Pakkans

chance of getting arrested after committing a crime  Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de pak-kans, de pak-kan-sen]
Pakkans

This is a great word – both because of its pronunciation and its meaning. "Pakkans" consists of two words: "pak" from "pakken" which means "to take". In "pakkans", "pakken" rather refers to its passive form: "gepakt worden" or "getting caught". "Kans" means "chance" (or "probability"). The "pakkans" is therefore the chance of getting caught.  

Examples:
– "Minister van Veiligheid en Justitie Opstelten wil de pakkans van zware criminelen verhogen." 
("Minister of Public Safety and Justice Opstelten wants to increase chances that heavy criminals are caught.")

– "Het aantal overvallen is de afgelopen jaren gestegen terwijl de pakkans aanzienlijk is afgenomen." 
("The number of robberies increased in the past years whereas the number of arrests declined substantially.")

– <Poster:> "In het echt valt een overval minder op. Ziet u iets verdachts, bel 1-1-2." 
(<Picture:> "In real life, a robbery is less obvious. If you see anything suspicious, dial 1-1-2.")

– "Een aantal juweliers probeerde de pakkans van overvallers te vergroten door camerabeelden uit te wisselen met elkaar." 
("A couple of jewellers tried to increase the chance of robbers getting caught by exchanging camera footage with each other.")

Expressions:
– "In de kraag gevat worden": to get arrested.

Example:
– "De overvaller dacht dat hij was ontsnapt, maar door de camerabeelden kon de politie hem toch in de kraag vatten."
("The robber thought he'd escaped, but due to the camera footage the police could arrest him after all.")

– "Iemand van zijn bed lichten": to arrest someone in the middle of the night.

Example:
– "De overvaller dacht dat hij was ontsnapt, maar de politie lichtte hem dezelfde nacht nog van zijn bed."
("The robber thought he'd escaped, but the police arrested him the same night.")

Related words:
– Arresteren: to arrest [verb] [arresteerde, heb gearresteerd].
– Gearresteerd worden: to get arrested [verb] [werd gearresteerd, is gearresteerd].

Kabinet

cabinet Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[het ka-bi-net, de ka-bi-net-ten]Kabinet

In case you missed it: the Netherlands has a new cabinet since last week. The liberal party VVD (People's Party for Freedom and Democracy) and the CDA (Christian Democratic Appeal) have joined forces in the first minority cabinet since World War II – and the first liberal prime minister since 1918.

Examples:
– "Na 127 dagen formeren is het kabinet-Rutte op 14 oktober gestart." 
("After 127 days of negotiations to form a government, Rutte's Cabinet started on October 14.")

– "Het kabinet-Rutte I is het eerste minderheidskabinet sinds de Tweede Wereldoorlog." 
("Rutte's first Cabinet is the first minority cabinet since World War II.")

– "Voor een meederheidskabinet zijn tenminste 76 van de 150 zetels in de Tweede Kamer nodig." 
("For a majority cabinet, at least 76 of 150 seats in the Second Chamber [House of Commons] are required.")

– "Het kabinet-Rutte heeft 52 zetels, en haalt met steun van Wilders' party PVV 76 zetels." 
("Rutte's Cabinet has 52 seats, and reaches 76 seats with support of Wilders' party PVV.")

– "De meeste leden van het kabinet Rutte I zijn zeer ervaren politici, de vijftig gepasseerd en man." 
("Most members of Rutte's first Cabinet are very experienced politicians, over fifty, and male.")

Related words:
– Verkiezingen: elections [noun] [de verkiezing, de verkiezingen].
– Kabinetsformatie: the formation of a cabinet [noun] [de formatie, de formaties].

Extra:
The support that WIlders' party PVV gives to the cabinet is called "gedoogsteun". The Dutch are known worldwide for their "gedogen" of soft drugs: even though illegal by law, offenders are not persecuted. In the case of Wilders' PVV, the party gives "gedoogsteun" to the minority cabinet, i.e. a party supports the cabinet even though the party is formally an opposition party. The support is agreed on in a formal agreement, the "gedoogakkoord".

Je bent aan het verkeerde adres

you have not come to the right person, you cannot count on sympathy Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

Hek met ketting en slotThe literal meaning of “je bent aan het verkeerde adres” is “you are at the wrong address”, and its meaning is pretty close to the literal translation: you are not in the right place, or you have not come the right person, i.e.: you cannot count on any sympathy.

Examples:
– “Als je denkt dat ik je problemen ga oplossen, ben je aan het verkeerde adres.” 
(“If you think that I am going to solve your problems, think again.”)

– “De betogers bleken bij de politici aan het verkeerde adres te zijn.” 
(“The demonstrators could not count on any sympathy from the politicians.” Lit.: “The demonstrators turned out to be at the wrong address with those politicians.”)

– “Iemand die niet eerlijk is, is aan het verkeerde adres bij mij.” 
(“Someone who is not honest, cannot count on my sympathy.”)

– “Als je je hele vakantie wil liggen bakken op het strand, ben je bij mij aan het verkeerde adres.” 
(“If you want to spend your entire holiday getting a tan on the beach, I’m not your man.” Lit.: “If you want to bake at the beach your entire vacation, then you are at the wrong address with me.”)

Related words:
– Adres: address [noun] [het adres, de adressen].
– Verkeerd: wrong [adjective/adverb].

Meemaken

to experience, to witness, to go through Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[mee-ma-ken, maak-te mee, heeft mee-ge-maakt]

"Meemaken" is composed of "mee" and "maken", which respectively translate to "along" and "to make".

Synonyms are "beleven" (lit.: to be-live) and  "ervaren" (to experience).

Examples:Woii
– "Veel soldaten hebben tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog verschrikkelijke dingen meegemaakt." 

("Many soldiers have gone through terrible things during the Second World War.")

– "Wat ik nu weer heb meegemaakt! Dit moet je horen!" 
("What has just happened to me! You’ve got to hear this!")

– "Dit is de eerste keer dat hij meemaakt dat er zoveel sneeuw ligt." 
("It is the first time he experiences this amount of snow." Lit.: "…that there lies so much snow.")

– "Als je dat niet zelf hebt meegemaakt, kun je er niet over meepraten." 
("If you haven’t experienced that yourself, you can’t have a say in the matter.")

– "Het was een droom voor de atleet om de Olympische Spelen mee te maken." 
("It was a dream for the athlete to experience the Olympic Games.")

– "Zal prins Willem-Alexander het nog meemaken dat hij koning wordt of denkt u dat Koningin Beatrix altijd op de troon blijft?" 
("Will Prince Willem-Alexander ever experience that he will be king or do you think that Queen Beatrix will stay on the throne forever?")

Related words:
– "Ervaren": 1. to experience [verb] [ervoer, heeft ervaren]. 2. experienced [adjective].
– "Beleven": to experience [verb] [beleefde, heeft beleefd].
– "Doorstaan": to live through [verb] [doorstond, heeft doorstaan].
– "Doormaken": to live through [verb] [maakte door, heeft doorgemaakt].
– "Ervaring": experience [noun] [de ervaring, de ervaringen].
– "Beleving": experience, perception [noun] [de beleving, de belevingen].

Gniffelen

to chuckle Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[gnif-fe-len, gnif-fel-de, ge-gnif-feld]Chuckling_2

Sometimes it’s hard to keep a straight face and if you can resist laughing out loud, you might end up chuckling ("gniffelen"). "Gniffelen" is one of the few Dutch words which has an "n" preceding succeeding a "g" in the same syllable. The verb "giechelen" ("to giggle") has a slightly similar meaning but is more often used when referring to girls or women.

Examples:
– "Wat sta je daar nu te gniffelen? Dit is een serieuze zaak!" 
("What are you chuckling about? This is a serious matter!")

– "Ik heb echt geprobeerd om mijn lach in te houden maar moest toch een beetje gniffelen." 
("I really tried to keep a straight face but had to chuckle a little bit after all." Lit.: "I really tried to restrain my laughter but …")

– " <Leraar:> Jongens, stop eens met dat gegniffel of ik laat jullie vanmiddag nablijven." 
("<Teacher:> Boys, stop chuckling or I’ll put you in detention this afternoon.")

Expressions:
– "Lachen, gieren, brullen": laughing, screaming, shreaking.

Example:
– "Het was weer lachen, gieren, brullen tijdens de surprise-avond."
("We had a real laugh again during the surprise-evening.")

Related words:
– Giechelen: to giggle [verb] [giechelde, gegiecheld].
Lachen: to laugh [verb] [lachte, gelachen].