Leuk

nice, funny, amusing, entertaining [adjective] Iconspeaker_3

"Leuk" is used a lot in the Dutch language. It is generally used to positively qualify a situation, person or object. The combination "leuk vinden" (lit.: to find nice/funny) is commonly translated with "to like".

When it comes to liking a person, there are various adverbs to add certain subtleties, e.g.:Smiley
– "wel leuk": quite nice.

– "gewoon leuk": just nice.
– "echt leuk" really nice.
– "erg leuk": very/really nice.
– "leuk leuk": nice as in ‘really nice’.
– "heel erg leuk": really really nice.
The latter four imply a certain degree of being in love…

Examples:
– "Leuk horloge! Nieuw?" 
("Nice watch! New?")

– "Ik heb ‘Kung-Fu Panda’ gezien tijdens mijn vlucht van Amsterdam naar Lima. Erg leuk!" 
("I saw ‘Kung-Fu Panda’ during my flight from Amsterdam to Lima. Very funny!")

– "Hoe vond je het feest?" – "Het was uitermate leuk, dankjewel!"
("What did you think of the party" – "It was extremely entertaining, thank you!)

– "Vanochtend is de hele uitlaat van mijn auto eraf gevallen!" – "Ai, dat is niet leuk, Marc…"
("This morning the entire exhaust of my car fell off!" – "Ouch, that’s not funny, Marc…")

– "Suzanne is een leuke meid, niet?" – "Ja, ik vind haar wel leuk" – "Leuk leuk?" – "Nee, gewoon leuk…"
("Suzanne is a nice girl, isn’t she?" – "Yes, I quite like her." – "Like as in ‘really like’?" – "No, I just like her…")

Expressions:
– "Leuk is anders": <ironic> That’s is not very nice. Lit.: Nice is different.

Example:
– "Mijn aandelen zijn vandaag met meer dan 50 procent gedaald." – "Leuk is anders…"
("My shares have dropped more than 50 percent today." – "That’s not very nice…")

– "Het is leuk geweest": Enough is enough. Lit.: It’s been nice.

Example:
– "Zullen we nog een afzakkertje nemen?" – "Nee ik ga naar huis, het is leuk geweest."
("Shall we have one for the road?" – "No, I’m going home, enough is enough…")

– "Leuk hoor": <ironic> really nice.
– "Jij bent zeker de leukste thuis.": <ironic reply> You really think that you are funny, don’t you? Lit.: You must be the funniest (person) at home.

Related words:
– Vermakelijk: entertaining [adjective].
Tof: great, cool [adjective].
Gaaf: awesome, great [adjective].
Prachtig: beautiful [adjective].

One thought on “Leuk

  1. – “dat het niet leuk meer is”: it’s not even funny.
    “Mijn hond ligt zo hard te snurken dat het niet leuk meer is.”
    (“My dog is snoring so loud it’s not even funny.”)
    – “dat het niet te beschrijven is”: it’s hard to describe.
    “De situatie daar was zo slecht dat het niet te beschrijven is.”
    (“The situation there was so bad it’s hard to describe.”)
    – “dat het niet eens de moeite waard is”: it’s not even worth the trouble.
    “Die analogie van jou hier is zo krom en lachwekkend dat het niet eens de moeite waard is om op te reageren.”
    (“This analogy of yours is so warped and ridiculous it’s not even worth responding to.”)
    Can anyone think of any other “het is zo… dat het niet…” expressions?

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