In tegenstelling tot

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unlike, in contrast to, as opposed to Click to listen
In tegenstelling tot
[Dutch phrase of the week]

"Tegenstelling" is composed of "tegen" and "stelling", which respectively translate to "against/counter" and "position/statement". Hence, "tegenstelling" literally translates to "counter position": a contrast. The idiom "In tegenstelling tot" literally translates to "in contrast to", but also to "unlike" or "as opposed to", depending on context.

Examples:
– "In tegenstelling tot gisterochtend, had ik vandaag geen vertraging met de trein." 
("Unlike yesterday morning, my train wasn't delayed today." Lit.: "…I didn't have delay with the train.")

– "In tegenstelling tot wat velen geloofden, heeft Nederland gewonnen van Brazilië!" 
("In contrast to what many believed, the Netherlands won against Brasil!")

– "In tegenstelling tot de meeste Nederlanders, ben ik faliekant tegen het nationale gedoogbeleid voor softdrugs." – "Zeurkous…" 
("Unlike most Dutch, I'm completely against the national policy on soft drugs." – "Nag…")

Expressions:
– "Integendeel": on the contrary.

Example:
– "Hoe gaat het jongen? Nog steeds kommer en kwel?" – "Integendeel! Alles loopt op rolletjes!"
("What's up buddy? All sorrow and misery still?" – "On the contrary! Everything goes like clockwork!")

Related words:
– Tegen: against [preposition].

Example:
– "Roze behang in de slaapkamer?
Daar ben ik faliekant tegen!" 
("Pink
wallpaper in the bedroom? I'm totally against that!")

– Stelling: thesis, position, statement [noun] [de stelling, de stellingen].

Faliekant

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utter, utterly, completely, totally  Click to listen
Faliekant
[adjective/adverb]
[fa-lie-kant]

"Faliekant" originates from (the no longer in use) "faliecant": a non-right angle.

In daily speech, "faliekant" is mostly used as an adverb to amplify an adjective that expresses dissatisfaction. You will usually see the combinations "faliekant tegen" (completely against) and "faliekant mis" (totally wrong).

Examples:
– "O jee, het is faliekant mis met het openbaar vervoer vandaag, overal vertragingen." 
("Oh dear, complete mayhem in public transportation today, delays everywhere." Lit.: "…it's gone utterly wrong…")

– "Roze behang in de slaapkamer? Daar ben ik faliekant tegen!" 
("Pink wallpaper in the bedroom? I'm totally against that!")

Related words:
– Helemaal: completely [adverb].
– Volledig: complete(ly) [adjective/adverb].

Example:
– "Gast, ik ben volledig naar de klote…" – "Flinke kater zeker?"
("Dude, I'm completely wasted…" – "Big hangover, right?")

Vertraging

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delay,
slowing-down, deceleration Click to listen
Vertraging
[noun]
[de
ver-tra-ging, de ver-tra-ging-en]

"Vertraging" contains "traag", which translates to "slow".

Although
a "vertraging" applies to a situation where something is slowing down
in general, the word is mostly associated with a delay in public
transportation.

The term used in the physical sciences  – deceleration – also
translates to "vertraging". Its opposite – acceleration – translates to
"versnelling". The physical quantity inertia translates to
"traagheid".

Examples:
– "Mijn trein had vanochtend een vertraging van
20 minuten." 
("This morning my
train was delayed by 20 minutes." Lit.: "…had a delay of 20
minutes…")

– "Het project heeft een vertraging van
een half jaar opgelopen." 
("The project is delayed with half a year." Note the use of 'oplopen' in combination with 'vertraging': although the result is still the same, 'een vertraging oplopen' translates as 'to accrue a delay'. )

– "De tv-beelden van het WK in Zuid-Afrika worden met een kleine vertraging uitgezonden." 
("The TV pictures of the world championship football/soccer in South-Afrika are broadcast with a small delay." Note that 'WK' (from 'Wereldkampioenschap') is by default about football/soccer.)

– "Door persoonlijke omstandigheden is voor hem de studievertraging enorm toegenomen." 
("Due to personal circumstances the delay in finishing his studies has increased tremendously.")

Related words:
–
Vertragen: to delay, to slow down [verb] [vertraagde, vertraagd].
– Achterstand: arrears, backlog [noun] [de achterstand, de achterstanden].

Lekkage

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leak, leakage Click to listen
Lekkage
[noun]
[de lek-ka-ge, de lek-ka-ges]

A "lekkage" is a leakage. "Lekkage" is typically used in case of a pipe, tube or other container leaking water.

The related "lek" translates as a noun also to "leak" in general, or as an adjective to "leaky/punctured".

Examples:
– "Marcs kantoor is dit weekend getroffen door een flinke waterlekkage." – "Daar is hij mooi klaar mee!" 
("Marc's office has been struck by quite a water leakage this weekend." – "A fine state of affairs!")

– "De bovenburen hebben lekkage en nu loopt het water bij ons langs de muur naar beneden…" – "Jeetje, het is bij jullie altijd kommer en kwel…" 
("The upper neighbours have a leak and now the water is running down our wall…" – "Oh my, you guys are always in a miserable situation…" Note the use of 'jeetje'; this is a variant of 'jee' which is in its turn derived from 'Jezus'.)

Expressions:
– "Het loopt de spuigaten uit": it's getting out of hand.
– "In het water vallen": to fall through, to be cancelled. Lit.: to fall into the water

Example:
–
"Het is mijn verwachting dat Franks plannen vrij snel in het water zullen vallen."
("I expect Frank's plans to fall through quite quickly." Lit.: "It is my expectation that Frank's plans will fall through quite quickly.")

Related words:
– Lek: 1. leak [noun] [het lek, de lekken]. 2. leaky, punctured [adjective].

Example:
– "Eerst had ik wind tegen, daarna kreeg ik een lekke band, en toen begon het te regenen." –
"Jongen, wat een ellende!"
("First I had the wind against me, then I got a flat tyre, and then it
started to rain…" – "Dude, what a distress!")

– Lekken: to leak [verb] [lekken, lekte, h. gelekt].
– Loodgieter: plumber [noun] [de loodgieter, de loodgieters].

Kommer en kwel

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all sorrow and misery
Click to listen
[Dutch phrase
of the week]

Sloppenwijk Although 'kommer' and 'kwel' both exist as independent nouns, it is highly likely that you will never encounter them outside this expression. You can use "kommer en kwel" to describe a situation or state that is bad or miserable. How bad or miserable depends a bit on the context 🙂

Examples:
– "Het Engelse team ligt uit het toernooi, maar het was heus niet alleen kommer en kwel." 
("The English team is out of the tournament, but really it wasn't all that bad." Note the use of "eruit liggen"; to be out of a competition after losing.)

– "Hoe was je vakantie, Zuid-Frankrijk toch?" – "Het was verschrikkelijk met die regen, echt kommer en kwel!" 
("How was your holiday, the south of France wasn't it?" – "It was terrible with all that rain, truly sorrow and misery!")

– "Overal is het kommer en kwel, mensen worden ontslagen, ze kunnen de hypotheek niet meer opbrengen en hun spaargeld wordt minder waard!" 
("The situation is really really bad everywhere, people are being fired, they can't afford the mortgage any longer and their savings decrease in value!" Note that "opbrengen" is more like "to raise" than "to afford" which is mostly translated as "zich veroorloven".)   

– "Na de aardbeving in Haïti was het niets dan kommer en kwel." 
("After the earthquake in Haiti it was sorrow and misery all over the place.")

Related words:
– Kommer: sorrow, distress [noun] [de kommer, <no plural>]
– Kwel: seepage [noun] [de/het kwel, <no plural>]   
– Ellende: misery, miserable situation [noun] [de ellende, de ellenden]. The plural is never used though.
– Verdriet: sorrow [noun] [het verdriet, <no plural>].
– Uitzichtloos: hopeless, futureless [adjective].