to pass an exam, to succeed, to accomplish, to be successful [verb] [slaagde, geslaagd] [‘slaa-gun’]

This time of the year in the Netherlands, you often see houses where the Dutch flag is raised with a schoolbag attached to it. This indicates that the owner of the bag has passed his or her high/secondary school final exams. Sometimes you see the bag only, if they don’t have a flag.(Photo: evanstra (flickr.com) – some rights reserved.)

The Dutch word for passing an exam is “slagen”, it can be used with or without a reference to the exam. “Slagen” in general has the meaning of succeeding in something, see the ‘Examples’.

Examples:
– “Ik ben zo blij dat ik geslaagd ben, ongelofelijk gewoon!”
(“I’m so happy that I have passed my exams, just unbelievable!”)

– “Natalia is vanmiddag wezen winkelen, ik ben benieuwd of zij geslaagd is.”
(“Natalia went shopping this afternoon, I wonder if she found what she was looking for.”)

– “En, zijn jullie geslaagd??”
(“And, have you been successful?” Here it is implied that one went out to buy something, look for something etc. Of course it can also mean “And, have you passed your exams?”))

– “Het Nederlands voetbalelftal is er niet in geslaagd zich te kwalificeren voor het WK.”
(“The Dutch football/soccer team did not succeed in qualifiying for the World Championship.” This is of course purely hypothetical! When you hear somebody talk about the “WK”, it is always the World Championship football/soccer.)

– “<dokter:> Meneer, ik kan u gelukkig melden dat de operatie is geslaagd.”
(“<doctor:> Sir, fortunately I can tell you that the operation was successful.”)

– “Hé, was het gisteravond nog leuk?” – “Ja, het was een bijzonder geslaagde avond!”
(“What about last night, was it fun? – “Yes, it was a really nice night!”)

– “Het team-building uitje werd door velen als een geslaagd initiatief beoordeeld.”
(“The team-building outing was judged by many as a successful initiative.” Note that “uitje” is also the diminutive of “ui“, but here it is derived from “uit”.)

Related words:
– “Zakken”: to fail an exam.
– “Fiasco”: fiasco, disaster.
– “Falen”: to fail.

1. pipe, tube [noun] [de pijp, de pijpen; ‘pijp’]

Quite often, objects or actions related to sex are named with words that describe similar form or movement (see for example the ‘Extra’ in 139. Vrijen). This is not the case with “pijp” 🙂 However, we did derive a verb “pijpen”. And yes, it is the informal translation of “to fellate”.

(other) Examples:
– “Er blijft telkens water op het dak liggen. Ik denk dat de regenpijp verstopt is.”
(“Water keeps collecting on the roof. I think the drainpipe is clogged.” Literally: “Each time water remains lying on the roof. I think that the rain pipe is clogged.”)

– “De afvoerpijp van de gootsteen lekt. Wat nu?”
(“The drain(pipe) of the (kitchen) sink is leaking. Now what?”)

– “Ik heb mijn auto weggebracht voor een APK-keuring. Ik ben bang dat de uitlaatpijp vervangen moet worden.”
(“I have taken my car to the garage for a motor vehicle test. I’m afraid the exhaust (pipe) will have to be replaced.” It is common to shorten “uitlaatpijp” to “uitlaat”. APK stands for “Algemene Periodieke Keuring”: general periodical inspection. It is the mandatory motor vehicle test, currently once a year, but there is talk that this will be changed to two years.)

Expressions:
– “De pijp uit gaan”: to die. This is an informal expression. Literally: “to exit through the pipe.”

Example:
-“Ik heb zo’n vermoeden dat het niet lang meer kan duren eer de overbuurman de pijp uit gaat.”
(“I suspect that it will not take long before the opposite neighbour will die.” Note that the neighbour is male.)

– “De pijp uit zijn”: to be dead.

– “Het regent pijpenstelen”: it is raining cats and dogs. A “pijpensteel” is the stem of a pipe.

Related words:
– “Mergpijp”: a piece of cake wrapped in marzipan and chocolate (or in the meaning of “mergbeen”: marrowbone.)
– “Buis”: tube, pipe, conduit.
– “Loodgieter”: plumber.
– “Pijpenla”: long narrow room (like the “Pijpenla” bar in the Hague, the only bar in the Hague that is open until early in the morning.)
– “Pijpje”: bottle of beer (only the smaller ones).

Extra:
Check out the trucker song “Met de vlam in de pijp scheur ik door de Brennerpas” by Henk Wijngaard. It is an example of the Dutch sing-a-long genre (which is best described as cheesy or tacky 🙂 ).

There is a quarter in Amsterdam called “de Pijp”. However this probably refers to small ditches called “pijpen” that were abundant in the polder on which the quarter was built.

2. pipe [noun] [de pijp, de pijpen; ‘pijp’]

Here we mean the pipe that you can smoke.

Examples:
– “Mijn opa rookt pijp.”
(“My grandfater smokes the pipe.”)

– “Het rookverbod dat onlangs in Groot-Brittanie is ingevoerd, betreft ook gelegenheden waar men waterpijp rookt.”
(“The smoking ban that was recently introduced in Great-Britain, also affects establishments where one smokes the water pipe/hookah.”)

Expression:
– “De pijp aan Maarten geven”: to quit. Literally: “To give the pipe to Maarten.”

3. leg (of a pair of trousers/pants) [noun] [de pijp, de pijpen; ‘pijp’]

Example:
– “Verkoopt u ook spijkerbroeken met wijde pijpen?”
(“Do you sell jeans with wide legs / flare jeans?”)

– “Heb jij een leren broek of heb jij leren pijpen?”
(This is a bad Dutch pun you might hear. It translates to: “Do you have leather pants, or have you learned how to give head?”)