Tegen beter weten in

against (one’s) better judgement, while knowing better Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[te-gen be-ter we-ten in]

The implied verb in this phrase is “doen”. To do something against (one’s) better judgement, or while knowing better: “Tegen beter weten iets doen”. You can replace “doen” with other verbs of course, see the Examples.

Examples:
– “Tegen beter weten in haalde hij geen kaartje bij de parkeerautomaat.” 
(“Even though he knew better, he did not get a ticket at the (parking ticket) machine.” Note that it is common in Dutch to say “parkeerkaartje” for the ticket you get in order to pay for parking. The ticket machine is called “parkeerautomaat”. A “parking ticket” as in a “fine”, is “parkeerboete” in Dutch.)

– “Ik geef toe, ik heb het tegen beter weten in gedaan, maar ik vond het de gok waard. Achteraf gezien heeft het goed uitgepakt!” 
(“I admit, I did it against my better judgement, but I though it was worth the bet/shot. With hindsight it turned out well!”)

– “Tegen beter weten in bliezen de regeringsleiders de top af.” 
(“The heads of government cancelled the summit against their better judgement.”)

– “Ik dacht nog, zal ik mijn regenkleding meenemen… Maar helaas. Ach ja, ik doe wel vaker iets tegen beter weten in.” 
(“I thought to myself, shall I take my rain gear with me… But alas… Oh well, it’s not the first time I do something against better judgement.” Lit. “…, more often I do something against …”)

Related words:
– Weten: to know [verb] [wist, geweten].
– Waarschuwen: to warn [verb] [waarschuwde, gewaarschuwd].

Example:
– “Ik heb je nog zo gewaarschuwd! Je moet uitkijken bij het oversteken!”
(“Haven’t I warned you? You have to watch out when crossing (the road)!” Lit. “You have to watch out with the crossing.”)

– Beter: better [adjective/adverb].
– Achteraf: afterwards [adverb].
– Achteraf gezien: with hindsight.
Dom/stom: stupid, silly, ignorant [adjective/adverb].
– Naïef: naive [adjective/adverb].