ear
[noun]
[het oor, de o-ren]
"Oor" translates to "ear". Related verb is "horen": "to hear". Don't confuse "oor" with "oog": "eye". There are a lot of expression with "oor", check them out at the section Expressions!
Examples:
– "Haar oren zijn de mooiste in de wereld, perfect gewoon…"
("Her ears are the most beautiful in the world, just perfect…")
– "De manier waarop ze aan mijn oren knabbelde…ik mis haar verschrikkelijk…"
("The way she nibbled my ears…I miss her terribly…")
– " <uit: Roodkapje> Grootmoeder, wat heeft u grote oren…" – "Dan kan ik je beter horen, kind!"
("<from: Little Red Riding Hood> Grandmother, what big ears you have…" – "All the better to hear with my child!")
– "Ik luister wel, maar ik hoor niks…" – "Je moet je oren laten nakijken, volgens mij word je doof…"
("I am listening, but I'm not hearing anything…" – "You have got to get your ears checked, I think you're getting deaf…")
Expressions:
– "Wie niet horen wil, moet voelen": (lit.: who won't hear, must feel) he that will not be taught must suffer.
– "Ergens oren naar hebben": (lit.: to have ears for something) to like an/the idea.
– "Het gaat het ene oor in, en het andere weer uit": it goes in at one ear and out at the other.
– "Een en al oor zijn": to be all ears.
– "Op een oor liggen": (lit.: to lay on one ear) to sleep, to be in bed.
– "Zijn oren spitsen": to prick up one's ears.
– "Iemand om zijn oren slaan": to box a person's ears.
– "Ter ore komen": to come to ears.
– "Tot over de oren in het werk / in de schuld zitten: to be up to one's ears in work / debt.
– "Tot over zijn/haar oren verliefd zijn": to be head over heels.
Related words:
– Doof: deaf [adjective].
– Flapoor: lop ear [noun] [het flapoor, de flaporen].
– Gehoorzaam: obedient [adjective].
– Horen: to hear [verb] [horen, hoorde, h. gehoord].
– Oorbel: earring [noun] [de oorbel, de oorbellen].
Example:
– "Dat zijn prachtige oorbellen! Waar heb je die vandaan?"
("Those are beautiful earrings! Where did you get them?")
– Oorlel: earlobe [noun] [de oorlel, de oorlellen].
– Oorsmeer: ear wax [noun] [het oorsmeer, <no plural>].
Extra:
Check out this song by former Dutch ska band "Doe Maar". The lyrics contain the lines: "…tot over mijn oren smoorverliefd op jou…"
OOR is also the oldest currently published music magazine in the Netherlands. Check it out at www.oor.nl.
I’ve always found it interesting that the English “earwig” becomes an “oorworm” in Dutch.
A point that only increases my mirth when I use “oorworm” as a bijnaam for my brother-in-law…:-)