Het zal wel aan mij liggen

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It’s probably (just) me Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

The verb "liggen" usually translates to "to lie" (position of the body), or "to be" (location of an object). "Liggen aan" can therefore mean "to be located at", but it can also take on the meaning of "to depend on", "to be caused by" or "to be due to". When you say "het zal wel aan mij liggen", you mean to say that it is probably because of the way you are, or the way that you interpret something, that you are somewhat bothered (by something).Zal_wel

Other examples of the use of "liggen aan" are: "het ligt altijd aan een ander" (it is always somebody else’s fault) or the classic "het ligt niet aan jou, maar aan mij" (it’s not you, it’s me).

Examples:
– "Het zal wel aan mij liggen, maar ik vind 2,40 voor een biertje behoorlijk duur!" 
("I think 2,40 for a beer is quite expensive, but that’s probably just me!")

– "Ik dacht eerst, het zal wel aan mij liggen, maar later gaf zij zelf toe dat ze fout zat." 
("At first I thought it was because of me, but later she admitted that she was wrong.")

– "Ik vind het asociaal als mensen afval op straat gooien, maar goed, het zal wel weer aan mij liggen." 
("I think it is antisocial when people litter, but hey, it is probably just me again." Literally we say: "throw rubbish on the street.")

Related word:
– Oorzaak: cause, origin [noun] [de oorzaak, de oorzaken].

5 thoughts on “Het zal wel aan mij liggen”

  1. So, if it’s not probably just me, but rather probably just you would it make sense to say “het zal wel aan jij liggen”?

  2. Hi Chris – almost 🙂
    It should be “het zal wel aan jou liggen”. Unless there is no doubt in which case you’d say: “het ligt aan jou”.
    Sander

  4. Thanks guys! These kinds of phrases are so hard to learn. I have recently graduated at level 5 Dutch, but unless someone explains these kinds of phrases they just go in one ear and come straight our of the other when you hear them. During conversation there is rarely a chance to stop and ask, “Er sorry, what does that mean exactly?”. Maar het zal wel weer aan mij liggen…
    This website rocks!

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