Woord van het Jaar 2019! Posted by Sten on Jan 14, 2020
The last year of the previous decade has just elapsed two weeks ago, and that means that we have new woorden van het jaar (words of the year). Let’s see what words 2019 brought! Het klimaat Nothing gained as much traction in 2019 as het klimaat (the climate). From the Fridays for Future demonstrations all around the world to major climate…
Dutch Music: Songs about Life Posted by Karoly Molina on Jan 9, 2020
While watching a movie about the life of the famous Dutch singer André Hazes, I came across a term that I had not heard of before: het levenslied. Meaning Literally translated, levenslied means a song about life. The tradition of levensliederen began in the early 1900, and stems from the French chanson. Below is a definition of levenslied from…
This Is THE Dutch Tradition If You Like Cold! Posted by Sten on Jan 6, 2020
Gelukkig nieuwjaar, everybody! The jaarwisseling (turn of the year) marks an opportunity for many people to finally go get some of those goede voornemens (good resolutions) done! But for many Dutch people, it also means taking a moedige (courageous) step into cold water… Literally. Here’s all about a crazy cold Dutch tradition: the nieuwjaarsduik (New Year’s dip). What is this nieuwjaarsduik? Every year…
The Music Top 2000 – A New Dutch Tradition Posted by Sten on Dec 30, 2019
Every year again in December, it is time for the Top 2000. If you’re Dutch, that should ring a bell! For days on end, the best nummers (tracks) are played on NPO Radio 2. And millions of people tune in to this lijst der lijsten (list of the lists) every year. How does the list work? The first week…
Dutch Comfort Is Less Cosy Than It Sounds Posted by Sten on Dec 16, 2019
In our series on “Dutch”-terms, like Dutching, Dutch courage or Dutch uncles, we’ve found that many of these terms have an historic, often pejorative origin. So is the case with Dutch comfort, a term that follows the line of diminishing terms. What does it mean, and how would you use it? Let’s find out. Trying…
My Top 3 Dutch Songs Posted by Karoly Molina on Dec 11, 2019
My husband is an avid playlist-maker. Last week, we were at the Christmas market in Maastricht drinking glühwein and chocomelk, and he was listening to liedjes or songs and putting them on the appropriate playlist on his Spotify. One of these playlists is his Nederlandse Liedjes. We discussed what songs he had in this list and my…
This Is How Dutch Letters Sound Posted by Sten on Dec 9, 2019
The alfabet (alphabet) of a language is essential when you’re learning it. When you try to make yourself understood, but you mispronounce a word, it is helpful to be able to spell the word out – and knowing what the alphabet looks and sounds like is quite helpful! So here is a list of all…