ladybird, ladybug [noun] [het lieveheersbeestje, de lieveheersbeestjes] [‘lie-vu-heers-beest-ju‘]
This word may be a bit hard to pronounce 🙂 "Lieveheersbeestje" is composed of "lief", "heer" and "beestje", which respectively translate to "dear", "lord" and "little bug". All together it’s a kind of a sweet literal translation: "dear lord’s little bug". Sometimes you might even see "Onzelieveheersbeestje", which translates to "Our dear lord’s little bug".
Examples:
– "Kijk! Er zit een lieveheersbeestje op je mouw!"
("Look! There is a ladybird on your sleeve!")
– "Ze zeggen dat een lieveheersbeestje geluk brengt."
("They say that a ladybird brings luck.")
– "Hoeveel stippen heeft dat lieveheersbeestje?"
("How many dots does that ladybird have?")
Extra:
The logo of the "Landelijke stichting tegen zinloos geweld" (lit.: National foundation against pointless violence) is a ladybird.
I thought it meant “Dear Lord’s little beast” (beestje) 🙂
This made me think of a rare version of “ladybird” in Polish – “Boża krówka”, which literally means “Lord’s little cow”.
Hi Filip,
you’re right, “beestje” literally means little beast, but this diminutive form is also often used in Dutch to refer to a little insect or bug. And in case of a ladybug, I think the latter applies 🙂
I love lieveheersbeestjes 🙂 In English the full name is ‘Our Lady’s Bird’ which is how it got to be a ladybird.
We got an email from one of our readers saying that the translation of “lieveheersbeestje” should “ladyBUG”. Any native english speakers around to comment on this? (The – highly respected 🙂 – Van Dale dictionary says “ladybird”…)
Yes, ladybug in American English at least.
To conclude this subtle matter 🙂 :
“Ladybird” is used in British English.
“Ladybug” is used in American English.