How The Dutch Elections Work Posted by Sten on Mar 15, 2021
On Wednesday, it’s time for new elections in the Netherlands! With 37 parties and hundreds of electable people, choosing a party and a person in that party can be daunting. So how do the Dutch make that choice? How does the Dutch voting system work? The Dutch have what’s called a parlementaire democratie (parliamentary democracy) with a meerpartijenstelsel…
Dutch Fillers Part 2 – 8 Very Common Dutch Stopwoorden Posted by Sten on Mar 11, 2021
So, yesterday we talked about why we actually use stopwoorden (fillers). And while we explained there why we even use these stopwoorden, I want to give you a few very common Dutch stopwoorden and their meanings! Click here to read Dutch Fillers Part 1. 8 of the most often used fillers in Dutch, of zo Like…
Dutch Fillers Part 1 – Why do We Use Stopwoorden? Posted by Sten on Mar 10, 2021
So, you’ve tried to learn Dutch, right? Well, you know, there are words that make sentences unnecessarily long, right? Like, without them, you could, like, still say the same thing, you know, with fewer words. You can probably tell by now, I am talking about stopwoorden (“fill words”, fillers). We have them in Dutch, too! Here’s why…
How Women Fought For Suffrage in the Netherlands Posted by Sten on Mar 8, 2021
It’s Internationale Vrouwendag (International Women’s Day) today! With the theme #ChooseToChallenge, this year’s Day emphasizes individual thinking and actions. And so I want to look at women’s suffrage in the Netherlands in this post, with at the helm Aletta Jacobs, one of the most famous political figures in the country. However, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine……
Dutch Idioms 18 – Problems with Bears Posted by Sten on Mar 1, 2021
When you think of the Netherlands, your first thought may not be beren (bears). But that doesn’t mean we don’t have idioms involving those fluffy giants! In fact, we already have a post dedicated to their polar counterparts, ijsberen. But aside from curious words, there are also beer-related idioms I want to share! For other idioms in…
3 Ways The Dutch State Is Becoming More Inclusive Posted by Sten on Feb 25, 2021
Let’s talk about inclusivity. Not only regarding genders, and I don’t mean the discussion on what’s de and what’s het, we’ve done that before. No, today I want to talk about how the 2017 regeerakkoord (coalition agreement) noted the intention of the Dutch government to reduce the identification of gender where possible and making the state more inclusive, by…
What Dutch Drinking Games Were Like In The 17th Century Posted by Sten on Feb 22, 2021
The Dutch have quite an intricate relationship with alcohol. From the infamous Dutch courage to the nationwide Dutch celebrations like Koningsdag (King’s Day) or the bevrijdingsfestivals (Liberation Festivals), the Dutch enjoy a glass or two. And what’s better than enjoying drinks doing a drankspelletje (drinking game)? You might think that this is a rather recent mindset – but…