Author Archives: Laura

Dat is geen zuivere koffie

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that’s not to be trusted, that’s suspicious Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

You probably all know the Dutch way to order a café latte ("koffie verkeerd"; lit.: "wrong coffee") and that’s not the only Dutch expression in which coffee plays a big role. "Dat is geen zuivere koffie" literally means: "that’s no pure coffee". Its meaning points to a fishy situation or business. "Zuiver" can be translated as "clean" and "pure", used in both literal and figurative meanings. The related weak regular verb "zuiveren" can be used in its literal sense ("to purify") and in a figurative sense, e.g. "to exonerate oneself" ("zich van alle blaam zuiveren").Koffie

Examples:
– "Mijn werkloze buurman heeft gisteren een Maserati gekocht.. Dat is geen zuivere koffie." 
("My unemployed neighbour has bought a Maserati yesterday.. That’s suspicious.")

– "Op marktplaats.nl worden precies dezelfde jassen te koop aangeboden die vorige maand in de PC Hooftstraat zijn gestolen.. Dat is geen zuivere koffie." 
("On marktplaats.nl are exactly the same jackets for sale that were stolen last month in the PC Hooftstraat.. That’s suspicious.")

– "Elke maand zit er weer een andere winkel in dat pand; dat is geen zuivere koffie." 
("Every month another store is located in that building; there’s something fishy about it.")

Expressions:
– "Op de koffie komen": 1. to drop by for coffee (lit.); 2. to be faced with the consequences of one’s actions (fig.).

Example:
– "Het lijkt alsof ze zomaar wegkomt met al haar leugens, maar ze komt nog wel op de koffie."
("It seems like she gets away with all her lies, but she’ll be faced with the consequences.")

– "Dat is andere koffie": that’s something else (Lit.: "that’s other coffee").

Example:
– "De eerste voorstelling viel een beetje tegen maar dit is andere koffie!"
("The first performance was a bit disappointing, but this is something else!")

– "Koffie verkeerd": café latte, coffee with a lot of milk (lit.: "wrong coffee").

Related words:
– Zuiver: 1. clean; 2. pure [adjective/adverb].
– Zuiveren: to purify [verb] [zuiverde, heeft gezuiverd].
– Thee: tea [noun] [de thee, de theeën].

Douche

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shower Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de douche, de douches]

Originating from French, Dutch for "a shower" is "een douche". The related verb is "douchen" ("to (take a) shower"). The conjugation of this weak verb is regular but since it doesn’t originate from Dutch, it looks a little bit strange (see below). Note the pronunciation of "douche"; the ‘e’ at the end is not pronounced. Douche_2

Examples:
– "Heb je vanochtend gedoucht of een bad genomen?" 
("Did you take a shower or a bath this morning?")

– "Als ik ‘s ochtends geen douche neem, lukt het me niet om wakker te worden." 
("If I don’t take a shower in the morning, I don’t manage to wake up.")

– "De douche is een fantastische uitvinding." 
("The shower is a great invention.")

– "Heb je het douchegordijn niet dichtgedaan? De hele badkamer is nat!" 
("Didn’t you close the shower curtain? The entire bathroom is wet!")

– "De douchekop is verstelbaar om een harde of een zachte straal te krijgen." 
("The shower head is adjustable to get a hard of a soft spray.")

Expressions:
– "Een koude douche": a sudden disappointment, a rude awakening (Lit.: a cold shower).
– "Een warm bad": a warm welcome (Lit.: a warm bath).

Example:
– "<Krantenkop:> "Warm bad voor voetballers op Schiphol."
("<News headline>: "Warm welcome for soccer players at Schiphol airport.")

Related words:
– Douchen: to shower [verb] [douchte, heb gedoucht].
– Een douche nemen: to take a shower [verb] [nam, heb genomen].
– Douchegel: showergel [noun] [de douchegel, de douchegels].
– Douchegordijn: shower curtain [noun] [het douchegordijn, de douchegordijnen].
– Douchecabine: shower cubicle [noun] [de douchecabine, de douchecabines].
– Douchekop: shower head [noun] [de douchekop, de douchekoppen].
– Bad: 1. bath 2. pool [noun] [het bad, de baden].
– Badkamer: bathroom [noun] [de badkamer, de badkamers].
– Zwembad: swimmingpool [noun] [het zwembad, de zwembaden].

Snurken

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to snore Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[snur-ken, snurk-te, ge-snurkt]Snurken

Hopefully, you don’t have to use this word very often when complaining to partners, neighbours or whoever, but in case you do: "snurken" means "to snore". It’s a weak regular verb, but pronouncing its past tense and past perfect might not be so easy. The related noun is "het gesnurk".

Examples:
– "De muren van dit hotel zijn zo dun dat ik de buurman kan horen snurken." 
("The walls of this hotel are so thin I can hear the neighbour snoring.")

– "Hé, stop eens met dat gesnurk of je kan op de bank slapen!" 
("Hey, stop snoring or you can sleep on the couch!")

– "Normaal snurkt hij niet maar als hij gedronken heeft is het lawaai niet te harden." 
("Usually he doesn’t snore but when he’s been drinking the noise is unbearable.")

– "Ik heb geen oog dichtgedaan tijdens die nachtvlucht; het vliegtuig zat vol met snurkende passagiers." 
("I didn’t sleep at all during that night flight; the plane was stuffed with snoring passengers." Lit.: "I didn’t close an eye during…".)

Expressions:
– "Bomen omzagen": 1. literally: to saw off trees; 2. figurative: to snore.

Example:
– "Ik heb haar afgelopen nacht drie keer wakker gemaakt omdat ze bomen aan het omzagen was."
("I woke her up three times last night because she was snoring.")

Related words:
– Slapen: to sleep [verb] [sliep, heb geslapen].
– Het gesnurk: the snoring [noun] [het gesnurk, <no plural>].
– Zagen: to saw [verb] [zaagde, heb gezaagd].

Even

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1. just (for a moment) Iconspeaker_3
[adverb]

“Even” is used very regularly in Dutch in the meaning “just for a moment” or “just for a little while”. Even_3 When writing emails or texts on a cellphone, it’s often abbreviated to “effe” or “ff”. (The sign in the picture says: “ff pauze”, meaning: “[take a] little break”).

Examples:
– “Het is veel te lekker weer vandaag om binnen achter een scherm te zitten; ik ga even naar buiten.” 
(“The weather is far too good today to sit inside behind a screen; I’m just going outside (for a moment).”)

– “Waar is Linda?” – “Ze is even boodschappen doen”.
(“Where is Linda?” -“She just went out to do shopping.”)

– “Heb je even een kwartiertje voor me?” -“Liever later, ik ben net met iets bezig en dat gaat nog wel even duren.”
(“Can you spare me 15 minutes?” – “I prefer later, I’m just working on something that is going to take a little while”.)

– “Even geduld a.u.b., u wordt zo spoedig mogelijk geholpen.”
(“Please be patient, we will assist you as soon as possible”. Lit.: “[…] you will be helped as soon as possible.”)

Expressions:
– “Ho eens even”: wait a minute.

Example:
– “Ho eens even, als je mijn fiets wilt lenen moet je dat wel even vragen.”
(“Wait a minute, if you want to borrow my bike, you should ask.”)

Extra:
Dutch singer Gordon (who went to last year’s Eurovision Songfestival as one of the Toppers) had his biggest hit with “Kon ik maar even bij je zijn” (“If only I could be with you for just a while”).

2. even
[adjective/adverb]

The second meaning of “even” is “even” (not odd).

Examples:
– “Wat is je geluksgetal? Een even of een oneven getal?” 
(“What’s your lucky number? An even or uneven number?”)

Expressions:
– “Het is mij om het even”: It’s all the same to me, I don’t prefer one option over the other.

Related words:
– Oneven: odd, uneven [adjective/adverb].

Stapel

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1. pile Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de sta-pel, de sta-pels]Stapel_2

A "stapel" is a pile of books, rocks, papers, problems, etcetera. The related verb is "stapelen" or "opstapelen" ("to pile up"). A little pile is a "stapeltje".

Examples:
– "Ondanks de ‘clean-desk policy’ ligt het bureau van mijn collega altijd vol met stapels papier." 
("Despite the clean-desk policy, my colleague’s desk is always filled with piles of papers.")

– "Toen hij terugkwam van vakantie lag er een stapel post op hem te wachten." 
("When he returned from vacation, a pile of mail was waiting for him.")

– "In haar kast liggen alle broeken, rokjes, truien en bloezen netjes opgevouwen op stapeltjes." 
("In her closet all pants, skirts, sweaters and blouses are nicely folded and piled up.")

– "Omdat zij al haar geld verloor aan gokken, stapelden haar schulden zich op." 
("Since she lost all her money to gambling, her debts piled up.")

Expressions:
– "Op stapel staan": to be planned.

Related words:
– (Op)stapelen: to pile up [regular weak verb] [stapelde op, opgestapeld].
– Hoop: 1. hope [noun] [de hoop, <no plural>]; 2. heap [noun] [de hoop, de hopen].
– Ophopen: to pile up [regular weak verb] [hoopte op, opgehoopt].
– Berg: 1. mountain [noun]; 2. heap [noun] [de berg, de bergen].

2. madly in love
[adverb/adjective]

The second meaning of "stapel" is "madly in love". It is derived from "stapelverliefd" which means "madly in love". Another adjective that is often precede by "stapel" is "stapelgek" which either means "totally crazy" or "crazy in love" or both 😉 Listen to the hitsingle "Stapel op jou" by one of the best-known Dutch singers Marco Borsato.