Wat zullen we nou krijgen!

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what are we in for now, what is this / going on here? Click to listen
[Dutch phrase of the week]

bubble-gum-438404_640The verb “krijgen” translates as “to get, obtain, receive” (but there are many subtleties in its usage; best to check out the DWOTD on Krijgen). The use of “krijgen” in this week’s phrase may be interpreted as “you are are getting something that you do not want”. The one using this phrase usually is indignant because something happens that is not supposed to happen.
The translation above is the dictionary suggestion, but depending on context, it can probably also be translated as “what’s going on / happening here?!”, “what the hell…”, “I’ll be damned”, etc.

Examples:
– “Zeg, wat zullen we nou krijgen, ben je helemaal gek geworden?!” 
(“Hey, what’s going on here, have you gone completely mad?!”)

– “Hé, wat zullen we nou krijgen, wegwezen jullie, dit is privéterrein!” 
(“Hey, what the hell, get out of here, this is private property!”)

– “Wat zullen we nou krijgen, dat was niet de afspraak! Eerst je kamer opruimen, en dan pas mag je uit!” 
(“What’s this?! This not what we have agreed upon! First you clean up your room, and then you are allowed to go out!”)

– “Wat zullen we nou krijgen, iedereen moet drastisch bezuinigen maar de directeur heeft alweer een nieuwe auto!” 
(“I’ll be damned, everybody has to cut back drastically but the managing director got himself yet another new car!”)

Expressions:
– “Wat krijgen we nou?!”: similar to ‘wat zullen we nou krijgen’.
– “Krijg nou wat!”: what the hell, I’ll be damned, etc..

Related words:
– Krijgen: to get, obtain, receive [verb] [kreeg, gekregen].
– Verontwaardigd: indignant [adverb/adjective].

Raadsel

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 riddle/puzzle, mystery/enigma Click to listen
[noun]
[het raad-sel, de raad-sels]

crossword-146860_640Een ‘raadsel’ in Dutch can be used in the meaning of riddle or mystery. Serious mysteries or enigmas however are called ‘mysterie’ or … ‘enigma’ 🙂 It is also more common to use the diminutive in case of a riddle: raadseltje. The word “puzzel” in Dutch is typically used for crossword or jigsaw puzzles.

Examples:
– “Weet jij nog een leuk raadseltje?” 
(“Do you know another fun riddle?”)

– “Om de deur te kunnen openen, moest de avonturier eerst een raadsel oplossen.” 
(“In order to be able to open the door, the adventurer had to solve a riddle first.”)

– “Volgens de politie is het een raadsel hoe de inbreker ongezien het schilderij mee heeft kunnen nemen.” 
(“The police say that it is a mystery how the burglar was able to take the painting with him unnoticed.”)

– “Weet jij de oplossing van het volgende raadsel?” 
(“Do you know the solution to the following puzzle?”)

What is the next number?
1
11
21
1211
111221
…

Expressions:
– “Het is mij/me een raadsel!”: it’s a mystery/puzzle to me.

Example:
– “Het is me een raadsel hoe Sieneke niet de finale van het Eurovisie Songfestival heeft kunnen halen!” – “Een raadsel? Echt niet, laten we wel wezen, dat liedje slaat toch nergens op!”
(“It’s a mystery to me how Sieneke was not able to make it to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest!”- “A mystery? No way, let’s be fair, that song is ridiculous!”)

– “Voor een raadsel staan”: to be puzzled/baffled.

Example:
– “Ik sta echt voor een raadsel! Zojuist had ik mijn sleutels nog, maar nu zijn ze alweer kwijt!”
(“I’m really baffled! Just now I still had my keys, but now I seem to have lost them again!”)

Related words:
– Raadselachtig: mysterious, enigmatic [adverb/adjective].
– Puzzel: crossword or jigsaw puzzle [noun] [de puzzel, de puzzels]. Sometimes you will also see “kruiswoordraadsel” instead of “kruiswoordpuzzel”.

Keuken

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kitchen Click to listen Keuken
[noun] 
[de keu-ken, de keu-kens]

A "keuken" is simply a kitchen. In a "keuken" the Dutch cook (among other things 🙂 ): "koken".

Examples:
– "Help!! Er zit een muis
in de keuken!!"

("Help!! There's a mouse in the
kitchen!!")

– "Mensenkinderen,
wat een troep
in de keuken!! Waar is mijn schort?" 
("My goodness, what a mess in the kitchen!! Where's my
apron?")

– "Liefie,
wil jij de afwas even naar de keuken dragen?"
("Sweetie, will you
just carry the dishes into the kitchen?")

Expressions:
– "Keukenprins/keukenprinses": (lit.: kitchen prince/princess) someone who likes to cook.

Example:
– "Frank heeft drie uur in de keuken gestaan, speciaal voor haar." – "Wat is het toch een keukenprins…"
("Frank has been in the kitchen for three hours, just for her." – "My, he's such a chef…")

– "Neuken in de keuken": <vulgar rhyme with no specific meaning/goal other than rhyming> f*cking in the kitchen .

Related words:
– Afwas: (doing the) dishes [noun] [de afwas, <no plural>].
– Koken: to cook, to boil [verb] [koken, kookte, h. gekookt].

Example:
– "Hij maakte een goede indruk door voor haar te koken."
("He
made a good impression by cooking for her.")

– Schort: apron [noun] [het schort, de schorten].
– Keukenboer: slang for 'kitchen centre' with boer translating as 'farmer' [noun] [de keukenboer, de keukenboeren]. Keukenboeren have a bad reputation for overpricing their kitchens and using aggressive marketing techniques.

Muis

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mouse Click to listen Muis
[noun] 
[de muis, de mui-zen]

A "muis" is a mouse, both the animal and the computer pointer device. Unlike the plural in English (:mice), the plural in Dutch is regular. The 's' changes into a 'z' though: "muizen".

Examples:
– "Help!! Er zit een muis in de keukenkast." 
("Help!! There's a mouse in the kitchen cupboard." Note: "er zit…" is translated with "there is…" (lit.: "there sits…"))

– "Ik kom niet van de tafel voordat je die muis hebt weggejaagd!" 
("I won't come off the table before you've chased that mouse away!")

– "Ik heb pijn in mijn onderarm…" – "Misschien moet je een ergodynamische muis gaan gebruiken." 
("I have a pain in my lower arm…" – "Maybe you have to start using an ergo-dynamic mouse. ")

Expressions:
– "Als de kat van huis is, dansen de muizen op tafel": (lit.: if the cat's from home, the mice dance on the table) When the cat's away, the mouse will play / Without supervision, everybody does as he or she pleases.
– "Dit muisje krijgt nog een staartje": (lit.: this little mouse will get a (little) tail) this is not the end of it, this will have consequences. Note that in this expression "muisje" is often omitted: "dit krijgt nog een staartje".

Example:
– "De officier van justitie is een belangrijk dossier tijdens een treinrit kwijtgeraakt." – "Let op mijn woorden: dit muisje krijgt nog een staartje…"
("The district attorney has lost an important file during a ride on the train." – "Mark my words: this will have consequences…")

Related words:
– Knaagdier: rodent [noun] [het knaagdier, de knaagdieren].
– Rat: rat [noun] [de rat, de ratten].

Example:
– "Frank is voor de tweede keer deze maand vreemdgegaan…" – "Hij is een rat…"
("Frank has cheated on his girlfriend for the second time this month…" – "He is a rat…")

– Muizenval: mouse-trap [noun] [de muizenval, de muizenvallen].
– Computeren: to use the computer for recreational purposes [verb] [computeren, computerde, h. gecomputerd].
– Klikken: to click [verb] [klikken, klikte, h. geklikt].
– Toetsenbord: keyboard [noun] [het toetsenbord, de toetsenborden].

Kwijt

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lost, forgotten, gotten rid off Click to listen
[adjective]

key-533553_640“Kwijt” is a predicate adjective, which means that it modifies the subject like other descriptive adjectives, but it must follow a linking verb in a sentence, mostly (a conjugation of) the verb “zijn” (:to be).

“Kwijt” is also often used in conjunction with the verb “raken”, which comes from “geraken”, which translates to “to end up”. Hence “kwijtraken” literally translates to “to end up lost”: to lose.

Examples:
– “Ik ben zijn naam kwijt, en dat is geen smoes.” 
(“I’ve forgotten his name, and that’s no cheap excuse.”)

– “De jonge moeder was helemaal in paniek nadat ze haar zoontje was kwijtgeraakt.” 
(“The young mother completely panicked after she had lost her little boy.”)

– “Waarom is Frank zo laat?” – “Geloof het of niet, maar hij is de weg kwijt…” 
(“Why is Frank this late?” – “Believe it or not, but he got lost (on his way)…”)

– “Zo, die sukkel zijn we kwijt! Toedeledoki!” 
(“There, we got rid of that sucker! Bye bye!”)

Expressions:
– “(Volledig) de weg kwijt zijn”: to be (completely) lost.
– “In de war”: confused.

Example:
– “Mijn oma is helderziende en heeft voorspellende gaven.” – “Nee gast, jouw oma is gewoon een beetje in de war…”
(“My grandmother is clairvoyant and has a foreseeing gift.” – “No dude, your grandmother is just a little confused…”)

Related words:
– Verdwalen: to get lost [verb] [verdwalen, verdwaalde, i. verdwaald].
– Verliezen: to lose [verb] [verliezen, verloor, i./h. verloren].

Example:
– “Ik ben mijn autosleutels verloren…”
(“I’ve lost my car keys…”)
Note that you could also say: “Ik ben mijn autosleutels kwijt”, which would also translate to “I’ve lost my car keys”, or – more subtle – :”I can’t seem to find my car keys”. The subtlety is in the fact that “Ik ben mijn autosleutels kwijt” implies that you haven’t lost you keys yet, but you just can’t find them.