Those of us that are constant participants in exercise classes in the Netherlands and Belgium finish each class with not only a more fit body (or at least a lot of sweat), but also new Dutch words! Sometimes we understand what the instructor meant, but other times, we walk out hoping the word will stay in our minds long enough for us to google it.
So what are the body parts the instructors are talking about? I know sometimes in yoga, I am supposed to tense or relax something that I don’t even know I have. If you are like me and need a little bit of help, here is a list of some useful words in Dutch.
Photo taken by Thomas Fisher found on Flickr.com
Spieren
Spieren means muscles. Within this group you have buikspieren or abs, bilspieren or glutes, rugspieren or back muscles and beenspieren or leg muscles such as hamstrings and calves.. For specific muscles within these groups, the anatomical name is usually used (although sometimes the pronunciation varies).
Bot en gewrichten
When working out, it is important that you do not strain your muscles, but also that you don’t put too much pressure on your botten (bones) and gewrichten (joints). Most types of exercise will help you build bone strength, you want to avoid botbreuk or bone fractures. Joint injuries are also not a good idea so make sure you watch out for pain in the knieën,polsen, and enkels.
Spannen en ontspannen
When you need to flex your muscle, your instructor will most likely say span de bilspieren or something similar. In yoga, we do a lot of ontspannen which means to relax or to not flex the muscle.
Kracht en gewicht
A lot of the body pump or body building classes focus on kracht or strength. This can be done with particular exercises such as squats and pull ups (Let op: the English word is used in Dutch) or by gewicht heffen or lifting weights.
The following video talks about what muscles do and the speaker goes over not only the names but also the functions of these in Dutch!
Do you have any other terms related to muscles and exercise that you are useful? Please share them!
Since I was a little girl, I was fascinated with languages and writing. I speak English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and a little bit of French. I am a writer, reader, language teacher, traveler, and a food lover!
I now live in The Netherlands with my husband Riccardo, our cat Mona, and our dog Lisa, and the experience has been phenomenal. The Dutch culture is an exciting sometimes topsy-turvy world that I am happily exploring!
Comments:
Leviena:
I am confused by the word botten which this article says means bone. I have always known a bone to be a been. Is botten a new word in the Dutch language?
Karoly G Molina:
@Leviena Hi Leviena, been can be used for both leg and bone, while bot (or botten in plural) refers to just the bone. As a fun fact, in Belgium you can use the word botten for boots (which in the Netherlands would be laarzen).
Comments:
Leviena:
I am confused by the word botten which this article says means bone. I have always known a bone to be a been. Is botten a new word in the Dutch language?
Karoly G Molina:
@Leviena Hi Leviena, been can be used for both leg and bone, while bot (or botten in plural) refers to just the bone. As a fun fact, in Belgium you can use the word botten for boots (which in the Netherlands would be laarzen).