street [noun] [de straat, de straten]

It is not always easy to find your way in older Dutch cities: winding narrow streets,
bad or no display of street names (which Dutch people don’t like either!), cyclists ignoring red lights and the occasional tram showing up unexpectedly. As the older cities were not designed for cars by definition, parking space is limited and the best vehicle is still the "fiets"!

Examples:
– "Meneer, bent u hier bekend?  Weet u de Spuistraat?"
("Sir, do you know this area? Do you know the Spuistraat?" Literally: "…are you familiar here?")

– "Weet je waar deze straat ligt?"
("Do you know where this street is?" Literally: "…where this street lies…")

– "Er zijn veel mensen op straat."
("There are a lot of people in the streets." In Dutch idiom "op straat" is usually translated with "in the streets".)

– "Je mag de vuilniszak pas na 22.00u aan de straat de zetten."
("One is allowed to put the garbage (bag) outside only after 10 pm." Literally "…on the street…". You will also hear "straatkant", which translates to "street side" or "k/curb". There is actually a fine of 141 Euros (or something) if you take out your trash on the wrong day or before a certain time (which usually is around 10 pm).)

Expressions:
– "Straatarm": very poor (literally: poor as the street, probably derived from homeless poor people).
– "Iemand op straat zetten": to dump someone (in broad sense, so it can be your partner or your boss for example 🙂 ), to turn someone out into the street.
– "Op straat liggen": literally "to lie on the streets", this expression is used to say that something is ‘out in the public’ where it shouldn’t have been…

Example:
"Het vertrouwelijke politierapport is op straat komen te liggen."
("The confidential police report has got about/ is out in the public.")

Related words:
– "Weg": road.
– "Stoep": pavement, sidewalk.
– "Plattegrond": (city) map. Literally: flat ground.

Extra:
With poker, a straight is called a "straat" in Dutch. There’s a "grote straat" (lit.: big street): a straight flush, and there’s a "kleine straat" (lit.: small street): a straight.