Opstaan

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to get up, to stand up, to rise Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[op-staan, stond op, ben/bent/is/zijn op-ge-staan]

8416652712_bd86340592_z“Opstaan” is composed of “op” and “staan”, which respectively translate to “up” and “stand”.

Related adverb is “overeind”: upright, on end, erect. You could say that the result of “opstaan” is being “overeind”…
(Photo: Tambako The Jaguar (flickr.com) – some rights reserved.)

Examples:
– “Sta op, sta op, sta op voor je rechten!” 
(“Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights!”)

– “Rechter Gijselaers, allen opstaan!” 
(“Judge Gijselaers, all rise!”)

– “Ik verveel me…” – “Dan sta op, en laat je handen wapperen!” 
(“I’m bored…” – “Then get up, and get to it!”)

– “Ik heb ‘s ochtends altijd veel moeite om op te staan.” 
(“I always find it very difficult to get up in the morning.” Lit.: “…have difficulties with…”)

Expressions:
–
“Met het verkeerde been uit bed stappen“: to get up on the wrong side of the bed.
– “Uit de dood opstaan”: to rise from the dead.

Example:
– “Prijs de Heer, want Christus is uit de dood opgestaan!”
(“Praise the Lord, for Christ has risen from the dead!” Lit.: “…risen from death.”)

– “Opgestaan, plaats vergaan”: leave your seat and lose it.
– “Met vallen en opstaan”: (lit.: with falling and getting up) by trial en error.

Related words:
– Op: up, on [preposition].
– Staan: to stand [verb] [staan, stond, h. gestaan].
– Overeind: upright, on end, erect [adverb].

Example:
– “De laatste man die nog overeind staat, dat ben ik…” – “Maak dat de kat wijs, alles loopt op rolletjes!”
(“The last man standing, that’s me…” – “Go fool someone else, everything goes like clockwork!!”)

– Vroeg: early [adjective].

Ik heb met hem te doen

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I feel sorry for him Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

5344612871_40eaf88962_z“Met iemand te doen hebben” does not translate as “to have to do with somebody” but as “to feel sorry for somebody” and implies you feel empathy for that person. Today’s phrase with “hem” is just an example of its usage, see the examples below for more. It’s quite common to emphasize with the word “echt”: I feel really sorry for him.

Note that the Dutch also use the word “sorry”, but then as an “excuse me” or a weak “I apologize”. Infamous is the “sorry hoor!” 🙂
(Photo: The Pug Father (flickr.com) – some rights reserved.)

Examples:
– “Simons vriendin heeft het uitgemaakt en nu zit hij in de put. Ik heb echt met hem te doen.” 
(“Simon’s girlfriend broke up with him and now he feels really down. I really feel sorry for him.” Lit.: “and now he sits in the pit/hole/well.)

– “Annelies had net een nieuw fietsje gekregen en toen werd het direct dezelfde dag gestolen! Ik had zo met haar te doen…” 
(“Annelies just got a new bicycle and then it got stolen the exact same day! I felt really sorry for her.” Note that the use of “fietsje” implies that Annelies is a child.)

– “Al die gestrande reizigers op het vliegveld… Je zou er maar 4 nachten moeten slapen; ik heb met ze te doen.” 
(“All those stranded travellers at the airport… Imagine having to spend 4 nights there; I feel sorry for them.” Literally “je zou” translates as “you should” but is also often used as in this example.)

– “Na al die jaren nog steeds geen promotie, het is een schande, ik heb met je te doen hoor!” 
(“After all these years still no promotion, it is a disgrace, believe me I feel sorry for you!”)

Related words:
– Medelijden: pity [noun] [het medelijden, <no plural>].
– Meeleven: to feel for, to empathize with [verb] [leefde mee, meegeleefd].

Example:
– “Wij hebben enorm met de slachtoffers meegeleefd.”
(“We really empathized with the victims.”)

As

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1. ash, ashes Iconspeaker_3 Aswolk
[noun]

[de as, de as-sen]

The grayish-white to black powdery residue left when something
is burned, is called "as". "As" has no plural form, so both ash and ashes translate to "as".

Examples:
– "Pas op met die peuk, de as valt op de vloerbedekking." 
("Watch out with that cigarette, the ash is dropping on the carpet.")

– "De vulkaan in IJsland heeft een enorme wolk van as de dampkring ingestoten." 
("The Iceland volcano has thrust a huge cloud of ash into the atmosphere.")

Expressions:
–
"In de as leggen": (lit.: to lay in the ash) to reduce to ashes.

Related words:
– Peuk: smoke, fag, cig(arette) [noun] [de peuk, de peuken].
– Asbak: ash tray [noun] [de asbak, de asbakken].

Example:
– "Schat
heb je weer gerookt? Je ruikt naar asbak…"
("Baby have you been
smoking again? You smell like an ashtray…") 

– Assepoester: Cinderella [noun] [de Assepoester, de Assepoesters], see Extra.

Extra:
In Dutch, Cinderella is called Assepoester. She’s called "assepoester" because – forced by the wicked stepmother and her daughters – she’s had to do a lot of dirty shores, such as lighting the fireplace, which made her have a lot of ash stains on her face and clothes. "Poester" is probably derived from or a corruption of "poetsen": to clean. So literally "Assepoester" would be "ash cleaning woman"…


2. axis Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de as, de as-sen]

An "as" is also an axis. In this case, "as" has a plural form: "assen".Xyas

Examples:
– "De as van het kwaad bestaat uit een aantal schurkenstaten." 
("The axis of evil consists of a number of rogue states.")

– "De aarde draait in 24 uur om zijn as." 
("The earth revolves on its axis in 24 hours.")

– "Tijd staat op de x-as, winst op de y-as." 
("Time is on the x-axis, profit on the y-axis.")

Related words:
– Spil: pivot [noun] [de spil, de spillen].


3. A flat Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de as, de as-sen]

"As" is also a musical note or key. As

Examples:
– "Chopins wals in As Groot is niet erg makkelijk om te spelen." 
("Chopin’s waltz in A-flat major is not very easy to play.")

– "Chopin stond erom bekend dat hij veel stukken in as groot componeerde."
("Chopin was known for composing a lot of pieces in A-flat major.")

Expressions:
–
"Een gevoelig snaar raken": to touch (upon) a tender string, to strike a sensitive chord.

Example:
– "Heb je hem al gevraagd of hij wil trouwen?"
– "Nee, dat raakt een gevoelige snaar…"
("Have you already asked him if he wants to get
married?" – "No, that touches upon a tender string…") 

Related words:
– Toonladder: scale [noun] [de toonladder, de toonladders].
– Noot: note, key [noun] [de noot, de noten].
– La: <musical note> la [noun] [de la, de la’s].

Example:
– "Do – re – mi – fa – sol – la – si – do!"
("Do – re – mi – fa – sol
– la – ti – do!" Note that the "si" is not a typo!) 

Stranden

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to be stranded, to strand Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[stran-den, strand-de, ge-strand]

Gestrande_reizigers
Derived from the noun "strand" (beach) this verb takes on the meaning of "washing ashore" (of goods), or "running aground/ashore" (of ships). However, it is more commonly used in its (figurative) translation of "to be stranded" or "to fail/strand". Note the ‘second d’ in the past tense.

Examples:
– "Ik heb medelijden met al die mensen die op de luchthaven zijn gestrand." 
("I feel sorry for all those people who stranded at the airport.")

– "Zijn vernieuwende plannen strandden al in een vroeg stadium." 
("His innovative plans already came to a hold at an early stage.")

– "Met een beetje geluk houdt die vulkaan weer op en strand ik niet op de terugweg!" 
("With a little luck this vulcano will stop again, and I won’t get stuck on the way back!")

– "De gestrande walvis trok veel bekijks." 
("The stranded whale drew a lot of attention." The word ‘bekijks’ is derived from ‘kijken‘: to look, to watch. ‘Bekijks trekken’ translates to something like ‘to draw look-upon’.)

Related words:
– Strand: beach [noun] [het strand, de stranden].
– Vast: fixed, attached, stuck [adverb/adjective].

Example:
– "Debbie en Nikki zijn gestrand in Bangkok en zitten nog vast tot zeker het einde van de maand."
("Debbie and Nikki stranded in Bangkok and are stuck until the end of the month at least.")

Geschikt

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Geschiktongeschikt
1. suitable Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]

The opposite of "geschikt" in the translation of ‘suitable/fit/appropriate’ is "ongeschikt" or "niet geschikt". The Dutch Ministry of Defence has a recruitment campaign in which they (jestingly) help you establish whether you are "geschikt" or "ongeschikt" for the military, see Extra below…

Another translation of "geschikt" is given in 2. below.

Examples:
– "Ik geloof niet dat deze koffer geschikt is om breekbare spullen in te vervoeren." 
("I don’t believe this suitcase is suitable for the transport of fragile items." Lit.: to transport fragile items in.)

– "Laat me niet lachen, jouw zoon is totaal ongeschikt voor het leger!" 
("You must be kidding me / don’t make me laugh, your son is completely unsuitable for the military!")

– "Kun je me later terugbellen, dit is niet een geschikt moment." 
("Can you call me back later, this is not a good moment.")

– "Deze man is niet geschikt voor deze functie, dat zie je onmiddellijk!" 
("This man is not suitable for this position, you can immediately tell." Lit.: that you see immediately!)

– "Weet jij nog een geschikte voorbeeldzin bij deze DWOTD?" 
("Do you know of another suitable example sentence with this DWOTD?")

– "Wat leuk dat je vader hertrouwd is; deze vrouw is veel geschikter voor hem!" 
("How nice that your father got remarried; this woman is a much better match for him!")

Related words:
–
Schikken: to arrange, to be convenient [verb] [schikte, geschikt].
– Bloemschikken: to arrange flowers [verb] [schikte bloem, bloemgeschikt].
– Ongeschikt: unsuitable [adjective].
– Gekwalificeerd: qualified [adjective].

Extra:
The "geschikt/ongeschikt" recruitment campaign for the Dutch military is quite successful in the sense that many people know the TV commercials and many people create their own parodies. Check out youtube for examples; this is one of the first original ones.

2. pleasant, reasonable/fair Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]

In this translation, "geschikt"  is commonly used as illustrated in the examples below.

Examples:
– "Wat vind jij van Emanuel?"  – "Nou, ik vind het een geschikte kerel!" 
("What do you think of Emanuel?" – "Well, I think he is a decent bloke/guy!")

– "Ik heb die tv gezien die jij op het oog hebt. Op internet, tegen een heel geschikte prijs!" 
("I have seen that TV that you are interested in. On the internet, for a very reasonable price!")