1. threshold, barrier, doorstep [noun] [de drempel, de drempels]
Examples:
– "We bevinden ons op de drempel van een nieuw tijdperk: het tijdperk van de mensen zal eindigen, de orks zullen heersen…"
("We find ourselves at the threshold of a new era: the era of man will end, the orcs will rule…")
– "Frank voelde een grote mentale drempel om op de mooie dame aan de bar af te stappen."
("Frank felt a great mental barrier to approach the beautiful lady at the bar." Literally: "… to step to the beautiful lady…")
– "Ik zet daar geen voet meer over de drempel!"
("I shall never set foot in that house again!" Literally: "…set foot across the doorstep there.")
In
this context, "drempel" is also referred to as "verkeersdrempel", which
literally translates to "traffic barrier". Speed bumps are abundant in
the Netherlands, especially in small streets in residential areas. They
can be quite nasty!
Example:
– "Ik ben te hard over een drempel gegaan. Nu ligt de uitlaat van m’n auto eraf!"
("I went over a speed ramp too fast. Now the exhaustion (pipe) of my car has come off!" Literally: "…lies off!")
Related word:
– "30 kilometer zone": 30 kilometer zone, a
zone in which a speedlimit of 30 km/h applies. These zones often have a lot
of "verkeersdrempels"….
Extra:
Once
in the United States Sander encountered the opposite of a speed bump, the
"dip". "What the hell does D-I-P mean?" his co-worker asked after
spotting the big
D I P sign. Not much later they understood! At least you
can see a speed bump coming!
Most of the time DIP signs mean nothing, so people still don’t expect them, even with the warning signs 😉
My daughter’s first Dutch words were “Let Op! Drempels” since I always yell that out when I see the sign, rather than actually letting op. Actually, only the second part is true — Jodie has actually never said “Let Op!” probably due to the fact that she’s busy flying toward the roof of the car.
The dips don’t really amount to anything; I think they’re mostly where they missed leveling the road a bit and the warning is so people don’t freak out and think their car is falling apart. Driving here is a stressful thing 😉
Ik heb vaak drempelvrees om Nederlands te spreken