Nut

usefulness, benefit, point, purpose Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[het nut, <no plural>]

Fietser In Dutch something has "nut" when there is a point to it, or when it is to your advantage (or that of society if you are more of an altruist 🙂 ). A related adverb/adjective is "nuttig": when something has "nut", then it is "nuttig".

Examples:
– "Met dit weer heeft het toch geen enkel nut om je auto te wassen?" 
("With these weather condidions it is completely useless to wash you car, isn't it?")

– "Wat is het nut van jullie afspraak? Alles is toch al vastgelegd?" 
("What's the purpose of your meeting? Everything has been agreed upon, hasn't it?" Note that "vastleggen" also implies 'recording what was agreed'.)

– "Waarom moet bij jou altijd alles nut hebben; ik doe dit omdat ik het leuk vind! Klaar!" 
("Why do you believe there must always be a point to something; I do this because I like it! And that's it!" Note the use of "bij jou": it implies the other is of that opinion or always display a certain kind of behaviour etc. The word "klaar" translates as "ready/done" and can be used to indicate you are done explaining 🙂 )

– "Denk jij echt dat het hebben van een diploma nut heeft? Persoonlijk zie ik het nut er niet van in." 
("Do you really think that having a diploma is advantageous? Personally, I think there's no point to it.")

Related words:
– Nuttig: useful, advantageous [adjective/adverb].

Example:
– "Hoe was je zakenreis naar de VS?" – "Vermoeiend, maar heel nuttig!"
("How was your business trip to the US?" – "Exhausting, but very useful!")

Zin: sense, point [noun] [de zin, de zinnen].

Example:
– "Laat nou maar zitten, het heeft geen zin!"
("Just leave it, it's pointless!")

– Noot: nut (from a tree) [noun] [de noot, de noten]. "Noot" is also used for musical/foot notes.