Archive for 'Dutch Vocabulary'
Dutch Word of the Month August: Puzzelwoord Posted by Sten on Aug 26, 2019

Like July, August is a quiet month for the news, real komkommertijd. But this month, something exciting happened: Lingo is back! And with it, some of Lingo’s iconic vocabulary. The word of the month is: Puzzelwoord (puzzle word)! Click here for previous Words of the Month What does it mean? Puzzelwoord (puzzle word) quite simply refers to…
August: A Stressful Month For Students In The Netherlands Posted by Sten on Aug 19, 2019

It’s August. A month of sun and relaxation. It is a real komkommertijd. But for starting college studenten (students), it is quite a hectic time. They are often moving away from home, to another stad (city), since the next academic year is starting on September 1. De aankomende studenten gaan op kamers! Op kamers gaan Op…
Why The Dutch Are Obsessed With Koffie Posted by Sten on Aug 5, 2019

The British have their thee (tea), the Germans have their bier (beer) and the French have their wijn (wine). And the Dutch? The Dutch, they have their koffie (coffee). With an average of about 4 cups a day, the Dutch are one of the biggest coffee drinkers in the world. 4 Cups a day? Yes, an average of 4 cups a day. At…
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…
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)…