Vreemd

strange, weird Iconspeaker_3
[adverb/adjective]
[vreemd]

Belvedere
A synonym for "vreemd" is "raar". Other common words based on "vreemd" that you might encounter are "vreemdeling" and "vreemdgaan" (see below).

Examples:
– "Ik kan mijn sleutels nergens vinden… vreemd…" 
("I can’t find my keys anywhere… strange…")

– "Ik heb er een vreemd gevoel bij, en jij?"
("It gives me a weird feeling, what about you?")

– "Ik vind het zelf ook een beetje vreemd, maar ik zweer het je, dat is wat ze zei!" 
("I, too, believe it is a bit strange, but I swear, that is what she said!" Note that we say "I swear it to you" :-).)

– "Nu ik weet wat zij hem geflikt heeft, vind ik het niet zo vreemd dat hij is vreemdgegaan!" 
("Now that I know what kind of trick she pulled on him, I don’t think it is that strange that he cheated on her!" Note that "vreemdgaan" implies having sex.)

– "Meneer, ik vind dit een vreemde gang van zaken. Volgens mij hadden wij een afspraak!" 
("Sir, this is not the way to do business. I believe we had a deal!" Literally: "I think this is a strange way of ‘things happening’ ". See DWOTD "Gang".)

– "Een beetje vreemd, maar wel lekker." 
("A bit weird, but tasty (nonetheless)." Marketing slogan in the 90s for the soft drink "Rivella".)

Expressions:
– "Hij is de vreemde eend in de bijt": he is the odd one out, he does not belong here… The noun "bijt" is not used anymore other than in this expression and means "opening in the ice" similar to the Dutch word "wak".
– "Hij is een vreemde vogel": he is a strange fellow. Literally "vogel" translates to "bird".

Related words:
– Raar: strange, weird [adjective/adverb].
– Vreemdgaan: to cheat (on your partner by having sex with somebody else) [verb] [ging vreemd, vreemdgegaan].
– Vreemdeling: stranger, alien [noun] [de vreemdeling, de vreemdelingen].

One thought on “Vreemd

  1. This is an absolutely fabulous site. I’m trying to learn Dutch and love these words. (I just stumbled upon it today, so will need to go back and review previous words.
    Uitstekend!

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