(air)plane, aircraft, aeroplane 
[noun]
[het vlieg-tuig, de vlieg-tui-gen]
Today is Dutch Word Of The Day number 747. "Vliegtuig", translated aircraft, seemed appropriate 
"Vliegtuig" is composed of "vlieg" and "tuig", which respectively translate to "fly" and "gear/craft".
Examples:
- "Een Boeing 747 is een groot vliegtuig."
("A Boeing 747 is a big aeroplane.")
- "Vulkaanas kan schade veroorzaken aan de motoren van een vliegtuig."
("Volcanic ash can cause damage to the engines of an airplane.")
- "Vliegtuigen mogen niet 's nachts vliegen, dat veroozaakt te veel lawaai."
("Aircraft are not allowed to fly during the night, that causes too much noise.")
- "Vandaag in de krant: vliegtuig stort neer, 184 doden."
("Today's headline: plane crashes: 184 dead." Lit.: "Today in the newspaper…")
Expressions:
- "Hij ziet ze vliegen": he's crazy (lit.: he sees 'em fly).
Related words:
- Vleugel: wing [noun] [de vleugel, de vleugels].
- Vlucht: 1. flight [noun] [de vlucht, de vluchten]. 2. escape [noun] [de vlucht, de vluchten].
Example:
- "Vlucht KL714 heeft een vertraging van twee en een half uur." – "Dat is vervelend."
("Flight KL714 has a two and a half hour delay." – "That's annoying.")
- Vliegen: to fly [verb] [vliegen, vloog, h. gevlogen].
- Opstijgen: to ascend, to take off [verb] [opstijgen, steeg op, i. opgestegen].
- Landen: to land [verb] [landen, landde, i. geland].
- Neerstorten: to crash [verb] [neerstorten, stortte neer, i. neergestort].
- Toestel: machine [noun] [het toestel, de toestellen].
Is het “op de vlucht” of “aan de vlucht”?
- “Vliegtuigen mogen niet ‘s nachts vliegen, dat veroozaakt te veel lawaai.”
(“Aircraft are not allowed to fly during the night, that causes too much noise.”)
It is ‘veroorzaakt’!
@Diane
Het is ‘op de vlucht’, vaak gebruikt met het werkwoord ‘slaan’
diane: het is zeker niet “aan de vlucht”.
Je kunt “aan de drank zitten”: drinking (a lot of) booze
En je kunt “op de vlucht zijn”: fleeing, running away (e.g. because you’re being chased)
En je kunt “op vlucht KL714 zitten”: flying with flight KL714. Although this expression sounds weird in Dutch, because it souds a bit like you’re literally sitting on top of the airplane. “Sitting on flight KL714″ sounds equally weird, for example.
The most commonly used term is “vliegen met vlucht KL714″: flying with flight KL714. Some other possibilities: “ik kom aan met vlucht KL714″, “ik reis met KL714″, or “mijn vluchtnummer is KL714″
Marc, can you sometime explain all the various uses of the word toestel? Aside from machine, it seems to be an all-purpose word that can refer to aircraft, an electronic device, a kitchen/household appliance or a tv set. Een fietspomp is referred to as ‘een klein toestel’, as opposed to, say, an airplane. In engineering terms: an apparatus. And I suppose there is also een toesteltje, such as a camera or a cell phone. What do you call a guitar capo? Can the instrument panel on an airplane also be referred to as een toestel? That could be confusing!
@ Bruce
Indeed, the general translation of “toestel” is apparatus or device. “Toestel” can be used for a number of things, but not everything. I don’t think there’s a rule for it, I guess you just have to memorize them
Here’s a few “toestellen” I can think of:
- “toestel”: airplane
- “televisietoestel”: television set
- “telefoontoestel: phone
- “fototoestel”: camera
- “gymtoestel”: a gymnastics apparatus
The dimunitive of “toestel” is “toestelletje”.
BUT…a “fietspomp”, a “guitar capo” or “airplane instrument panel” are never referred to as “toestellen”…
Hope this helps, Marc
Marc,
Never say never…
I have seen an electric/electronic “openbare fietspomp” referred to as “een klein toestel” in a West-Vlaanderen news article:
“De openbare fietspomp is een klein toestel dat aan de muur hangt. Ze kan zowel voor gewone fietsen als voor mountainbikes worden gebruikt. De pomp kost 3.000 euro.”
kw.rnews.be/nl/regio/wvl/
(search term: openbare fietspomp) 04 mei 2010.
Of course, in this sense, it is obviously more of an “apparatus” than your ordinary, everyday fietspomp.
Ironically, the first time I came across this word, it was used to refer to… a capo! (But I am absolutely convinced it was not a proper Nederlands or Belgisch web site). So you can see my confusion.
I’ll just stick with toestel for airplane, and calling my RAZR and other electronic devices toestelletjes. Funny that a small airplane can also be called “een klein toestel.”
What a strange word. I wonder what the etymology is?
Thanks for your explanation!
Bruce