Archive for October, 2021
Curious Dutch Words: Why is a boterham called a boterham? Posted by Sten on Oct 29, 2021
You wake up in the morning, take a shower, and then it’s time for breakfast. As a good Dutch person, you’ll have een kopje koffie (a cup of coffee) and, of course, een boterham (a slice of bread). But here’s the weird thing: de boterham means “the butter ham”. Yeah, really. But why? Previous posts in this series: Curious Words…
What are Witte Wieven? Posted by Sten on Oct 26, 2021
Like many other originally Germanic places, the Netherlands has some folklore that hails from this time. Today, I want to briefly discuss witte wieven, a mythical figure that is still used in the Dutch language today. What are witte wieven, and what does it mean these days? Witte Wieven – Mythical Dutch Ghosts Witte wieven is dialect…
Dutch Idioms 25 – It’s Raining! Posted by Sten on Oct 15, 2021
Herfst (autumn). Leaves fall down the trees, nature shows its most beautiful colors, spiders spin their webs, and… It rains. At least in the Netherlands, it always rains. Consequently, there are Dutch idioms about it. Here’s a spreekwoord (saying) and uitdrukking (expression) related to regen (rain)! Let’s start with the uitdrukking. For other idioms in this series, click here…