Tag Archives: kat

Kat in het bakkie

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child's play, straightforward, piece of cake Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[Kat in het bak-kie]

KatInHetBakkie With "bak" meaning "bin, can, container, tray" this expression makes you think it's about getting the cat in the (cat's) box, which in fact can be very difficult (unless the cat wants to of course 🙂 ). However, "kat" in this expression may in fact mean "money" and the original meaning could be "bringing in the cash" (read more here (in Dutch) ). These days however, you will use it to say that something is very easy, or can be 'considered done!'

You will also hear "Dat/het is/was kat in 't bakkie!"

Examples:
– "Hoe ging je sollicitatiegesprek?" – "Het was kat in het bakkie, ik word zeker uitgenodigd voor een tweede gesprek!" 
("How was your job interview?" – "Piece of cake, I'm sure that I'll be invited to the second round!" Lit. "Surely I'll be invited for a second interview".)

– "Ga je de deadline nog halen denk je?" – "O man, kat in het bakkie. Ik heb het al lang af, maar nu denkt de manager dat ik keihard aan het werk ben 😉 " 
("Do you think you will be able to meet the deadline?" – "Most definitely! I've already completed it a long time ago, but this way the manager thinks I'm really working hard 😉 .")

– "De kat moet naar de dierenarts en ik krijg hem niet in zijn mandje!" – "Pff, dat is zeker geen kat in het bakkie! Vat je hem, kat in het bakkie?! Ha ha!" – "Ik vat hem Sander, maar het is niet grappig!" 
("The cat has to go to the vet and I can't get it to go in the carrier/cage!" – "Pff, that's definitely no 'kat in het bakkie'! Do you get it, 'kat in het bakkie'?! Ha ha!" – "I get it Sander, it's not funny, that's all!")

Expressions:
– "Eitje": piece of cake.
– "(Het was/is een) Makkie!": very easy to complete or do. Derived from "gemakkelijk": easy.

Related words:
– Kat: cat [noun] [de kat, de katten].
– Bak: container, bin [noun] [de bak, de bakken]. Diminutive: "bakje" or "bakkie" (informal).
– Kattenbak: cat's box/tray [noun] [de kattenbak, de kattenbakken].

Maak dat de kat wijs!

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I don’t believe a thing of it! Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]Katwijs_2

Let’s stay in the category Animals a little bit longer with the phrase of this week. "Maak dat de kat wijs!" literally means "make the cat believe it", and really means: "I don’t believe a thing of it!" The verb is "iemand iets wijsmaken" ("make somebody believe something"). It’s not the only expression in which cats play a role, see "De kat uit de boom kijken" and "Als de kat van huis is, dansen de muizen op tafel".

Examples:
– "Ben jij op de maan geweest, in je dromen zeker! Maak dat de kat wijs!" 
("Have you been to the moon, sure, in your dreams! I don’t believe a thing of it!")

– "Mijn buurman had dit jaar bijna de Nobelprijs voor de Vrede gewonnen." – "Geloof je het zelf? Maak dat de kat wijs!" 
("My neighbour almost won the Nobel Peace Price this year." -"You must be kidding! I don’t believe a thing of it!" Lit.: "Do you believe it yourself? …")

– "Heb je maar twee uur slaap per nacht nodig? Maak dat de kat wijs!" 
("You only need two hours of sleep per night? I don’t believe a thing of it!")

Related words:
– Wijs: wise [adjective/adverb].
– Wijsmaken: to make believe [verb] [maakte wijs, heb wijsgemaakt].
– Kat: cat [noun] [de kat, de katten].
– Katten: to snarl [verb] [katte, heb gekat].
– Kater: 1. tom cat 2. hangover [noun] [de kater, de katers].

Kater

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tomcat, hangover, disillusionment [noun] [de kater, de katers] [‘kaa-tur’]

Examples:
1. “Twee vechtende katers hebben me de hele nacht wakker gehouden!”
(“Two fighting tomcats have kept me up all night!”)

2. “De dag na het Interagency feest hadden Sander en Marc een stevige kater.”
(“The day after the Interagency party, Sander and Marc had a substantial hangover.”)

3. “Na een slechte jaarlijkse beoordeling had Frank een behoorlijke kater.”
(“After a bad annual appraisal, Frank was seriously disillusioned.” Literally: “…Frank had/suffered a serious disillusionment.”)

Related words:
1. “Hoofdpijn”: headache.
2. “Misselijk”: nauseous, sick to the stomach.
3. “Overgeven”: to vomit (to be sick).

Example:
– “Ik denk dat ik moet overgeven.”
(“I think I’m going to be sick / throw up / vomit.”)