to be sickly, to be sick/ill/under the weather on and off [verb] [kwakkelde, gekwakkeld]

This verb is a bit difficult to translate but it is used when somebody is sick/ill on and off, not really recovering and falling ill again for a continuous period of time. However, it is only used in the context off flu, having a cold, feeling under the weather etc.

Examples:
– "Sander kwakkelt al de hele maand maart."
("Sander has been feeling under the weather on and off for the whole month March.")

– "Als ik moet kiezen tussen een keer goed ziek zijn, of continu kwakkelen, dan kies ik voor het eerste."
("If I had to choose between being really sick for once, or be sickly all the time, then I would choose the first.")

– "Man, al dat gekwakkel van jou; wat jij moet doen is een keer goed uitzieken!"
("Man, that continuous feeling under the weather of yours; what you should do is fully recover for once!" When you create a noun from a verb in English by adding "-ing", in Dutch you leave out the ‘-en’ and add ‘ge’ to the front, like "gekwakkel".)

Related words:
These words look similar but are actually unrelated in meaning:
– "Kwak": onomatopoeia for the "quacking" sound a duck makes. You will also hear "kwek" and the
verb "kwekken". Similarly "Donald Duck’s" three nephews are called "Kwik, Kwek en Kwak" in Dutch.
– "Kwakken": to bump, crash (flat on the floor/ground). Or: to dump, chuck or slap something onto something else.

Examples:
– "Marc was een beetje dronken en kwakte met fiets en al tegen de straat."
("Marc was a bit drunk and crashed with his bike flat on the street". Literally: "… with bike and all…")

– "Tea kwakte haar tas op het bureau."
("Tea smacked her bag down on the desk.")

– "Kwakje": very informal synonym for the noun "ejaculate".