Archive for 'Dutch Vocabulary'
What do the Dutch do for Christmas? Posted by Sten on Dec 24, 2021
It’s Christmas Eve! An exciting time in many places in the world, including in the Netherlands. While Christmas is not celebrated in the same way as it is in some other countries, it’s still a very significant holiday. What to do? The Dutch have plenty of important holidays and traditions, such as Sinterklaas on December…
How Do You Make A Dutch Surprise for Sinterklaas? – Part 2 Posted by Sten on Nov 30, 2021
Sinterklaas is back in the country. Yesterday, it was time to get your arts and crafts skills out to make surprises. Now we need the more intellectual, brainy side of you – we have to write a gedicht (poem). This is part 2 for the ultimate surprise for pakjesavond (“gift evening”) on December 5! Let’s dive in!…
How Do You Make A Dutch Surprise for Sinterklaas? – Part 1 Posted by Sten on Nov 29, 2021
Sinterklaas is back in the country. Get your schaar (scissors), papier (paper) and lijm (glue), because it’s time to make surprises. Together with a great little gedicht (poem), you’re – I mean, Sinterklaas is – sure to make the most impressive gift! How does this process work? And how to create the ultimate surprise for pakjesavond (“gift evening”) on December 5? This is…
A Dutch Essential: Leuk! But what does it mean? Posted by Sten on Nov 22, 2021
When you learn, you’ll come across this word sooner or later: leuk. Like gezellig, we use it for all kinds of things. But how do you translate leuk, and what are all its meanings? Let’s find out. Nice or fun? Leuk in its most straightforward form means nice or fun. And you can sometimes translate it like that as well…
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…