Archive for July, 2019
Dutch Word of the Month July: De Sproeischaamte Posted by Sten on Jul 29, 2019
It is heet (hot). The grueling hitte (heat) of the zomer (summer) and the lack of regen (rain) is killing your tuin (garden). And all you can do to fight this heat is to sprinkle some water (water) to save at least something. Though in this hitte, using water for keeping your tuin together –…
What Food The Dutch Take On Holiday Posted by Sten on Jul 22, 2019
It’s vakantietijd (holiday time)! Time to get your Caravan (caravan, trailer), get your vakantiekaas (holiday cheese) and off you go to Southern France. But what do you take with you? Ik ga op reis en ik neem mee… You know about traffic games. In the Netherlands, we usually do them in files (traffic jams), and…
How Nouns In Dutch Are Falling Apart Posted by Sten on Jul 15, 2019
Samenstellingen (compounded nouns) are a fun thing in the Dutch language. There are some fun challenges I remember from my childhood where we would make very long samenstellingen that you could basically make endless, even if nonsensical: hottentottententententoonstelling (Hottentot hut exposition) or fietsventieldopjesfabrikantenvereniging (bicycle valve cap factory association). But that is tame in comparison to some made up at this…
Honking in the Netherlands? I Don’t Think So Posted by Karoly Molina on Jul 10, 2019
Those of us who have lived in a big city know very well that one annoying sound – honking! The disproven theory is that if you honk, traffic will magically move! However, in the Netherlands, honking is rare. What are the reasons behind the lovely silence that envelopes everyone while driving? Verkeersregels There are two…
Baarle – One of the strangest municipalities on Earth Posted by Sten on Jul 8, 2019
If you dare to look closely at the map of Belgium, you find something weird: There is a little small bit in the north of the country that is surrounded by Dutch land, with no territory connecting it to Belgium! And it gets even more complicated… How did this exclave (or, enclave for the Netherlands)…
The Dutch Women’s Soccer Team 2019 Posted by Karoly Molina on Jul 2, 2019
The FIFA Women’s World Cup is wrapping up and the Dutch team has shown incredible strength and determination advancing to the semi-finals. Below are some fun facts about the Nederlands vrouwenvoetbalelftal! International Tournaments The Nederlands vrouwenvoetbalelftal played their first international FIFA-related event in 1971. In 2015, they finished 13th place, which makes this year’s world cup…
Curious Words in Dutch 3: Bellen Posted by Sten on Jul 1, 2019
There are many strange words in a language. Words that are just not used much, words that are pronounced in a weird way… Just words that have something curious about them! And those are the ones we look at in this series. Today, we look at bellen. Previous posts in this series: Curious Words In…