Archive for June, 2021
Euro 2020: Oranje is Out :-( Posted by Sten on Jun 28, 2021
Nederland is eruit! After a teleurstellende avond (disappointing evening) from the Nederlands elftal (Dutch national team), the Czechs continue and the Dutch are out of the Euro football championship. Here’s a little summary of the game in Dutch with an English translation, and some reactions from the Netherlands of the game. All posts in this series Euro 2020: Oranje…
Dutch Idioms 22 – Clocks Posted by Sten on Jun 25, 2021
Welcome to another post on Dutch Idioms. Today, we have a spreekwoord (saying) and an uitdrukking (expression) on time – specifically related to our timepieces! While one is comforting, the other is rather stressful. These two idioms show you how differently time can be perceived, even if measured by the same device! For other idioms in this series, click…
Euro 2020: How Brussels lost their spot to host the games Posted by Sten on Jun 22, 2021
With Euro 2020 being hosted all over Europe, many countries tried to find ways to get some games hosted in their country – including Belgium. The Eurostadion (Eurostadium) was supposed to be Belgium’s point of pride in the European Cup. But yeah, it was supposed to be… What happened, and how did it go from…
Why the Dutch sit on and behind computers Posted by Sten on Jun 18, 2021
Yep. You read that right. The Dutch sit on their computers. And behind them. But in front of them? Sometimes. What’s going on? Little hint: It’s prepositions. Weak hint, sorry… But let’s dive in! Sitting behind or in front of the computer? Here’s the linguistic mystery. Some Dutch say: Ik zit op de computer (I sit…
Euro 2020: Oranje is Back! Posted by Sten on Jun 14, 2021
Oranje is back! After missing out on the EK 2016 and the WK 2018, the Dutch national football team qualified again for a big championship. Yesterday they played their first game of the tournament. What happened? To celebrate this, and to celebrate the 60th birthday of the European Football championship, we’ll do a series of…
Curious Words in Dutch 10: Veelpleger Posted by Sten on Jun 7, 2021
Sometimes we do bad stuff. And sometimes we do stuff that lands us in de gevangenis (jail). Well, maybe not. But some people are so good at it, that they become a veelpleger (frequent offender). Or zeer actieve veelpleger (very active frequent offender). Or draaideurcrimineel (“revolving door criminal”)! What do these curious words mean, exactly? Previous posts in this series: Curious…
What on Earth is DUO? Posted by Sten on Jun 4, 2021
If you moved to the Netherlands, there’s a good chance you had to deal with a Dutch institution called DUO. Short for Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs (“Service Execution Education”), this agency is responsible to execute the education policy of the Dutch government. But why do you have to deal with them, and what do they want from…