Lui

1. lazy, idle Iconspeaker_3
[adjective]Luiaard

“Lui” commonly translates to “lazy”.

Examples:
– “Frank is echt lui: hij haalt nooit koffie voor andere collega’s…” 
(“Frank is really lazy: he never gets coffee for other colleagues…”)

– “Er gaat niks boven een luie zondagmiddag!”
(“There’s nothing like a lazy Sunday afternoon!” Lit.: “There goes nothing above…”)

– “Ik ben zo lui vandaag, niet te filmen!”
(“I’m (feeling) so lazy today, unbelievable!”)

Expressions:
– “Een lui leventje”: easy living.
– “Een luie stoel”: an easy chair.
– “Hij is liever lui dan moe”: he was born tired.

Related words:
– Luiaard: 1. lazy-bones, lazy person [noun] [de luiaard, de luiaards]. 2. sloth [noun] [de luiaard, de luiaards].
– Luieren: to be lazy, to (be) idle [verb] [luierde, geluierd].

Example:
– “Wat ben je aan het doen?” – “Helemaal niks, ik ben lekker aan het luieren…”
(“What are you doing?” – “Absolutely nothing, I’m just being lazy…”)

– Loungen: to lounge [verb] [loungede, gelounged].

2. people, folk Iconspeaker_3
[noun]People
[<no singular>, de lui]

“Lui” has no specific singular form. Of course you can use the singular “mens” (human, person) or “persoon” (person).

Synonymous to “lui” is the more informal diminutive “luitjes” and the more formal “lieden”.

Examples:
– “Zeg, lui! Even opletten alsjeblieft!” 
(“Say, folks! Just pay attention for a moment, please!”)

– “De vrienden van Frank…altijd oppassen met die lui…”
(“Frank’s friends…you always have to be careful with those people…”)

– “Lieve luitjes…mag ik even jullie aandacht?”
(“Dear people, can I have your attention just now?”)

Related words:
– Luitjes: people, folks [noun] [<no singular>, de luitjes].
– Lieden: people, folks [noun] [<no singular>, de lieden].
– Mens: human (being) [noun] [de mens, de mensen].
– Mensen: people, humans [noun] [de mens, de mensen].
– Persoon: person [noun] [de persoon, de personen].

2 thoughts on “Lui

  1. Is ‘liever lui dan moe’ a pattern? Can liever X dan Y be generally translated, to be born Y where it’s a jab? For example, would “Hij is liever mooi dan lelijk” mean “He was born ugly”?

  2. Hi Sarah,
    thanks for the question! “Liever lui dan moe” is an expression so your example doesn’t work. It can be translated as “(s)he prefers to be lazy rather than being tired”, in other words: (s)he doesn’t do anything because (s)he doesn’t want to tire himself.
    Laura

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