Wat dan nog?

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so what, what if it is? Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[Wat dan nog?]
person-802090_640“Wat dan nog?” is an alternative to “nou en?” You can use it when you are annoyed, or when you want to say that you think something will not have that much of an influence.

Examples:
– “Hé, ik zat hier, dit is mijn plek!” – “Ja wat dan nog, ga daar maar zitten!”
(“Hey, I was sitting here, this is my spot!” – “Yeah, so what, go sit over there!”)

– “En wat dan nog? Jij hebt geen (enkel) recht van spreken, jij bent zelf blijven zitten!” 
(“So what? You have no right to speak (at all), you were kept down a class/grade held back / you had to repeat the year yourself!” Note that ‘jij bent blijven zitten’ literally means ‘you remained sitting’. Which could also be a cause for arguing, you never know 🙂 )

– “En wat dan nog joh, zelfs als ze je een onvoldoende geven, ga je nog over!” 
(“And what if it is, even if you fail the test/exam you will still move up to the next grade!” An ‘onvoldoende’ literally translates as an ‘insufficient one’.)

– “Ga je met die jas naar buiten? Het gaat straks enorm regenen!” – “Wat dan nog, ik ben toch niet van suiker!” 
(“Are you going outside with that coat? It will rain heavily in a while!” – “So what, I’m not made of sugar am I?” Note that ‘zijn van’ can mean ‘to be made of’ and hence you can leave out the ‘gemaakt’ if you want.)

Expressions:
– “Nou en?!”: so what!
– “Wat kan mij het schelen?“: what do I care?

Example:
– “Wat kan mij het schelen, ik neem nog een biertje!”
(“What do I care, I’ll have another beer!”)

Related words:
– De schouders ophalen: to shrug [verb] [haalde de schouders op, de schouders opgehaald]. Literally: “to lift up the shoulders”.
– Wat: what [indefinite pronoun].
– Dan: then [adverb].

Example:
– “Ja en wat dan?”- “Nou, en dan niks!”
(“Yes and then what?” – “Well, and then nothing!”)

Strategie

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strategy, strategics Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de stra-te-gie, de stra-te-gie-ën]

300px-Stratego_Board "Strategie" is pretty much used the same way as in English; when it regards the military you can emphasize that by saying 'militaire strategie'. Note the diaeresis ("trema") in the plural form of 'strategie'. As the stress is on the last syllable you have to add an 'e', as opposed to sticking the diaeresis on the already present 'e'.

When coming up with this word I had to think of the board game 'Stratego', read more in the Extra below.

Examples:
– "Ok jongen, wat is de strategie, laden we eerst de grote dingen in of eerst de kleine?" 
("Ok man, what is the strategy, do we load the big things first, or the small things?" Note that in the example the noun is not repeated after 'kleine'; you can do this in case you have already mentioned the noun before.)

– "Eerst de grote! Het is wiskundig bewezen dat dat de beste strategie is." 
("First the big things! It is mathematically proven that that is the best strategy.")

– "Wat is het doel wat je wil bereiken? Je moet eerst een doel hebben voordat je de strategie kunt gaan bepalen!" 
("What is the goal that you want to achieve? You need to have a goal first before you can start determining the strategy!")

– "Het is allemaal leuk en aardig zo'n 'managementstrategie', maar volgens mij heeft de directie niet eens een visie!" 
("It's all well and good, a 'management strategy', but I think the board (of directors) does not even have a vision!")

– "Ik geef toe dat onze strategie niet tot de gewenste resultaten heeft geleid. Derhalve dien ik mijn ontslag in." 
("I admit that our strategy has not led to the desired results. Therefore I resign." Another way to say 'derhalve' is 'om die reden' ('for that reason').)

– "Waarom moet jij voor alles altijd een strategie hebben?" 
("Why do you always want to have a strategy for everything?")

Expressions:
– "Een plan uitstippelen": to outline a plan.

Related words:
– Tactiek: tactics [noun] [de taktiek, de taktieken].
– Strategisch: strategic [adjective].
– Plan: plan [noun] [het plan, de plannen].

Example:
– "Ik vind het geweldig als een plan klopt!"
("I love it when a plan comes together!" I admit this is a bit of a 'forced' example but you don't always get the chance to quote Hannibal 😉 )

– Slagen: to succeed [verb] [slaagde, geslaagd].
– Falen: to fail [verb] [faalde, gefaald].

Extra:
'Stratego' is an, originally Dutch, old-school 'capture-the-flag' board game. I don't remember much of the game other than being jealous of school friends who had it 🙂 Looking at the wikipedia page it is still going strong with annual international tournaments!

Aardappel

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potato Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de aard-ap-pel, de aard-ap-pel-en/aard-ap-pels]

potatoes-411975_640“Aardappel” literally translates to “earth apple”. It’s actually a potato 🙂

“Aardappels” play an important role in Dutch cuisine, which is not too ambitious, but quite nutritious by intention. It is inspired by the Dutch fishing and farming history. Nowadays, Dutch cuisine has incorporated many foreign cuisines. For more info, check this article on Wikipedia.

“Aardappel” can also be used when you call somebody names. It’s a mild form of abusive language though 🙂

Examples:
– “Vanavond een lekker Hollands maal: aardappelen en bloemkool met een papje, heerlijk!” 
(“Tonight a good Dutch dinner: potatoes and cauliflower with sauce, delicious!”)

– “Ik vind gekookte aardappels niet bijzonder lekker.” 
(“I don’t find boiled potatoes particularly tasty.”)

– “Frank is een saaie aardappel, vind je niet?” 
(“Frank is a bore head, don’t you think?” Lit.: “…a boring potato…”)

Expressions:
– “Met een hete aardappel in de mond praten / praten alsof je een hete aardappel in de mond hebt”: to speak/talk like a “kakker“: a stuck-up pompous, posh person. Also called “bekakt praten” in Dutch.

Related words:
– Aardappelmesje: little knife for peeling potatoes [noun] [het aardappelmesje, de aardappelmesjes].
– Aarde: earth, ground [noun] [de aarde, de aardes].
– Appel: apple [noun] [de appel, de appels/appelen].

Example:
– “Snoep verstandig, eet een appel!”
(Lit.: “Eat candy wisely, eat an apple!” Used to be a well-known Dutch slogan to promote the consumption of fruit. The verb “snoepen” is the act of eating sweets/candy or other sweet unhealthy food.)

– Dunschiller: (lit.: thin peeler) potato peeler [noun] [de dunschiller, de dunschillers]. Like in the picture!
– Keuken: kitchen [noun] [de keuken, de keukens].
– Koken: to cook, to boil, to prepare dinner [verb] [koken, kookte, h./i. gekookt].
– Schillen: to peel [verb] [schillen, schilde, h./i. geschild].

Averechts

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counterproductive, (all) wrong Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]  Averechts
[a-ve-rechts]

"Averechts" is a bit of an old-fashioned word, however you will still encounter it in the expression "dat werkt averechts" or when something has an "averechts effect". The sentences below illustrate the use of "averechts".

If for some reason you like to knit, and you like to knit in Dutch [ 😉 ] you may come across the term "averecht(s) breien" (to purl, as in 'knit one, purl one'). If not, ask your Dutch (great-)grandmother.

(Picture taken from dreamstime.com)

Examples:
– "Nu ga ik je leren hoe je averecht(s) moet breien!" – "Nee oma, ik ben pas net begonnen en te veel informatie werkt alleen maar averechts!" 
("Now I will teach you how to purl!" – "No grandma, I've just started and too much information will only be counterproductive!" My grandmother actually taught me how to purl. My grandfather thought that was "wrong" (the whole knitting thing) so she stopped 🙂 .)

– "Je moet Sander gewoon eens vertellen wat hij moet doen!" – "Nee joh, dat heeft op hem alleen maar een averechts effect!" 
("You just have to tell Sander what he has to do!" – "No not at all, that will only have the wrong effect on him!")

– "Mijn dochter is gaan roken, moet ik het haar verbieden?" – "Ik zou met haar het gesprek aangaan, zomaar iets verbieden werkt averechts bij pubers!" 
("My daughter started smoking, should I forbid her to?" – "I would talk to her about it, simply forbidding something will only be counterproductive when it regards teen-agers!" Note that 'pubers' emphasizes being adolescent more than just a teen-ager ('tiener' in Dutch). "Het gesprek aangaan" literally translates as "starting the conversation with somebody".)

– "Zie je die fiets? Het lichtje brandt nog, wacht ik doe het even uit." – "Niet doen! Dat werkt averechts, want zo leert die persoon het nooit!" 
("Do you see that bicycle? Its light is still on, wait, I'll turn it off." – "Don't do that! That will only be counterproductive, that way the owner will never learn!" Note that 'persoon' translates as 'person', the ownership of the bicycle is implied. Dutch bicycles typically come with battery powered lights these days, or you will see people using 'click-on' lights. This seems much more resilient against the hardships of use in Dutch cities. Note that one is allowed to attach lights to the body instead of the bicycle (it used to be forbidden but Dutch police now figure that 'a light' is better than 'no light'. Although one light instead of two does not reduce the fine [as I found out myself 🙂 ] ) ).

Related words:
– Contraproductief: counterproductive [adjective/adverb].
– Verkeerd: wrong [adjective/adverb].
– Fout: wrong, incorrect [adjective/adverb].
– Onjuist: incorrect [adjective/adverb].

Example:
– "De verdachte heeft onjuist gehandeld, maar geen misdrijf gepleegd."
("The suspect has done wrong, but did not commit a crime.")

Normaal gesproken

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generally speaking, normally, usually Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

Man en vrouw praten met elkaar“Normaal gesproken” literally translates to “normally spoken”. “Gesproken” is the past participle of the irregular verb “spreken” [sprak, h. gesproken].

Examples:
– “Heb je een scheetje gelaten? Die zijn normaal gesproken niet te harden, bah…” 
(“Did you fart? The stench of your farts is usually unbearable, yuck…”)

– “Ik gebruik normaal gesproken een QWERTY toetsenbord.” 
(“I use a QWERTY keyboard, generally speaking.”)

– “Ik was mijn handen normaal gesproken met zeep nadat ik naar de w.c. ben geweest.” 
(“I normally wash my hands with soap after using the toilet.” Lit.: “…after I have been to the toilet.”)

Related words:
– Normaal: normal, usual [adjective/adverb].
– Spreken: to speak [verb] [spreken, sprak, gesproken].

Example:
– “Ik heb in het ziekenhuis met de dokter gesproken, ze hebben niks vreemds in mijn bloed kunnen ontdekken.”
(“I have spoken with the doctor in the hospital, they couldn’t find anything strange in my blood.”)