neck [noun] [de nek, de nekken] [‘nek‘]

The word "nek" was discussed earlier in 221. Vlek. In Dutch, there are two words that each cover a different part of the English "neck". There’s "nek", which is the back part of the neck, and there’s "hals", which is the front part of the neck.

There is also the related verb "nekken", which translates to "to neck", "to wreck", or "to ruin", see the Examples.

Examples:
– "De verkiezingen waren een nek-aan-nekrace."
("The elections were a neck-and-neck race.")

– "Ik heb gisteren met het autoraampje open gereden, nu heb ik een stijve nek."
("Yesterday, I drove with the car window open, now I have a stiff neck.")

– "Als je niet opsodemietert, breek ik je nek, klootzak!"
(<vulgar:> "If you don’t f*ck off, I’ll break your neck, asshole/bastard!")

Expressions:
– "Over zijn nek gaan": to be sick, to puke. Lit.: to go over one’s neck.

Example:
"Sander is het afgelopen weekend over zijn nek gegaan van de sushi."
("The past weekend, Sander was sick from the sushi (he ate).")

– "Uit zijn nek kletsen": to talk out of the back of one’s neck. Lit.: to talk out of one’s neck.

– "Iemand met de nek aankijken": to give someone the cold shoulder. Lit.: to look at someone out of one’s neck.

– "Zijn nek uitsteken": stick one’s neck out, risk one’s neck.

Related words:
– "Nekken": to neck, to wreck, to ruin.

Example:
– "Die laatste berg heeft veel wielrenners genekt."
("That last hill has necked/wrecked a lot of cyclists.")

– "Hals": (front part of the) neck.