Vreemdgaan

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to stray, commit adultery, be unfaithful, to
cheat Click to listen 
[verb]
[vreemd-gaan, ging vreemd, i. vreemd-ge-gaan]Vreemdgaan

"Vreemdgaan" is composed of "vreemd" and "gaan", which respectively translate to "strange" and "to go". "To go strange" is of course a somewhat literal description of engaging in sexual intercourse with someone other than one's regular partner…

Examples:
– "1 op de 4 mensen gaat vreemd."- "Ja, doei!" – "Nee, echt!" 
("1 out of 4 people commits adultery." – "Yeah right!" – "No, really!")

– "Er zit geen vooruitgang in Franks gedrag. Ik voorspel je dat hij binnen een week weer vreemdgaat." 
("There's no progress in Frank's behaviour. I'm telling you, he will be unfaithful again within a week.")

– "Staatssecretaris Jack de Vries is afgetreden nadat bekend werd dat hij vreemdging met zijn assistente." 
("State Secretary Jack de Vries resigned from office after it became public that he committed adultery with his assistant.")

Expressions:
– "Overspel plegen": to commit adultery. Synonymous to "vreemdgaan".
– "Buitenechtelijke relatie": extramarital relationship.
– "Een scheve schaats rijden": (lit.: to ride a crooked skate) to have an affair.
– "Buiten de deur neuken": (lit.: to f*ck outside the door) <vulgar> to have a sexual, extramarital relationship.

Related words:
– Affaire: affair [noun] [de affaire, de affaires].
– Bedriegen: to cheat (on) [verb] [bedriegen, bedroog, h. bedrogen].

Example:
– "Als ik wil, kan ik je zo bedriegen. Ik heb vele aanbidders." – "Schat, wil je me iets duidelijk maken?"
("If I want, I can cheat on you just like that. I have many worshippers." – "Honey, do you want to make something clear to me?")

– Overspel: adultery [noun] [het overspel, <no plural>].
– Schuinsmarcheerder: adulterer (lit.: he who marches askew [noun] [de
schuinsmarcheerder, de schuinsmarcheerders].
– Slippertje: affair [noun] [het slippertje, de slippertjes].
– Vrijen: to make love [verb] [vrijen, vree/vrijde, gevreeën/gevrijd].
– Verhouding: affair, relationship [noun] [de verhouding, de verhoudingen].

Vooruitgang

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progress,
improvement, headway Click to listen
[noun]
[de
voor-uit-gang, <no plural>]

Vooruitgang "Vooruitgang" (with the stress on "uit") is used for positive
progress. The opposite of "vooruitgang" is "achteruitgang":
deterioration. Note that when you put the stress on "voor" the word
changes meaning radically: "front exit", with the base noun "uitgang":
exit.

A closely related word is "voortgang": general progress (in
time). So: there can be "voortgang" but this does not necessarily imply
"vooruitgang" (although quite often it is used that way).

Examples:
– "Ik moet u helaas mededelen dat er nog geen
vooruitgang is in de toestand van de patiënt." 
("Regrettably I have to inform you that there is no
improvement yet in the patient's condition.")

– "In de 19e eeuw is er behoorlijk wat
vooruitgang geboekt." 
("In the
19th century quite some progress was made." Note the use of "boeken": as
a verb typically used as "to book", but in combination with
"vooruitgang" it translates as "to make headway/progress".)

– "Als het gaat om het sociale karakter
van onze samenleving, dan vind ik dat er eerder sprake is van
achteruitgang dan van vooruitgang." 
("When it concerns the social character of our
society, I believe it is rather a matter of decline than of
advancement.")

Related words:
– Voortgang: progress, continuation [noun] [de voortgang, <no plural>].
–
Vooruitgaan: to progress, to go forward, to improve [verb] [ging
vooruit, vooruitgegaan].
– Ontwikkeling: development, growth [noun] [de ontwikkeling, de ontwikkelingen].
– Achteruitgang: decline,
deterioration [noun] [de achteruitgang, <no plural>].
– Achteruitgang: rear exit [noun] [de uitgang, de uitgangen].

Example:
– "De bankovervaller ontsnapte
via de achteruitgang."
("The bank robber escaped through the rear
exit.")

Voorspellen

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Nostradamus prophecies book to predict, to forecast, to bode Click to listen
[verb]
[voor-spel-len, voor-spel-de, voor-speld]

"Voorspellen" is used for general prediction but also in the meaning of to prophesy or to foretell. Yesterday's DWOTD unfortunately turned out to be somewhat "voorspellend" (portentous) as 70 Dutch died today in a plane crash.

Examples:
– "Mijn buurvrouw kan de toekomst voorspellen. Tenminste dat beweert ze, maar ik voorspel dat daar niks van waar is." 
("My neighbour can predict the future. At least that is what she claims, but I predict that that is not true at all." Lit. "… that nothing of that is true.")

– "Ik voorspel voor uw zoon een gouden toekomst. Dat is dan 50 euro. Dankuwel." 
("I predict a rosy future for your son. That will be 50 euros. Thank you." Lit.: "golden future".)

– "Dat het zo zou aflopen, had niemand kunnen voorspellen." 
("Nobody could have predicted that it would end this way.")

– "Er is voor vanmiddag mooi weer voorspeld, maar daar merk ik eerlijk gezegd niks van." 
("They forecast nice weather for this afternoon, but I don't really notice it to be honest.")

– "De donkere wolken voorspellen niet veel goeds." 
("The dark clouds bode nothing good.")

– "Het einde der tijden is al diverse keren voorspeld." 
("The end of times/the world has been prophesied several times." Notice the use of the genitive case, it can be used but most of the time you will see it in fixed expressions.)

Related words:
– Voorspellend: portentous [adjective].
– Voorspel: foreplay [noun] [het voorspel, de voorspelen].
– Helderziend: clairvoyant [adjective]. The noun is "helderziende".

Vliegtuig

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(air)plane, aircraft, aeroplane Click to listen
Vliegtuig
[noun]
[het vlieg-tuig, de vlieg-tui-gen]

Today is Dutch Word Of The Day number 747. "Vliegtuig", translated aircraft, seemed appropriate 🙂

"Vliegtuig" is composed of "vlieg" and "tuig", which respectively translate to "fly" and "gear/craft".

Examples:
– "Een Boeing 747 is een groot vliegtuig." 
("A Boeing 747 is a big aeroplane.")

– "Vulkaanas kan schade veroorzaken aan de motoren van een vliegtuig." 
("Volcanic ash can cause damage to the engines of an airplane.")

– "Vliegtuigen mogen niet 's nachts vliegen, dat veroozaakt te veel lawaai." 
("Aircraft are not allowed to fly during the night, that causes too much noise.")

– "Vandaag in de krant: vliegtuig stort neer, 184 doden." 
("Today's headline: plane crashes: 184 dead." Lit.: "Today in the newspaper…")

Expressions:
– "Hij ziet ze vliegen": he's crazy (lit.: he sees 'em fly).

Related words:
– Vleugel: wing [noun] [de vleugel, de vleugels].
– Vlucht: 1. flight [noun] [de vlucht, de vluchten]. 2. escape [noun] [de vlucht, de vluchten].

Example:
– "Vlucht KL714 heeft een vertraging van twee en een half uur." – "Dat is vervelend."
("Flight KL714 has a two and a half hour delay." – "That's annoying.")

– Vliegen: to fly [verb] [vliegen, vloog, h. gevlogen].
– Opstijgen: to ascend, to take off [verb] [opstijgen, steeg op, i. opgestegen].
– Landen: to land [verb] [landen, landde, i. geland].
– Neerstorten: to crash [verb] [neerstorten, stortte neer, i. neergestort].
– Toestel: machine [noun] [het toestel, de toestellen].

Dat zal mij worst wezen

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I couldn't care less Click to listen
[Dutch phrase of the week]Worst

Literally "that would be sausage to me", this expression is used to say that you couldn't care less about something. Note that you cannot use it to say that you don't care about somebody. Often the "mij" becomes "me". You will also hear "dat zal me worst zijn".

Check out the comments to this post for a discussion on the use of 'wezen'.

Examples:
– "De Giro d'Italia start in Amsterdam dit jaar!" – "O ja? Dat zal me worst wezen, wielrennen boeit me niet." 
("The Giro d'Italia starts in Amsterdam this year!" – "Really? I couldn't care less, bicycle racing does not interest me at all.")

– "Dit kun je toch niet maken man? Asociaal!" – "Ik doe waar ik zin in heb, OK? Wat jij van mij vindt zal me worst wezen!" 
("You can't do this / be serious about this! That is so rude! – "I can do what I want, OK? I couldn't care less about what you think of me!")

– "Heb je je targets van dit jaar al met je manager besproken?" – "Targets? Dat zal me allemaal worst wezen, want iedereen wordt toch ontslagen door de crisis!" 
("Have you already discussed this year's targets with your manager?" – "Targets? I couldn't care less about my targets because due to the crisis everybody will get the sack anyway!" Note that when the Dutch use management terminology it is often in English.)

Expressions:
– "Wat kan mij het schelen!": what do I care!
– "Dat kan me niet rotten": I couldn't care less [informal].
– "Boeien!": Boring / not interesting at all / I so not care etc… The verb "boeien" translates as "to fascinate/captivate".

Related words:
– Worst: sausage [noun] [de worst, de worsten].
– Saucijzenbroodje: 'sausage roll' [noun] [het saucijzenbroodje, de saucijzenbroodjes]. Popular Dutch snack that you can often buy in department stores or at train stations.
– Slager: butcher [noun] [de slager, de slagers].

Extra:
Hema rookworst The "HEMA" is a popular department store in the Netherlands, where you can buy almost anything of reasonable quality at a reasonable price. This includes the famous "HEMA rookworst": HEMA smoked sausage. Although the Dutch are not really 'sausage minded' (as some people would say of the Germans) the HEMA rookworst is a popular snack amongst the old and young. After having successfully expanded to Belgium, HEMA tried its luck in Germany. Soon the number one selling item was… the rookworst!