days however, you will use it to say that something is very easy, or can be 'considered done!'

You will also hear "Dat/het is/was kat in 't bakkie!"

Examples:
– "Hoe ging je sollicitatiegesprek?" – "Het was kat in het bakkie, ik word zeker uitgenodigd voor een tweede gesprek!" 
("How was your job interview?" – "Piece of cake, I'm sure that I'll be invited to the second round!" Lit. "Surely I'll be invited for a second interview".)

– "Ga je de deadline nog halen denk je?" – "O man, kat in het bakkie. Ik heb het al lang af, maar nu denkt de manager dat ik keihard aan het werk ben 😉 " 
("Do you think you will be able to meet the deadline?" – "Most definitely! I've already completed it a long time ago, but this way the manager thinks I'm really working hard 😉 .")

– "De kat moet naar de dierenarts en ik krijg hem niet in zijn mandje!" – "Pff, dat is zeker geen kat in het bakkie! Vat je hem, kat in het bakkie?! Ha ha!" – "Ik vat hem Sander, maar het is niet grappig!" 
("The cat has to go to the vet and I can't get it to go in the carrier/cage!" – "Pff, that's definitely no 'kat in het bakkie'! Do you get it, 'kat in het bakkie'?! Ha ha!" – "I get it Sander, it's not funny, that's all!")

Expressions:
– "Eitje": piece of cake.
– "(Het was/is een) Makkie!": very easy to complete or do. Derived from "gemakkelijk": easy.

Related words:
– Kat: cat [noun] [de kat, de katten].
– Bak: container, bin [noun] [de bak, de bakken]. Diminutive: "bakje" or "bakkie" (informal).
– Kattenbak: cat's box/tray [noun] [de kattenbak, de kattenbakken].

Binnenvetter

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introvert, worrier Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de bin-nen-vet-ter, de bin-nen-vet-ters]

Binnenvetter A "binnenvetter" is somebody who is not only an introvert, but also worries too much by not sharing the things that bother him with others and keeping most feelings to him/herself. The adverb "binnen" means "within, inside". The word "vetter" is not really used independently, but "vet" in this context most likely means "fat", which is something you also build up on the inside 🙂

The English noun "introvert" best translates in Dutch as "een in zichzelf gekeerd persoon".

A related verb you may hear is "opkroppen": to bottle up (feelings, anger, etc.).

Examples:
– "Ben jij een extravert type?" – "Nee, ik ben meer introvert. Eigenlijk ben ik een binnenvetter." 
("Are you the outgoing type?" – "No, I'm rather introverted. I'm actually a real worrier.")

– "Sander is een echte binnenvetter. Hij kropt zijn gevoelens op en ondervindt daar later de nadelige gevolgen van." 
("Sander is a real worrier. He bottles up his feelings and later suffers the (adverse) consequences.")

– "Ik heb altijd geleerd om alles zelf op te lossen. Misschien ben ik daarom een binnenvetter." 
("I have always learned to solve / deal with everything myself. Perhaps that's the reason I'm introverted.")

Expressions:
– "Maak van je hart geen moordkuil!": do not disguise your feelings, speak up your mind, be frank!

Example:
– "Wees toch niet zo'n binnenvetter, maak van je hart geen moordkuil! Vertel me wat er aan de hand is!"
("Don't be such an introvert! Be frank about your feelings! Tell me what's wrong!")

Related words:
– Introvert: introverted [adjective].
– Opkroppen: to bottle up, to pen up, to hold back [verb] [kropte op, opgekropt].

Example:
– "Hij heeft altijd zijn woede opgekropt en nu is dat tot een uitbarsting gekomen!"
("He has always bottled up his anger and now this has led to an outburst!")

– Gevoelens: feelings [noun, plural] [het gevoel, de gevoelens].
– Zorgen: worries [noun, plural] [de zorg, de zorgen].
– Piekeren: to worry, to brood [verb] [piekerde, gepiekerd].

Meer

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1. more Iconspeaker_3
[adverb/indefinite numeral] Meer

The use of “meer” is quite versatile. It is used in a comparative context, and usually translates to “more”, although many other translations may apply too, see the Examples.

Examples:
– “Ik heb meer ruimte nodig…en meer geld!” 
(“I need more space…and more money!”)

– “Ik heb veel rimpels, maar Frank heeft er meer.” 
(“I have a lot of wrinkes, but Frank has more.”)

– “Sophie heeft in een week meer bereikt dan Frank in een heel jaar.” 
(“Sophie has achieved more in a week than Frank in a whole year.”)

– “Wie waren er nog meer op het feest?” 
(“Who else was there at the party?” (Lit.: “Who were there more yet at the party?”))

– “Door al deze ellende voel ik me meer dood dan levend…” 
(“Because of all this misery, I feel rather dead than alive.”)

– “Ik heb echt geen puf meer, ik ben helemaal uitgeput.” 
(“I really don’t have the energy any more, I’m completely exhausted.”)

– “Sorry, ik kan je niet meer volgen.”
(“Sorry, I can’t follow you any more.”)

– “Sarah is niet meer vrij, ze is vorig jaar getrouwd…”
(“Sarah is no longer available, she got married last year…”)

Expressions:
– “Min of meer”: more or less (lit.: less or more).
– “Onder meer”: among others, among other things.

Example:
– “Ik heb onder meer ontdekt dat er op het werk door bepaalde mensen gefraudeerd wordt, maar er is hier nog zoveel meer mis…”
(“Among other things, I have discovered that some people commit fraud at work, but there’s so much more wrong here…”)

– “Des te meer”: all the more.

Related words:
– Minder: less [adverb/indefinite numeral].
– Veel: many [adverb/indefinite numeral].
– Weinig: little [adjective/adverb/indefinite cardinal].

2. lake Iconspeaker_3
[noun] Lake gunn
[het meer, de me-ren]

As a noun, “meer” translates to “lake”. The Netherlands have a lot of (very) small lakes, although they are usually called “plassen” (lit.: pools/lakes).

The biggest lake in the Netherlands is the IJsselmeer, which used to be a sea (the Zuiderzee), until it was closed by a 32 km dam, the Afsluitdijk, in 1932.

Examples:
– “Hoe laat vertrekt het veer naar de overkant van het meer?” 
(“At what time does the ferry leave for the other side of the lake?”)

– “Ik ga vandaag zeilen op het Naardermeer.” – “Kun jij wel zeilen?” – “Ik ga met een instructeur, dus dat zit wel snor.”
(“I’m going sailing today on Lake Naarden.” – “Do you even know how to sail?” – “I’m going with a instructor, so that will be all right.”)

Related words:
– Oceaan: ocean [noun] [de oceaan, de oceanen].
– Strand: beach [noun] [het strand, de stranden].

Example:
– “Heeft dit meer ook een zandstrand, of zijn het alleen maar rotsen?”
(“Does this lake also have a sandy beach, or is it just rocks?”)

– Zee: sea [noun] [de zee, de zeeën].

Dat zit wel snor

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that's all right, that will be all right Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week] Snor

There isn't really a literal translation for "dat zit wel snor". In Dutch, verbs like "zitten" (to sit), "staan" (to stand) and "liggen" are sometimes used in case of an ongoing activity, usually translated in English with a conjugation of "to be" + gerund, for example: "hij zit te liegen" (he's lying). In this particular phrase, "zit" is also translated with "is"/"will be", although it's not an ongoing activity that is referred to.

"Dat zit wel snor" is synonymous to "dat zit wel goed".

"Snor" translates to moustache, by the way 🙂

Examples:
– "Heb jij je surprise nog niet gemaakt? Morgen is surprise-avond!" – "Maak je niet druk, dat zit wel snor." 
("You haven't made your Sinterklaas surprise yet? Tomorrow is Sinterklaas surprise night! "Don't worry, that will be all right.")

– "Nederlands leren is een kwestie van veel oefenen." – "Dat zit wel snor, ik volg de DWOTD op Twitter." 
("Learning Dutch is a matter of practising a lot." – "That's all right, I follow the DWOTD on Twitter.")

– "Wat is je strategie om de koploper te verslaan?" – "Dat zit wel snor, we hebben een geheim wapen…" 
("What's your strategy to beat the number one team?" – "It will be all right, we've got a secret weapon…")

Expressions:
– "In orde": in order, okay, all right.
– "Dat zit wel goed": that's all right, that will be all right.

Example:
– "Alstublieft meneer, uw wisselgeld." – "Dat zit wel goed, dat muntje van 5 cent mag je houden."
("There you go sir, your change." – "That's all right, you can keep the 5 cents (coin).")

Related words:
– Snor: moustache [noun] [de snor, de snorren].

Example:
– "Mannen met een snor bereiken meer in het leven." – "Wat een onzin!"
("Men with a moustache achieve more in life." – "That's nonsense!")

Surprise

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surprise Iconspeaker_3
[noun] Surprise
[de sur-pri-se, de sur-pri-ses]

The Dutch "surprise" (pronounced "sur-pree-zuh") is nearly only used in the context of Sinterklaas. Unless you're a "kakker" and speak with a hot "aardappel" in your mouth…then you may want to use "surprise" as a synonym for the far more common "verrassing" (surprise)…and if you really want to overdo it, you can use the French "quelle surprise" 🙂

See Extra for more info on the Dutch tradition of "surprises".

Examples:
– "Heb jij je surprise al klaar? Zondag is het pakjesavond!" 
("Do you have your Sinterklaas surprise ready yet? It's Sinterklaas' evening of presents on Sunday!")

– "Ik heb echt een onnozele surprise gemaakt voor Frank…dat zal hij echt niet leuk vinden :-)" 
("I really made a silly Sinterklaas surprise for Frank…he's really not going to like it :-)")

– "Mijn beste kerel! Mieters jou hier te treffen, wat een surprise!" 
("Old chap! How swell to meet you here, what a surprise!" Lit.: "My best man!…")

Expressions:
– "Grote ogen opzetten": to be surprised, to be dazed. Lit.: "to put on big eyes".
– "Nou breekt mijn klomp!": I'll be damned! Lit.: "Now my wooden shoe breaks!"

Example:
– "Heb jij deze surprise gemaakt?? Nou breekt mijn klomp! Hij is geweldig!!"
("Did you make this Sinterklaas surprise?? I'll be damned! It's great!!")

Related words:
– Pakjesavond: Sinterklaas' evening of presents [noun] [de pakjesavond, de pakjesavonden].
– Stomverbaasd: dumbfounded, flabbergasted [adjective].
– Verrassing: surprise [noun] [de verrassing, de verrassingen].

Example:
– "Met die stevige wind is het geen verrassing dat de gevoelstemperatuur erg laag ligt."
("With that strong wind, it's no surprise that it feels like temperatures are very low.")

Extra:
During Sinterklaas time, it's kind of a tradition to have a "surprise-avond" (lit.: surprise night). The "surprise-avond" may coincide with "pakjesavond", but this is not mandatory. A few weeks (sometimes months) before "surprise-avond" there's the crucial part of "lootjes trekken", where all participants draw the name of another participant. It is of the utmost importance not to reveal the name you have drawn, although many try to find out the names that others have drawn. The objective is then to create a "surprise" for the person you've drawn, which consists of three elements: 1. a hand-made object (constructed by using materials like paper, cardboard boxes, toilet paper roles, etc.) 2. a Sinterklaas poem, and 3. a small, funny present. During "lootjes trekken" often a maximum amount is agreed upon, which may be spent on the "surprise". The created object, poem and/or present must preferably apply to a characteristic feature of the recipient. Finally, at the "surprise-avond" everybody opens/unpacks/dismantles the "surprise" that has been created for him/her, reads the poem out loud, and guesses the name of the creator. Because the quality of the "surprises" may vary, a "surprise-avond" may include feelings of both pleasant surprise and serious disappointment, as well as the consumption of alcoholic beverages 🙂