Monthly Archives: June 2008

Bliksem

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lightning [noun] [de bliksem, de bliksems] [‘blik-sum’] Iconspeaker_3

Onweer"Thunder and lightning" is translated in Dutch as "donder en bliksem". The two combined are called "onweer" ("thunderstorm"; "weather" in Dutch is "weer"). The related verb is "onweren" and can only be used in the third-person singular "it": "het onweert" ("there is a thunderstorm"). The same is true for the verb "bliksemen": "het bliksemt" translates to something like "there are flashes of lightning".

"Bliksem" is often combined with the verb "inslaan, sloeg in, ingeslagen" ("to strike, struck, struck").

Examples:
– "Gisteravond is de bliksem ingeslagen in twee huizen. Ze brandden volledig uit."
("Last night two houses were struck by lightning. They burnt down completely.")

– "Mijn hond kan niet tegen vuurwerk en onweer."
("My dog can’t stand fireworks and thunderstorms.")

– "Er zit onweer in de lucht: het weer is benauwd en te warm voor de tijd van het jaar."
("There’s a storm brewing: the weather is a bit muggy and too warm for this time of year.")

– "De veiligste plek om te zijn als het onweert, is in de auto, zolang je er maar niet uitkomt!"
("The safest place to be during a thunderstorm is inside a car, as long as you don’t get out!")

– "Tijdens het bliksembezoek van de minister van Defensie aan de troepen in Afghanistan maakte hij bekend wanneer zij terug naar huis konden."
("During the flying visit of the Secretary of State for Defence to the troops in Afghanistan, he announced when they could return home.")

Expressions:
– "Kom als de bliksem naar beneden, we gaan nu!"
("Come down immediately, we’re leaving now!" Instead of ‘als de bliksem’, it’s possible to use ‘als de wiedeweerga’.)

– "Zijn gezicht stond op onweer toen hij zijn ex-vrouw samen met zijn collega zag."
("His face spelled trouble when he saw his former wife together with his colleague.")

Related words:
– "De bliksemschicht": thunderbolt.
– "De bliksemafleider": lightning rod.
– "Het bliksembezoek": flying visit.
– "De blikseminslag": stroke of lightning.
– "De bliksemschade": damage caused by lightning.

Hooikoorts

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hay fever [noun] [de hooikoorts, de hooikoortsen] [‘hooi-koorts’] 
Iconspeaker_klein_3

"Hooikoorts" is composed of "hooi" and "koorts", which respectively translate to "hay" and "fever", hence "hay fever".

The idiom "last hebben van" (lit.: "to have (a) burden of) is perfectly suited to use when you want to express that you’re suffering from something or when you’re bothered by something unpleasant…hay fever, for example. See the Examples.Paardebloem_2

Examples:

– "Het is weer hooikoortstijd."
("It’s hay fever season again." Lit.: "It’s hay fever time again.")

– "Ha-a-a-a-a-a….tsjie!." – "Gezondheid." – "Dank je, ik word gek van die hooikoorts!"
("A-a-a-a-a-a…..choo!." – "Bless you." – "Thanks, this hay fever is driving me nuts!" Lit.: "Health." – "Thanks, I’m becoming crazy because of that hay fever!")

– "Archi, ben je verkouden?" – "Nee, ik heb last van hooikoorts…"
("Archi, do you have a cold?" – "I’m suffering from hay fever…")

– "Het geeft niet schat dat je huilt." – "Zo kan-ie wel weer, ik heb gewoon last van hooikoorts."
("Don’t worry about you crying honey." – "That’s enough now, I’m just suffering from hay fever."

Related words:
– "Hooi": hay.
– "Koorts": fever.
– "Verkoudheid": cold.
– "Snuiten": to blow one’s nose.
– "Jeuk": itch.

Deurbeleid

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door policy [noun] [het deurbeleid, <no plural>] [‘deur-bu-leid’]  Iconspeaker_3

Deurbeleid_2The
Dutch word for "policy" is "beleid" and it is mostly used in the realm
of politics, civil service and government bodies. However it is not a
formal word per se.
A specific kind of "beleid" to which we might all have been exposed in
our lives is "deurbeleid". It involves you, the doorman or bouncer, and
usually some kind of inexplicable policy or imaginary membership. Then
all that is required in order to get in or change the door policy on
the spot is specialist persuasive powers, a lot of luck, or just good looks
🙂 Or perhaps a bit of bribing and maybe even violence, examples of
which have been reported in recent years in the Dutch news when refused
customers returned with a weapon to "solve the issue".

Although bouncers can get away with refusing admittance based on you
not wearing dress shoes, or being male when there are too many males
inside (this argument usually works for men), it is illegal to
discriminate. Currently the city of Amsterdam is encouraging people to
report incidents where they felt discriminated when they were refused admittance
to a bar or club. There is even a special website set up for this
purpose: www.deurbeleidamsterdam.nl.

Examples:
– "De populaire clubs en bars in het centrum van grote steden voeren vaak een streng deurbeleid."
("Popular clubs and bars in the centre of big cities often pursue a strict door policy.")

– "De uitsmijter werd ontslagen omdat hij het nieuwe deurbeleid niet wilde opvolgen."
("The bouncer was fired because he did not want to comply with the new door policy.")

Related words:
– "Uitgaan": to go out.
– "Uitgaansleven/Nachtleven": night life.
– "Toelaten": to admit, to let in.
– "Weigeren": to refuse.
– "De toegang": entrance, admittance.
– "De entree": entrance, or entrance fee.
– "De uitsmijter": bouncer. From "uitsmijten": to throw out.

Vergissing

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mistake, slip, miscalculation [noun] [de vergissing, de vergissingen] [‘ver-gis-sing’] Iconspeaker_klein

"Vergissing" can be translated as "mistake, slip, error". The verb related to it is "zich vergissen" ("vergiste, vergist"). Note that "zich vergissen" is a reflexive verb, e.g. "I’m mistaken" is translated as "ik vergis me".

Examples:
– "Maak het jezelf niet zo moeilijk, iedereen maakt wel eens een vergissing."
("Don’t be so hard on yourself, everyone makes mistakes from time to time." Note that "wel eens" is translated here as "from time to time". It could also be translated as "occasionally".)

– "Het was een grote vergissing om hem dat geheim te vertellen: nu weet iedereen het!"
("It was a big mistake telling him that secret: now everybody knows (it)!")

– "Als ik mij niet vergis, is de eerste wedstrijd van Nederland 9 juni, tegen Italië. Ik heb er nu al zin in!"
("If I’m not mistaken, The Netherlands play the first match on June 9, against Italy. I’m already looking forward to it!")

– "Ik heb me vergist in haar, ik had haar nooit moeten vertrouwen".
("I misjudged her, I never should’ve trusted her.")

– "Ze kunnen beter niet trouwen als ze nu al constant ruzie hebben, ze begaan/maken een enorme vergissing".
("They’d better not marry if they already argue all the time, they’re making a big mistake.")

– "Vergis je niet, een goede opleiding garandeert niet per se een goede baan."
("Make no mistake, a proper education doesn’t necessarily guarantee a good job.")

– "Ik kan me vergissen, maar het lijkt erop dat het dadelijk gaat regenen."
("I might be mistaken, but it looks like it’s going to rain soon.")

Expressions:
-"Vergissen is menselijk."
("To err is human.")

Related words:
– "Zich vergissen": to make a mistake.
– "De blunder": huge mistake, blunder.
– "De misstap": slip, lapse.
– "De fout": error, fault, mistake.

Het moet maar

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(oh well alright,) I guess it just has to be done [Dutch phrase of the week]  Iconspeaker_klein

The translation above is just one of many possibilities, depending on context. We’ll cover a few in the Examples.

Examples:
– "Ik heb helemaal geen zin om vandaag weer naar het werk te gaan…het moet maar…"
("I really don’t feel like going to work again today…I guess I’ll just have to do it…")Het_moet_maar_2

– "Ga jij ook naar de afscheidsborrel van Frank?" – "Het moet maar…"
("Are you going to the Frank’s farewell drink too?" – "I guess I have no choice…")

– "Spring, spring!" – "Het moet maar…"
("Jump, jump!" – "Here goes nothing…")

– "Sander, weet jij een andere vertaling voor ‘het moet maar’ ?" – "Nee makker, het moet maar zo…bij gebrek aan betere alternatieven…"
("Sander, do you know another translation for ‘het moet maar’ ?"- "No dude, I guess we’ll have to do this one…for lack of better alternatives…")

Related words:
– "Moeten": [verb] to must, to have to.
– "Maar": [adverb] but, only, just.