Archive for 'Dutch Language'
Wil or wilt? Posted by Sten on Dec 17, 2018
A rather small conundrum, but an important one if you want to understand Dutch properly: is it jij wil or jij wilt? Small difference, but is it significant? Let’s find out. The difference of one letter Willen (to want) is an important verb, often a hulpwerkwoord (auxiliary verb). The official conjugation is as follows: ik wil (I want) jij/u wilt (you (informal)/you (formal) want) hij/zij/het…
Untranslatable Words: Kletskoek Posted by Sten on Nov 20, 2018
Wat zeg je nou? Kletskoek! Ik heb daar niets mee te maken! You may have heard this before. Somebody is upset, and their choice of words is… kletskoek? A chatting cookie? What does that mean, how did we get here? Here is an attempt to explain it. Click here for more untranslatable words Gossip Biscuit! Nowadays, the…
Changing The Time We Live In Posted by Sten on Oct 29, 2018
A debate is going on in Europe right now that shows the importance of language very nicely. The European Union (EU) is going to abandon Daylight Savings Time. The question now is – what time will become the standard? The zomertijd (summertime) or the wintertijd (wintertime)? Welke tijd? In the segment above, Arjen Lubach in his show Zondag met Lubach…
When Do You Go To School in the Netherlands? Posted by Sten on Sep 4, 2018
It is the beginning of september: The summer is nearing its end, temperatures fall, days get shorter… And it is time to go back to school! But for everyone? No. Or, not yet… How does it work in the Netherlands, when do kids start going to school? Let’s find out. We have written about the…
How to navigate a Dutch supermarket Posted by Sten on Aug 31, 2018
Even though you are in a country with a different language, you still need to eat. And preferably have good food. One of the most frustrating experiences can be to walk around in a supermarkt (grocery store; supermarket). Different produkten (products) than you are used to, different merken (brands), ketens (brands) and – of course – a different taal (language). Also in the…
Twitter Accounts to Improve Your Dutch Posted by Karoly Molina on Aug 29, 2018
According to Statista.com, in 2017, people spent an average of 135 minutes per day on social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. With over 2 billion social media users worldwide, websites like these are not only connecting us to our friends and family but are shaping the way we get news, ads and more…
How Do The Dutch Wish an Enjoyable Meal? Posted by Sten on Jul 24, 2018
In English, one might simply wish “enjoy your meal”, in German, we say guten Appetit, and the French made the famous bon appetit. But what do the Dutch say? Do they have their own version of appetit? Let’s find out Eet smakelijk? A very common phrase in Dutch is eet smakelijk (eat tastefully) to wish somebody an enjoyable meal…