blood [noun] [‘bloed‘] 
This
morning I entered my office and thought: "het is hier bloedheet!": "it’s
sweltering hot in here!" Or if you prefer, "bloody hot". So there we go, today’s word is "bloed".
Examples:
– "Ik kan niet goed tegen bloed, jij wel?"
("I can’t really stand blood, can you?")
– "Ken jij mensen die regelmatig bloed geven?"
("Do you know people who donate blood regularly?" Note that we either say "doneren" or "geven", but the latter only in case of blood.)
– "Kijk jij wel eens naar operaties op tv?" – "Nee, ben je gek, mij te veel bloed!"
("Do you ever watch (medical) operations on TV?" – "No, are you crazy, too much blood for me!" Note that the initial meaning of ‘operatie’ that comes to the Dutch mind is that of a medical one. We however also use the word for other types of operations, such as military.)
– "Ik zie geen sporen van bloed Grissom, weet je zeker dat het slachtoffer hier gestorven is?"
("I don’t see any traces of blood Grissom, are you sure the vic died here?")
– "Na veel bloed, zweet en tranen lukte het de bouwvakkers om het dak te repareren."
("After a lot of blood, sweat and tears, the construction workers succeeded in repairing the roof." Note the use of "het lukte (x) om (y)": "(x) succeeded in (y)".)
Expressions:
– "Bloed vergieten": to shed/spill blood.
– "Kwaad bloed zetten": to create bad blood, to stir up ill-will.
– "Het zit hem in het bloed": it is/runs in his blood, this is what he is made for.
Example:
– "Muziek zit Marc in het bloed."
("Marc is made for music.")
Related words:
– "Bloedheet": sweltering/bloody hot.
– "Bloedmooi": very beautiful.
– "Bloederig": bloody.
– "Bloedbroeders": blood brothers.
– "Bloedcellen": blood cells.
– "Bloeddonor": blood donor.
– "Vampier": vampire.
I am confused by the following example in today’s email.
“Na veel bloed, zweet en tranen lukte het de bouwvakkers om het dak te
repareren.”
The explanation shows the construction “het lukte (x) om (y)”: “(x)succeeded in (y)”.
Is it lukte het -or- het lukte?
Hi Ron,
The order of the subject and finite verb is different depending on the construction of the sentence. It can be both ‘lukte het’ or ‘het lukte’. Let’s look at the following example:
– “In 2007 lukte het Ahold om meer winst te maken dan in 2006.”
(“In 2007 Ahold succeeded in making more profit than in 2006.”)
This can be rewritten to:
– “Het lukte Ahold in 2007 om meer winst te maken dan in 2006.”
(“Ahold succeeded in 2007 in making more money than in 2006”)
Both versions in Dutch are acceptable whereas in English one might prefer the first version (I guess).
This interchanging of subject and finite verb can be tricky in the beginning but you will get used to it.
A few more examples:
– “Ik ga morgen naar huis.” –> “Morgen ga ik naar huis.”
– “De man liep kwaad weg.” –> “Kwaad liep de man weg.”
Hope this helps,
Sander