Dat is ook weer zo wat

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that’s quite something, that’s a bit too much Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

Snurken_3
With "wat" translating to "what", "something" or "a bit" and the ambiguous use of words such as "ook", "weer" and "zo" comes the possibility to create phrases that are difficult to understand for you and difficult to translate for me 🙂

"Dat is ook weer zo wat" is close to "dat is ook wat". The latter is used to express a mild astonishment or disbelief, a bit like "oh my" or "oh dear" or "what about that". The variant "dat is ook weer zo wat" (or "dat is ook zo wat") can be used in the same way but is also typically used to indicate that a suggested course of action might not be optimal with respect to convenience, suitability or appropriateness.

As always an example might help, see below. If you need more, try Google (that kindly provided me with the last example).

Examples:
– "Snurken is irritant, maar om iemand daarom te vermoorden, dat is ook weer zo wat!" 
("Snoring is annoying but to kill somebody because of it, that’s not right / that’s just too much…")

– "Ik moet eigenlijk studeren voor mijn examen maar om met dit mooie weer de hele dag binnen te zitten, dat is ook weer zo wat." 
("I’m supposed to study for my exam, but to stay inside the whole day with this beautiful weather, that is overdoing it a bit / that is not very appealing / that would be too much…")

– "Mijn buren draaien vaak harde muziek. Maar om daar nu elke dag over te gaan klagen, dat is ook weer zo wat." 
("My neighbours often play loud music. But to go and complain about that every day, well come on… / I wouldn’t go that far…")

– "Esmé vonden ze een mooie naam, maar om me nu naar een liedje van ‘Acda en de Munnik’ te noemen, dat is ook weer zo wat." 
("They liked the name Esmé, but to name me after a song by ‘Acda and de Munnik’, that’s overdoing it a little / that’s quite something / that’s stretching it …" The author of this sentence refers to the song "Dag Esmee" by the popular Dutch pop (and cabaret) duo "Acda en de Munnik".)

Huldiging

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honouring, ceremony, homage Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de hul-di-ging, de hul-di-gin-gen]

Zilverenbrons
Although literally "huldiging" is an ‘honouring’, it is typically used for formal ceremonies where people get some kind of award or receive a title. The verb is "huldigen": to honour, to pay tribute to.

Read more about the traditional "huldiging" of Dutch Olympic medal winners at the Holland Heineken House in the ‘Extra’  below.

Examples:
– "Heb je gisteren de huldiging gezien van Annette Gerritsen en Laurine van Riessen?" – "Nee, ik heb het gemist, jammer maar helaas!" 
("Did you see the ceremony with Annette Gerritsen and Laurine van Riessen yesterday?" – "No, I missed it, that’s just too bad…" Annette and Laurine won silver and bronze medals for the 1000 meter women speed skating. )

– "Bekijk de beelden van de huldiging van Sven Kramer in het Holland Heineken House." 
("Watch the footage of the homage to Sven Kramer at the Holland Heineken House." Read more in the ‘Extra’ below.)

– "Winaars krijgen een huldiging, maar verliezaars krijgen doorgaans niks…" 
("Winners are honoured, but losers usually get nothing…")

Related words:
– Huldigen: to honour, to pay tribute to [verb] [huldigen, gehuldigd].
– Onderscheiden: to award with (a medal) [verb] [onderscheidde, onderscheiden].
– Uitreiken: to present a medal (or a prize) [verb] [reikte uit, uitgereikt].

Example:
– "De prijs werd uitgereikt door een lokale beroemdheid."
("The prize was presented by a local celebrity.")

– Uitreiking: presentation (of medals or a prize) [noun] [de uitreiking, de uitreikingen].

Extra:
Hhh
During the Olympic games there is a "huldiging" every day for medal
winners, but for Dutch medal winners there is the traditional additional "huldiging"
in the Holland Heineken House (HHH),
where Dutch fans celebrate the medals won. Of course there is a lot of
Heineken beer, oranjegekte ("orange madness"), performances by Dutch
singers and other BN’ers.

The first HHH-huldiging was for Dutch speed skater Sven Kramer. He won the gold
medal for the 5km men speed skating. This link shows a video made back
stage of Sven’s "huldiging" at the Holland Heineken House. It shows
‘oranjegekte’, a few BN’ers and an athlete who seems to be more nervous
to face the Dutch fans than he was before his race 🙂 . Check out the Holland Heineken House YouTube channel for more videos.

Jokkebrok

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fibber, storyteller Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de jok-ke-brok, de jok-ke-brok-ken]

Jokkebrok
"Jokkebrok" is typically only used for children, or jestingly for an adult. If you want to call somebody a liar, say "leugenaar". The related verb to "jokkebrok" is "jokken": to fib. Telling plain lies would be "liegen".

Examples:
– "Ohoh, jokkebrok! Jij hebt echt wel dat snoepje gestolen!" 
("Ooooh, (you) fibber! Surely you stole that piece of candy!")

– "Dat is helemaal niet waar, ik ga tegen de meester zeggen dat je een jokkebrok bent." 
("That is absolutely not true, I’m going to tell the teacher that you are a fibber." In Dutch primary schools a male teacher is called ‘meester’ ("master") and a female teacher is called ‘juf’, or ‘juffrouw’ ("miss").)

– "Jokkebrok? Dat zeg je toch niet tegen een volwassene? Hij is gewoon een regelrechte leugenaar!" 
("Fibber? You don’t call an adult that! He is nothing but a downright liar!")

Related words:
– Jokken: to fib [verb] [jokte, gejokt].
– Liegen: to lie [verb] [loog, gelogen].

Example:
– "Je loog tegen mij, alsof ik een kind was…"
("You lied to me, as if I was a kid…" Line from the popular Dutch 80s song "Je loog tegen mij" by the band "Drukwerk". The singer Harry Slinger was famous for his hat.)

– Leugenaar: liar [noun] [de leugenaar, de leugenaars].
– Leugen: lie [noun] [de leugen, de leugens].
– Smoes: poor excuse [noun] [de smoes, de smoezen].

Ik geef het je te doen

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Sumo
it’s not the easiest thing in the world, it’s no picnic Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

When you say "ik geef het je te doen" about somebody, it often
implies that you do not envy that person for having to deal with
whatever he/she has to deal with. But there can also be some admiration
conveyed in the message.

Examples:
– "Eerst afrijden vroeg in de morgen en direct daarna een tentamen zuivere wiskunde; ik geef het je te doen!" 
("First
taking a driving test early in the morning, immediately followed by an
examination in pure maths, that’s no picnic!" By the way, when this
happened to Sander, he failed both tests. But I still blame the pigeons
who kept me awake all night.)

– "Ik geef het je te doen, een drieling grootbrengen in je eentje." 
("Raising (a set of) triplets on your own, that is definitely not easy!")

– "Zij heeft zo veel tegenslagen gehad, ik geef het je te doen om er dan weer bovenop te komen!" 
("She
has experienced so much adversity in her life, to get back on one’s
feet after all that will not be easy!" Lit. "She has had so many
setbacks…")

– "Op je dertigste al een succesvolle hoogleraar zijn; ik geef het je te doen!" 
("To be a successful full professor at the age of thirty, that’s not the easiest thing in the world!")

Related words:
– Bereiken: to achieve [verb] [bereikte, bereikt].
– Omgaan met: to deal with, to handle [verb] [ging om met, omgegaan met].

Example:
– "Ik vind dat hij goed omgaat met de huidige situatie."
("I think he handles the current situation well.")

– Bewonderen: to admire [verb] [bewonderde, bewonderd].

Adoptie

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adoption Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de a-dop-tie, de a-dop-ties]Adoption_6

Only since 1956 adopted children have the same legal status as
biological children. Before 1970 it was not common to adopt children
from foreign countries. These days most adopted children come from the
so-called ‘ontwikkelingslanden’ (developing countries).

Examples:
– “Door de ramp op Haïti komt een aantal adoptiekinderen sneller dan verwacht naar Nederland.” 
(“Because of the disaster in Haiti, a number of adopted children are coming to the Netherlands quicker than expected.”)

– “Is hij geadopteerd? Ja, zijn biologische ouders zijn Chinees.” 
(“Has he been adopted? Yes, his biological parents are Chinese.”)

– “Zij heeft altijd een heel goede
band met haar adoptieouders gehad en heeft, toen zij zelf kinderen
kreeg, ook haar biologische ouders gezocht.” 
(“She
has always had a very good relationship with her adoptive parents and
when she got children of her own, she has also searched for her
biological parents.”)

– “De adoptie van een kind duurt vaak een aantal jaren.” 
(“The adoption of a child often takes several years.”)

– “Hij heeft één geadopteerd zusje uit Sri Lanka en één geadopteerd broertje uit Kenia.” 
(“He has one adopted little sister from Sri Lanka and one adopted little brother from Kenya.”)

– “Voordat zij werd geadopteerd, heeft ze een paar maanden in een weeshuis in Polen gewoond.” 
(“Before she was adopted, she had lived in an orphanage in Poland for a couple of months.”)

Related words:
– Adoptiekind: adopted child, adoptee [noun] [het kind, de kinderen].
– Adoptieouder: adoptive parent [noun] [de ouder, de ouders].
– Weeshuis: orphanage [noun] [het huis, de huizen].
– Adopteren: to adopt [verb] [adopteerde, geadopteerd].
– Biologische ouder: biological parent [noun] [de ouder, de ouders].