Aardbeving

earthquake Iconspeaker_3 Aardbeving-tafel
[noun]
[de aard-be-ving, de aard-be-ving-en]

"Aardbeving" is composed of "aard" – from "aarde" – and "beving", which respectively translate to "earth" and "tremor/shake".

Examples:
– "Japan is vanmorgen getroffen door een zware aardbeving." 
("Japan has been struck by a major earthquake this morning.")

– "De aardbeving heeft een grote tsunami veroorzaakt, de situatie is nu zeer ernstig." 
("The earthquake has caused a big tsunami, the situation is very serious now.")

– "Tijdens de aardbeving in Christchurch zijn er meer dan honderd slachtoffers gevallen…" – "Verschrikkelijk!" 
("During the earthquake in Christchurch more than a hundred lives were lost." Lit.: "…casualties have fallen.")

Expressions:
– "Ik sta op mijn benen te trillen": my legs are shaking. Lit.: "I'm shaking on my legs".
– "Beven van (de) angst": to tremble with fear.

Example:
– "De kinderen beefden van angst toen de bullebak tegen hen schreeuwde."
("The children trembled with fear when the bully cried out against them.")

Related words:
– Aarde: earth, dirt, ground [noun] [de aarde, de aardes].
– Beven: to tremor, to tremble, to shake [verb] [beven, beefde, h. gebeefd].
– Trillen: to tremor, to tremble, to shake [verb] [trillen, trilde, h. getrild].
– Trilling: tremor, vibration [noun] [de trilling, de trillingen].

Example:
– "Voel je die trillingen in de tafel? Het zal toch geen aardbeving zijn?"
("Do you feel those vibrations in the table? That's not an earthquake, is it?")

– Schaal van Richter: Richter scale.

4 thoughts on “Aardbeving

  1. – “Japan is vanmorgen getroffen door een zware aardbeving.”
    This is where DWOTD is so useful, Dutch Gurus.
    Finding and using the right verb is always “iffy” for me as an “allochtoon”. If I saw “getroffen” without a translation, I might revert to my German heritage and immediately think of meeting, but then of course I know that’s “ontmoeten”.
    And so all sorts of confusion would ensue. But happily not now with these examples.
    Thanks again for the wonderful work!
    (even if in this very sad context)

  2. @Amy, the animals “bever” and “beer” (E., “beaver” and “bear”) are believed to share etymological roots going back to the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root *bher/*bhru, which meant reddish-brown.
    In the case of bever, the root is reduplicated, and you see this in other languages: Czech bobr, German Biber, Lithuanian bebras, Latin fiber (also, castor), etc.
    In contrast, the word “beven” (G., “beben”; E. “tremble”) goes back to a PIE root *bhoyǝ- with a meaning along the lines of “to be afraid, to frighten”.

  3. @Chris – as a matter of fact “getroffen” can also be used in the meaning of “meeting”. The verb would be “treffen”, but is used for “meeting up” whereas “ontmoeten” is more often used for “the first unplanned encounter”.
    Example:
    – “Waar zullen we elkaar morgen treffen?”
    (Where shall we meet tomorrow?)
    However, you are more likely to hear the verb “afspreken” used for “to meet up”.

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