Archive for 'Dutch Vocabulary'
Spreekwoorden en Uitdrukkingen (Sayings and Expressions) 11 – Nopjes! Posted by Sten on Oct 7, 2019
It’s October, which means summer is definitief (definitively) over! And that, in turn, means getting your winterkleren (winter clothing) out again. So let’s talk about nopjes! Wait, what? For other sayings and expressions in this series, click here. Kinderen zijn een zegen des Heren maar zij houden de noppen van de kleren Literally: Children are a blessing from the Lord…
Dutch Word of the Month September: Koopkracht Posted by Sten on Sep 30, 2019
September! Out of the boring months, here comes something important for all to hear: news about the begroting (budget) for the next begrotingsjaar (fiscal year). Presented every derde dinsdag in september (third Tuesday in September) on Prinsjesdag (Prince’s Day). And besides money for onderwijs (education), zorg (healthcare) or infrastructuur (infrastructure), there is always something about koopkracht. What is that, and why does it matter? Here we go! Click…
Why Are The Dutch Called Dutch When They Shouldn’t Be? Posted by Sten on Sep 23, 2019
So, you may or may not have been wondering about this, but I certainly have. As a Dutch-German, I’ve always been stumped by the confusing demonyms (“a name used for the people who live in a particular country, state, or other locality”, thanks dictionary.com) used in English to refer to my two native countries. Why…
Why Is The Netherlands Called Holland When It Shouldn’t Be? Posted by Sten on Sep 16, 2019
So, you may or may not have been wondering about this, but I certainly have. The Netherlands and Holland are often used interchangeably all over the world, yet in Dutch, Nederland and Holland are two distinct terms. It’s weird. Let’s figure out why. What’s the difference? Here’s the thing. Nederland is the whole country of the Netherlands. Holland is only one…
Curious Words in Dutch 4: Ape(n)kop Posted by Sten on Sep 9, 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. In last week’s post about Sayings and Expressions on monkeys, our reader Gre…
Spreekwoorden en Uitdrukkingen (Sayings and Expressions) 10 – Monkeys! Posted by Sten on Sep 2, 2019
Yes, really. Apen (monkeys). The Netherlands may one of the least tropical landen (countries) you can think of. Yes, we have the infamous broodjeaapverhalen, but we also have plenty of spreekwoorden (sayings) and uitdrukkingen (expressions) that contain the mensachtige (human-like) primates. Let’s have a look at two today, starting, as always, with the spreekwoord. For other sayings and expressions in this series, click here. Aap…
Mother’s cookie, children’s heads and other silly words in Dutch Posted by Karoly Molina on Aug 28, 2019
Those who speak Dutch have a funny habit of stacking words together, creating very long and sometimes confusing for learners. These be as simple as kortingkaart (discount card), hondenbelasting (dog tax), and verkeersboete (traffic fine). Unfortunately, there are other words that might seem are part of these compounding nouns and make you wonder what the heck could they…