{"id":5863,"date":"2018-11-20T07:45:34","date_gmt":"2018-11-20T07:45:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=5863"},"modified":"2020-02-06T23:31:00","modified_gmt":"2020-02-06T23:31:00","slug":"untranslatable-words-kletskoek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/untranslatable-words-kletskoek\/","title":{"rendered":"Untranslatable Words: Kletskoek"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wat zeg je nou? Kletskoek! Ik heb daar niets mee te maken!<\/em>\u00a0You may have heard this before. Somebody is upset, and their choice of words is…\u00a0kletskoek? A chatting cookie? What does that mean, how did we get here? Here is an attempt to explain it.<\/p>\n

Click here for more untranslatable words<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Gossip Biscuit!<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Nonsense! (Image compiled by author from images from Unsplash.com)<\/p><\/div>\n

Nowadays, the word\u00a0koek\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0koekje\u00a0<\/em>practically always refers to a biscuit or a cookie – you may see similarity between cookie and\u00a0koekje<\/em>, too! So how did\u00a0koek\u00a0<\/em>end up in a\u00a0samenstelling\u00a0<\/em>with\u00a0klets\u00a0<\/em>to form the word\u00a0kletskoek<\/em>?<\/p>\n

I did not find an easy explanation, so I will have to make assumptions here.\u00a0Klets\u00a0<\/em>is rather simple –\u00a0kletsen\u00a0<\/em>means “to chat”. However, the Dutch sometimes being quite the\u00a0roddelaars\u00a0<\/em>(gossipers),\u00a0kletsen\u00a0<\/em>can also mean “to gossip”. But\u00a0koek<\/em>? That is more difficult to explain.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it becomes easier when connecting\u00a0kletskoek\u00a0<\/em>to a synonym:\u00a0lariekoek<\/em>.\u00a0Larie\u00a0<\/em>does not really have a meaning by itself in Dutch (anymore), but it appears to be related to a form of\u00a0leeg <\/em>(empty). In both these examples,\u00a0koek\u00a0<\/em>appears to make\u00a0larie\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0klets\u00a0<\/em>stronger.\u00a0Kletspraat\u00a0<\/em>is another synonym, which literally means “gossip talk”. However, it is not used in the same way.\u00a0Kletskoek\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0lariekoek\u00a0<\/em>are more vulgar than\u00a0kletspraat<\/em>, and more aggressive. That is why you will hear these more often in a situation when a person is upset. A bit like “nonsense! I had nothing to do with it!” Of course, the Dutch also have words like\u00a0onzin!<\/em>, the translation of “nonsense”, but now you know that you can get creative!<\/p>\n

So what does\u00a0koek\u00a0<\/em>mean? Cookie, of course. But apart from that, it can also just refer to a thing, basically.\u00a0Dat is andere koek\u00a0<\/em>means “that is something else again”, for example. Or\u00a0dat is oude koek<\/em>, literally “that is old cookie” means that something is old news already. Throughout history,\u00a0koek\u00a0<\/em>had a lot of different meanings<\/a>, and it is a bit unclear where the gossip comes in.<\/p>\n

So bringing this all back together.\u00a0Koek\u00a0<\/em>just means thing, then. So\u00a0gossip thing<\/em> seems the most apt literal translation from what I could find. Now, this could be close to the truth, or complete\u00a0kletskoek!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

What do you think, do you have a different theory? Let me know in the comments below, and let’s discuss!\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Wat zeg je nou? Kletskoek! Ik heb daar niets mee te maken!\u00a0You may have heard this before. Somebody is upset, and their choice of words is…\u00a0kletskoek? A chatting cookie? What does that mean, how did we get here? Here is an attempt to explain it. Click here for more untranslatable words Gossip Biscuit! Nowadays, the…<\/p>\n

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