The verb ‘voortborduren’ is derived from ‘borduren’: to embroider. So what’s the difference? The adverb ‘voort’ means ‘forward’ (or ‘on’) in Dutch and indicates continuation. So we continue embroidering? Yes, but only figuratively in the meaning of elaborating on an existing plan, theme or trend. It often implies that one continues elaboration along the same path and expands, so it is not about adding detail. So what if you really want to continue embroidering? Then you would say ‘voortgaan met borduren’, although ‘verder gaan’ would be more common.

Examples:
- “Mandie, heb je een heel nieuw liedje geschreven?” – “Niet echt, ik heb voortgeborduurd op het vorige thema, maar deze versie is uiteindelijk wel de beste denk ik.” 
(“Mandie, did you write a completely new song?” – “Not really, I embroidered on the previous theme, but in the end I think this (new) version is the best one.” Note that ‘liedje’ is commonly used for popular songs accompanied by an instrument. A ‘lied’ is usually only sung.)

- “Heb je de nieuwste film van Tarantino gezien? Ik nog niet. Borduurt hij voort op zijn vorige films, of is het nu iets totaal anders?” 
(“Have you seen Tarantino’s latest movie? I haven’t yet. Is it similar to his previous movies, or is it something completely different this time?” Note that in Dutch it is also common to say ‘nieuwste’ (‘newest’) when you mean ‘latest’.)

- “Ik wil dat jullie niet voortborduren op het voorbeeld uit het boek, maar met iets origineels komen. Succes!” 
(“I do not want you to embroider on the example from the text book, but instead I want you to come up with something original. Good luck!”)

- “Zal de nieuwe paus voortborduren op het werk van zijn voorganger of een totaal andere weg inslaan?” 
(“Will the new pope continue along the same lines as his predecessor or will he choose a completely different direction?” Lit. ‘turn onto a totally different road’.)

Related words:
- Voortgaan: to continue, to go on/ahead [verb] [ging voort, voortgegaan].
- Verder gaan: to continue, to go on/ahead [verb] [ging verder, verder gegaan].
- Uitweiden: to elaborate [verb] [weidde uit, uitgeweid]. ‘Uitweiden’ can almost be like ‘digressing’. When you want to say ‘can you elaborate a bit on that’, it’s also common to just say ‘kunt u daar iets meer over zeggen’ or ‘kunt u daarover meer details geven’.
- Borduren: to embroider [verb] [borduurde, geborduurd].

Things to remember from this DWOTD
- The difference between ‘borduren’ and ‘voortborduren’;
- The difference between a ‘liedje’ and a ‘lied’;
- The meaning of the adjective ‘nieuwste’ in ‘nieuwste film’;
- ‘Good luck!’ in Dutch is not ‘goede geluk!’ but ‘succes!’;
- The meaning of ‘een andere weg inslaan’.

Last Saturday I ended up in an Amsterdam bar in the Jordaan called ‘Café Nol‘ (on Westerstraat), together with Laura. They play sing-along music with many Dutch classics (such as any André Hazes song ). At one point we heard the song ‘Groot hart’ (‘Big heart’) by Dutch band ‘De Dijk’. It’s a nice song (with interesting Dutch idiom too) and I thought I’d share it with you.

The band ‘De Dijk’ has been around since 1981 and is part of Dutch rock/pop heritage. Read more about the band here.

You can use ‘dijk’ figuratively in the expression: ‘Een dijk van een [noun]‘: a great [noun]. Example: ‘De Dijk is een dijk van een band’: ‘De Dijk’ is a great band. Or: ‘Hij is een dijk van een kerel’: he’s a great guy. Note that the [noun] represents a person or (group of persons).

Lyrics

Dokter, kunt u even komen? Breng uw beste medicijn
(Doctor, can you please come (visit me)? Bring your best medicine)

(Ik) heb er nu al jaren last van, ook al doet het niet echt pijn
(I has been bothering me for years, even though it does not really hurt)

Maar ik val voor alle vrouwen, alle vrouwen op dit bal
(But I have a thing for (/ I fall for) all women, all women at this ball (dance) [Note the use of 'vallen voor iemand': to fall for somebody (amorously).])

Da’s veel te veel om van te houden, dokter, ik heb een spoedgeval
(That’s way too much to love, doctor, I have an emergency [Note that here the text deviates from the original lyrics that say 'Het is een spoedgeval': it is an emergency. This would also be the more common thing to say. A common way to shorten 'dat is' in speech is " da's ".])

Ik heb een groot hart, dit hart is zo groot
(I have a big heart, this heart is so big)

Het wordt nog mijn dood, dit hart is zo groot
((If it goes on like this) it will be my death, this heart is so big [Note the use of the word 'nog': here it captures the feeling of 'If it goes on like this' or 'If I don't watch out then...'])

Ik heb een groot hart
(I have a big heart)

Neem een ochtend als vanochtend, vroeg op want de zon die scheen
(For example, a morning like this morning, (I) rose early because the sun was shining [Lit. 'Neem een ochtend als vanochtend' translates as 'take a morning like this morning'.])

Opgeruimd loop ik naar buiten, en ik zie een vrouw, ik denk, alleen
(With a clear head I go outside, and I see a woman, I think, alone [Note the use of the adjective 'opgeruimd' (cleaned up / organized). I think here he refers to his state of mind, but it could also mean that everything is generally in order (for him).])

Ik dacht dat ze naar me lachte, dus vrolijk lach ik naar haar terug
(I thought she smiled at me, so cheerfully I smile back at her [Note that 'to smile' in Dutch is 'glimlachen'. The verb 'lachen' is used for laughing in general, however 'lachen naar' takes on the same meaning as 'glimlachen naar'. 'Laughing at somebody' becomes 'iemand uitlachen' in Dutch.])

Maar die boom was haar vriend, dokter, komt u vlug?
(But that big guy turned out to be her boyfriend, doctor, (can you) please come quickly? [Note the use of the word 'boom': 'tree' in Dutch. Also slang for a tall strong guy, e.g. 'een boom van een kerel': a very tall and strong guy.])

Ik heb een groot hart, dit hart is zo groot
(I have a big heart, this heart is so big)

Het wordt nog mijn dood, dit hart is zo groot
((If it goes on like this) it will be my death, this heart is so big)

Ik heb een groot hart
(I have a big heart)

Dokter straks is het weer lente, als u begrijpt wat ik bedoel
(Doctor, soon it will be spring, if you know what I mean)

Al dat moois langs ‘s heren wegen, en dan krijg ik dat gevoel
(All those beautiful things along this country’s roads, and then I get that feeling [Note that with 'al dat moois' the singer refers to women. A rare example of the use of the genetive case in Dutch is 'des heren wegen', oftened shortened to " 's heren wegen". Literally, 'roads of the lord', this generally refers to the public roads (often motor ways) in the Netherlands.])

Loop driemaal daags onder een auto
(When walking, I get hit by a car three times a day [Lit. 'onder een auto lopen' translates as 'to walk under a car'. Note the use of 'driemaal daags'. This construct works in general for 'multiple times a day', e.g. 'Neem tweemaal daags deze pil in': takes this pill twice a day. However, it is much more common to say 'drie keer per dag'.])

Ik stoot dagelijks vijf keer mijn kop
(I hit my head five times a day [Here 'dagelijks' means 'every day'.])

Da’s veel te veel om van te houden, zuster, weet u daar iets op?
(That’s way too much to love, nurse, do you have a solution for that? [In the original lyrics, the singer sticks with 'doctor'. Note the use of 'ergens iets op weten': to have a solution for something (or: to know how to deal with something.])

Ik heb een groot hart, dit hart is zo groot
(I have a big heart, this heart is so big)

Het wordt nog mijn dood, dit hart is zo groot
((If it goes on like this) it will be my death, this heart is so big)

Ik heb een groot hart
(I have a big heart)

Things to remember from this DWOTD
- Dutch band ‘De Dijk‘;
- A common way to shorten ‘dat is’ in speech is ” da’s “;
- The meaning of ‘nog’ in ‘Het wordt nog mijn dood’;
- The difference between ‘lachen’ and ‘glimlachen’;
- The colloquial meaning of the noun ‘boom’;
- The meaning of ” ‘s heren wegen”;
- The use of ‘daags’ and ‘dagelijks’;
- How to use the construct ‘ergens iets op weten’.

There are three words for ‘end’ in Dutch: ‘eind’, ‘einde’ and ‘end’. Both ‘eind’ and ‘end’ can also be used in the meaning of ‘(a) distance’, see the Examples below.

Note that ‘end’ is mostly used informally. When not sure, it’s better to use ‘eind’ instead.

Examples:
- “Ik vond het een goede film maar het eind viel erg tegen, vond je ook niet?” 
(“I thought it was a good movie, however the end was very disappointing, didn’t you think so too?”)

- “Pardon, weet u de weg naar de Lomanstraat?” – “Jazeker, u gaat hier rechts de straat in en dan aan het eind links afslaan. Daarna is het de tweede rechts.” – “Ok, dankuwel!”  
(“Excuse me, do you know the way to the Lomanstraat?” – “Absolutely, (you) enter the street here to the right and then turn left at the end. Then it is the second (street) on the right.” – “Okay, thank you!”)

- “Kunnen we niet beter de fiets nemen? Het is vanaf hier echt nog een heel eind lopen naar de Noordermarkt. En daarna moeten we ook weer terug!” 
(“Had we not better take the bicycle? From here it is still a very long walk to the Noordermarkt. And after that we also have to go back again!”)

- “Een eind lopen? Het is een klein eindje lopen! Wacht ik kijk op GoogleMaps. Nou ja, moet je zien, het is zelfs een kippeneindje! Kom we gaan, we treuzelen langer dan het lopen zelf zal duren!” 
(“A long walk? It is but a short walk! Wait, let me check GoogleMaps. Here, look at this, it is even a marginal distance! Come on let’s go, we linger longer than the duration of the walk itself!”)

Expressions:
- “Het bij het rechte eind hebben”: to be right (after doubt or dispute). E.g. ‘Sander heeft het niet altijd bij het rechte eind.’
- “Een eind breien aan iets”: to end an activity [colloquial]. The verb ‘breien’ translates as ‘to knit’.

Example:
- “Jongens, we breien er zo een eind aan; willen jullie alvast beginnen met opruimen?”
(“Guys, we are about to stop; would you please start putting things away?”)

- “Eind goed, al goed”: all’s well that ends well.

Related words:
- Einde: end [noun] [het einde, de eindes/einden].
- Eindje: (a) distance [noun] [het eindje, de eindjes]. Although ‘eindje’ is a diminutive, it does not necessarily meant it is a short distance E.g.: ‘Het is nog best een eindje wandelen.’
- Kippeneindje: very short distance [noun] [het kippeneindje, de kippeneindjes]. Literally: ‘a chicken’s distance’.
- End: (a) distance. Colloquially and in certain dialects also ‘end’ [noun] [het end, de enden]. E.g.: ‘Het is een end fietsen.’
- Uiteinde: the very end (of a street, a piece of rope etc.) [noun] [het uiteinde, de uiteindes/uiteinden].
- Uiteindelijk: eventually [adverb].
- Beëindigen: to end (a certain activity) [verb] [beëindigde, beëindigd].
- Eindigen: to end [verb] [eindigde, geëindigd]. E.g.: ‘Het eindigt hier en nu; ik wil je nooit meer zien!’

Things to remember from this DWOTD
- How to use ‘eind’, ‘einde’ and ‘end’;
- What is a ‘kippeneindje’;
- An ‘eindje’ is not necessarily a short distance, despite the use of the diminutive;
- The Dutch word for ‘eventually’ is ‘uiteindelijk’.

The noun ‘kost’ is the singular form of ‘kosten’: costs, expenses. In this meaning, the plural form is most common. The singular form ‘kost’ however is more commonly used in the meaning of ‘food’ (that you need on a daily basis). One may ask you for example (informally): ‘Wat doe jij voor de kost?’ (‘What do you do for a living?’).

The expression ‘Je zal ze de kost moeten geven’ translates as: ‘Imagine (/what if) you would have to feed them (on a daily basis)!’, and is used to say that one must not underestimate the number of people who (would) do a particular thing. In other words: ‘A lot more people than you may think!’.

You may also encounter this expression in the form ‘Ik zou ze niet graag de kost willen geven.’ Both examples are often followed by a sentence of the form: ‘…die [...]‘, see the Examples below.

Examples:
- “Je zal ze de kost moeten geven die vergeten uit te checken bij het verlaten van de tram!” 
(“A lot more people than you may think forget to check out when exiting the tram.” This example refers to the use of the ‘OV-chipcard’ in Dutch public transport.)

- “Wordt er echt zo veel gestolen op het werk?” – “Wat dacht je! Je zal ze de kost moeten geven die pennen of een pak papier mee naar huis nemen!” 
(“Is stealing at the work floor really common practice?”- “You bet! Don’t underestimate the number of people who take pens or (a pack of) paper home!” Literally: “Is there really that much stealing at work?”)

- “Ik zou ze niet graag de kost willen geven die hun goede voornemens voor het nieuwe jaar al na een week op de lange baan schuiven.” 
(“There are really a lot of people who, already after one week (into the new year), postpone (and potentially cancel) their New Year’s resolutions.” Note the expression ‘Iets op de lange baan schuiven’: to postpone (for an implied longer period of time), often leading to cancellation of the plans.)

- “Ik vind het ongelofelijk hoeveel mensen links blijven rijden op de snelweg.” – “Nou, je zal ze de kost moeten geven!” 
(“I think it’s incredible how many people keep left on the highway/motorway.” – “Exactly, a lot of people…” In the Netherlands the rule is that one should keep right so that others can overtake; overtaking on the right is not allowed.)

Related words:
- Kost: cost/expense, or ‘daily portion of food’ [noun] [de kost, plural 'kosten' only for 'cost'].
- Eten: common noun for ‘food’ in daily and social context [noun] [het eten, <no plural>].
- Voedsel: synonym for ‘eten’, however used for ‘anything edible in general’ [noun] [het voedsel, <no plural>].
- Mensen: people [noun] [de mensen]. Dutch noun for ‘a people’ is ‘volk’.
- Veel: many/much [adjective].

Things to remember from this DWOTD
- ‘Kost’ in the meaning of ‘cost/expense’ is mostly used in the plural form ‘kosten’. There are many expressions in which ‘kost’ means ‘(daily portion of) food’;
- Difference between ‘eten’ and ‘voedsel’;
- Meaning of the phrase ‘Wat doe jij voor de kost?’.
- Meaning of the expression ‘Iets op de lange baan schuiven’.

A ‘huilebalk’ is an annoying child that cries or whines at the drop of a hat. The word is also used to describe adults who are known to whine quickly, or otherwise easily get emotionally upset. When talking about a baby that cries most of the time (including the night), we use the word ‘huilbaby’.

‘Huilebalk’ is composed of the stems of the verbs ‘huilen’ and ‘balken’. The latter used to mean ‘scream/cry’ however it is not used in that meaning anymore in the Netherlands (see Related words below). The verb ‘huilen’ was originally only used for dogs and wolves (compare ‘to howl’), however it is now the common verb for ‘to cry (tears)’.

Examples:
- “De buren zeggen dat Sam hun zoontje geslagen heeft.” – “Ach, daar geloof ik niks van; dat kind van hen is zo’n verschrikkelijke huilebalk!” 
(“The neighbours say that Sam hit their son.” – “Oh well, I don’t believe a word of that; their son is such a terrible crybaby.” Literally “.., there I believe nothing of…”)

- “Ik heb een collega die bij het minste of geringste emotioneel wordt. Onvoorstelbaar, dat je op volwassen leeftijd nog zo’n huilebalk kan zijn!” 
(“I have a colleague who gets emotional at the least little thing. Incredible, how one can be such a crybaby at an adult age.” Literally ‘onvoorstelbaar’ translates as ‘unimaginable’.)

- “Als zij verliest, verandert ze in een enorme huilebalk. Vraag het maar aan Aisling, want die speelt altijd squash met haar.” 
(“When she loses, she turns into an enormous crybaby. (Go and) ask Aisling, she always plays squash with her.” The use of ‘met’ in ‘speelt altijd squash met haar’ emphasizes more the social aspect of sports. In order to emphasize the match element, one would use ‘tegen’ instead.)

Related words:
- Aanstellen: to behave like a child, to act childishly [verb] [stelde aan, aangesteld].
- Huilen: to cry (tears) [verb] [huilde, gehuild].
- Wenen: more formal but less used synonym of ‘huilen’ [verb] [weende, geweend].
- Huilerig: tearful, weepy [adjective].
- Dreinen: to whine persistently, snivel (of babies, toddlers) [verb] [dreinde, gedreind].
- Balken: to bray (donkey) [verb] [balkte, gebalkt]. Despite the explanation in the introduction, the verb ‘balken’ is encountered mostly in this translation.

Things to remember from this DWOTD
- The difference between a ‘huilebalk’ and a ‘huilbaby’;
- The use of ‘bij het minste of geringste’;
- The difference between ‘spelen met’ and ‘spelen tegen’;
- The common root of ‘huilen’ and ‘to howl’.

The literal translation of ‘rooskleurig’ is ‘rose-coloured’. Perhaps because there is no unique colour for roses, one encounters ‘rooskleurig’ more often in the figurative meaning of ‘reflecting optimism’, e.g. ‘een rooskleurige toekomst’: a bright future.

‘Rooskleurig’ is composed of the noun ‘roos’ and the adjective ‘kleurig’. The latter is not used often; in case of ‘many colours’ one rather uses ‘kleurrijk’, see the Related words below.

Examples:
- “Hoe gaat het met je?” – “Goed, heel erg goed kan ik wel zeggen; de toekomst ziet er rooskleurig uit!” 
(“How are you doing/feeling?” – “Fine/good, very good I may (even) say; the future is looking bright!”)

- “De vooruitzichten voor economisch herstel zijn allesbehalve rooskleurig te noemen.” 
(“The prospects for economic recovery can be described as all but bright/rosy.”)

- “We hebben veel tegenslagen moeten verwerken, maar we zien de doorstart van ons bedrijf rooskleurig tegemoet.” 
(“We have had to deal with many setbacks, but we await the new startup of our company in good spirits.” Note the use of the word ‘doorstart’; when a company goes bankrupt, however somehow manages to start over again shortly after bankruptcy (often in a different form), in Dutch this is called a ‘doorstart’. It’s derived from a plane aborting the landing just before it has reached the runway.)

Related words:
- Roos: rose [noun] [de roos, de rozen].
- Kleur: colour [noun] [de kleur, de kleuren].
- Kleurig: colourful, full-coloured [adjective].
- Kleurrijk: colourful [adjective]. Contrary to ‘kleurig’, the adjective ‘kleurrijk’ can also be used figuratively, e.g. to describe a person’s character.
- Florissant: blooming, thriving [adjective]. One often encounters the negation: ‘Het ziet er niet florissant uit.’
- Fleurig: blooming, colourful [adjective]. Also figuratively in the meaning of ‘cheerful’.

Things to remember from this DWOTD
- The usage of ‘kleurig’ vs. ‘kleurrijk’;
- The meaning of ‘allesbehalve’;
- In which circumstances do the Dutch use the word ‘doorstart’.

The adverb ‘ternauwernood’ originated in the form ‘ter nauwer nood’. The adjective ‘nauw’ here has the meaning of ‘leaving very little space’, so that ‘ter nauwer nood’ is a situation of distress (‘nood’) you can hardly get out of (or avoid). (The adjective ‘nauw’ commonly translates as ‘narrow’. ‘Ter’ means ‘in the’ in this case). Later the three words were combined into one, and the meaning is now a more general ‘barely/scarcely’ or ‘just’ (as in ‘just made it’). However, one mostly uses ‘ternauwernood’ when there are somewhat serious consequences involved.

Note that ‘ter nauwer nood’ is an example of the use of the dative case in Dutch; the use of cases nowadays is rare and one mostly encounters its usage in fixed expressions/compounds.

Examples:
- “De impala wist ternauwernood aan de leeuw te ontkomen.” 
(“The impala barely escaped the lion.” Lit. “managed to barely escape the lion”. Note the verb ‘ontkomen aan’: to escape, to evade. In general one can translate ‘ternauwernood ontkomen’ as ‘it is/was a narrow escape’.)

- “Ik heb ternauwernood de trein gehaald; als ik hem gemist had, dan was ik te laat gekomen op mijn sollicitatiegesprek.” – “Ja jongen, je had ook gewoon wat eerder van huis kunnen gaan hè; hoe vaak heeft mamma het nu al tegen je gezegd…” 
(“I barely caught the train; had I missed it I would have been late for my job interview.” – “Well my boy / son, or you could have (just as easily) left home a little bit earlier, well (am I right)? How many times has your mother told you this…”)

- “Het echtpaar heeft de frontale botsing ternauwernood overleefd. Volgens de politie is het een wonder dat er niet meer slachtoffers zijn gevallen.” 
(“The married couple barely survived the head-on collision. The policy say it is a miracle that there are no further casualties.” Note that although somewhat redundant, it is common to use the verb ‘vallen’ when talking about victims or casualties as a result of some action.)

Expressions:
- “In het nauw zitten(/komen)”: to be(/end up) in a tight spot.

Related words:
- Nauw: narrow [adjective].
- Nauw: distress, tight spot/corner [noun] [het nauw, <no plural>].
- Nauwelijks: barely, hardly [adverb].

Example:
- “Hoe durf je zo te klagen; er zijn kinderen op deze wereld die nauwelijks genoeg te eten hebben!”
(“How dare you complain like this; there are children in this world who hardly have enough to eat!”)

- Nood: distress [noun] [de nood, de noden].
- Net: just, barely [adverb].

Things to remember from this DWOTD
- The meaning of ‘a frontale botsing’;
- The use of the verb ‘vallen’  in ‘er zijn slachtoffers gevallen’;
- The meaning of the adjective ‘nauw’ versus the noun ‘nauw’.

Literally ‘vel over been’ translates as ‘skin over bone’. It applies to situations where people or animals are dying of hunger and literally only have skin left. However, it can also be used to say that somebody is very very skinny, or scrawny, basically emphasizing how skinny the person is.

Examples:
- “Dat kind moet echt meer eten; ze is vel over been!” 
(“That girl should really eat more; she’s just too scrawny!” Although ‘kind’ translates as child it is often used to denote a girl. In case of a boy, one would more often use the word ‘jongen’.)

- “Vorige week is er een man gearresteerd wegens dierenmishandeling. Ze lieten foto’s zien van zijn honden, stuk voor stuk (waren ze) vel over been!” 
(“Last week a man was arrested on charges of animal abuse. They showed pictures of his dogs, each and every one of them was all skin and bone!” Lit.: ‘… because of animal abuse.’)

- “De meeste gevangenen die werden bevrijd waren vel over been, en voor sommigen kwam de hulp te laat.” 
(“Most prisoners who were liberated were all skin and bone, and for some help came too late.”)

- “Sommige modellen zijn gewoon vel over been. Behalve dat dat helemaal een verkeerd signaal uitzendt naar tienermeisjes, is het ook nog eens superlelijk.”)
(“Some (fashion) models are just scrawny. Apart from the fact that this really sends a wrong signal to teenage girls, it is also extremely ugly!”)

Related words:
- Dun: thin [adjective].
- Mager: thin, lean, meagre [adjective].
- Broodmager: very skinny [adjective].
- Skinny: skinny [adjective]. Contrary to ‘fat’ the word ‘skinny’ is sometimes used informally in its English meaning, e.g. “Ik vind haar leuk maar ze is mij een beetje te skinny.” (“I like her but she is a bit too skinny to my liking.” Note the construction ‘[personal pronoun] [conjugation of 'zijn'] mij te [adjective]‘: ‘[personal pronoun] [conjugation of 'to be'] too [adjective] to my liking.’)
- Honger: hunger [noun] [de honger, <no plural>].
- Hongerig: hungry [adjective].
- Verhongeren: to die of starvation, to die of hunger [verb] [verhongerde, verhongerd].
- Uithongeren: to starve (out) [verb] [uithongerde, uitgehongerd].

‘Blauwbekken’ is what you do when you’re standing outside in the cold shivering. However sometimes you can also use it in other situations, just to emphasize how cold you are!! The word ‘bek’ is slang for ‘mouth’ and sometimes even ‘face’. And I guess you can figure out ‘blauw’. If not, go outside without a jacket (if in NL) and come back in an hour

‘Blauwbekken’ is used colloquially.

Examples:
- “Dimiter, wat ben je laat man!”- “Ja, en ik heb het ook nog koud, ik heb een half uur staan blauwbekken bij de tramhalte omdat de tram niet kwam opdagen!” 
(“Dimiter, you’re (really) late man!” – “Yeah, and I’m cold too, I stood in the cold for half an hour at the tramstop because the tram didn’t show!” Note that with the verb ‘blauwbekken’ it is not common to use the past participle, and one uses ‘staan’ instead which also indicates it was a prolonged activity.)

- “Het is om te blauwbekken zo koud!”- “Ach, stel je toch niet zo aan!” 
(“It’s so cold it makes one ‘blauwbekken’ (‘turn blue’) !” – “Ah, don’t be a whimp!” Note the reflexive verb ‘zich aanstellen’ that you will hear used as in this example sentence but also variants such as ‘je stelt je aan!’. The related noun is ‘aansteller’. The first part of the example sentence shows the use of the common construction ‘het is om te [verb] zo [adjective]‘: it’s so [adjective], it makes one [verb].)

- “Catharina, mag ik van jou een sjaal lenen, en misschien ook een trui?”- “Hoezo, ben je bang dat je anders gaat blauwbekken vanavond?” 
(“Catharina, can you lend me a scarf, and perhaps also a jumper/sweater?” – “Why, are you afraid you will be standing in the cold tonight?” Lit.: “…can I borrow from you …”)

- “Het duurt gewoon heel lang voordat ik het warm krijg! Ik lig zelfs in bed onder twee dekens nog een tijd te blauwbekken!” 
(“It just takes a very long time before I get warm! Even in bed under two blankets I’m still extremely cold for quite some time!”)

Related words:
- Kou(de): cold [noun] [de koude, <no plural>].
- Kou lijden: to suffer from the cold [verb] [leed kou, kou geleden].
- Bibberen: to shiver [verb] [bibberde, gebibberd].
- Rillen: to shiver, shudder [verb] [rilde, gerild].
- Klappertanden: to shiver with cold (with chattering teeth) [verb] [klappertande, geklappertand].

When something was ‘kielekiele’ in Dutch it means it was a very close call, however with positive result. The present tense form (‘het is kielekiele’) can be used when the result is not yet known and that you can’t just tell yet.

You may also hear: ‘het was op het nippertje‘. The difference is that this expression takes on the meaning of ‘just making it’, ‘being just in time’ or ‘at the very last moment’, whereas ‘het was kielekiele’ is more generally used for a ‘close call’.

Examples:
- “Goede vlucht gehad?” – “Ja, maar ik had ‘m bijna gemist. Het was echt kielekiele. Ben zelfs omgeroepen!” – “Nou ja, dat meen je niet!” 
(“Did you have a good flight?” – “Yes, but I almost missed it. It was a very close call. They even announced my name!” – “No way, seriously?!” Lit.: “Was even announced!” – “…, that you don’t mean!”)

- “Zo, dat was kielekiele man, waarom haal je zo dicht in??” 
(“Woah, that was close man, why do you overtake so close (to the other car)?”)

- “Is de bal over de doellijn of niet?” – “Ik weet het niet, het is kielekiele. Wacht even op de herhaling…” 
(“Did the ball cross the (goal) line?” – “I don’t know, it’s a close call. Wait for the replay…”)

- “Het was kielekiele, maar ik heb als één van de laatsten een iPhone 5 bemachtigd!” 
(“It was a close call, but I was one of the last to obtain an iPhone 5!”)

- “Myriam, je hebt een 6, maar het was echt kielekiele. De volgende keer moet je je toets echt beter voorbereiden. Afgesproken?” 
(“Myriam, you got a 6, but it was really really close. Next time you have to prepare your test better. Deal?” Dutch test scores are at a scale from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest), with 6 a pass.)

Expressions:
- “Het was net aan”: it was just enough / we just made it.
- “Het was op het randje”: it was close. Lit.: ‘on the edge’, with ‘randje’ being the diminutive of ‘rand’: edge.
- “Het spant erom / het zal erom spannen”: it’s going to be a close call. Compare Spannend.

Related words:
- Spannend: exciting, suspenseful [adjective].
- Opluchting: relief [noun] [de opluchting, de opluchtingen].

Example:
- “Wat een opluchting! Ik was bang dat je het niet zou redden!”
(“What a relief! I was afraid you wouldn’t make it!”)