I think ‘the Universe’ will fit. So in my opinion it’s not that unique Dutch word which doesn’t have a counter word in the English language. But I agree, I like the word a lot.
This is so weird. These days English words and sayings are being used by native Dutch more and more, because they think English is more efficient. But to hear from a native English speaker that Dutch words can be more efficient than English is.... Making me proud to be Dutch 🤔
English is actually more efficient. There are more lexical gaps (taalleemtes) in Dutch than in English. In fact, English is probably the richest language in the world, due to having incorporated a huge amount of Romance (Latin derived) words during the Norman occupation of England, and by having been allowed to bastardize more than other large European languages. In France and Germany, there has historically been more top-down control of (d)evolution of their languages, which kept them more ´pure´ in terms of grammar and spelling, but also prevented new words and expressions of taking hold. You can see this in the fact that English lost the quality of compounding words that Dutch and German still have (which does make it poorer), almost no verb conjugations, the loss of gendered nouns and the cases (Dutch lost those too), the fact there´s just one definite article, and the very high amount of irregular verbs. It also left them a massive lexicon.
@@robertdegroot8302 Dutch has a lot of words that aren't used often anymore these days but that doesn't mean they don't exist. For example, how often do you hear the word jegens these days? Almost no one uses it anymore. It's from a different era. I sometimes find the English colloquial vocabulary (especially the American version) a bit too rich. You might even say over the top. The fact that Dutch colloquial language use seems simpler attests mostly to a cultural difference and if we would translate (American) English to Dutch as accurately as possible it sounds very wollig (wooly as in aged or from a different time). Wollig taalgebruik is something Dutch speakers tend to be allergic to as they/we don't cling to old words that much. Dutch is a very progressive language. Spelling especially is very good evidence of that since it's highly modernized whereas English spelling is basically stuck in the 1500s. Apparently the Dutch can convey all they want to say with using fewer words. That is basically efficiency by definition. The language matches the tijdgeest and fulfills its purpose to the best possible way.
@@moladiver6817 And don't forget we have the largest dictionary in the world. The complete "Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal" (something like that, I am not totally sure of the exact formulation) is the one with the largest vocabulary. Especially our amount of sayings, idioms, proverbs is very extensive
"gezin" is father, mother and kids. "familie" contains the entire family, regardless whether you are within a specific 'gezin' or not, regardless of age, whether you are alive or dead etc. I think that would make the best translation for those words. "antikraak" pretty much is allowing people to stay in a building for a short period of time until it is repurposed or taken down. This can mean any building that would be able to hold people and a decent living space. So not just apartments and houses, but also a office building, church, factory or pretty much anything you can come up with. Lengths of how long these places are available to you can differ per building obviously. It could be for a few weeks up to years. It's way cheaper but you won't be able to hold much in that building as you need to clear out rather quickly after you receive that notification. This antikraak thing is to stop people from breaking in to empty buildings and making sure someone is around to protect the building, this is also why the rent will be a lot lower as you are pretty much offered lower rent in exchange of protecting the building. You are in essence the guard of the building in a way of speaking. "ik ben aan het genieten" is one of those things based up on common sense. If for example someone is sitting in the park on a bench with the sun in their face, you can clearly understand why they would be saying that. Same for when you are on the beach for example. It really isn't so difficult in that context. However there is another context you didn't think about, typical Dutch humor. If someone is about to do something stupid and you warned them it would go wrong as you said, you can use that line in a sarcastic way as if you were to say "I told you so". "gezellig" can also be used in a sarcastic way, if someone spoils a party for example you can say 'gezellig' with a straight face. Like you would say "well, you fucked that up quite well didn't you?". Or in another sarcastic way would for example translate to "well, this party is dead" or when there is a awkward tension you could also use it, both in a sarcastic way and to break the tension. There are a lot of words or sentences you can use in a sarcastic way, which makes Dutch humor so brilliant. Specially if you added in the right timing and managed to add or change the context. Even better if you can keep a straight face not showing any emotions when saying it.
A few years ago there was an election for best Dutch word. In the Netherlands, the winner was "Liefde". In the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, however, we had another winner: "Goesting", which I feel says a lot about our culture and that of "onze noorderburen".
Omg you're growing so fast casey. I'm so proud of you. Also learning a lot of thing from new languages 💜💜 P.s:- I HOPE YOU WILL REMEMBER ME WHEN YOU WILL REACH MILLIONS 😁😘
Dutch can also have a peculiar word order, to indicate "to the pointness" of the phrases. Often used when telling a story. Example: Kom ik van me werk, zie ik dat ik geen sleutel heb. Nou daar was ik mooi klaar mee. Dus ik weer terug. Kon ik ze daar ook niet vinden. etc. etc. This is certainly not the normal SVO, but still correct in some situations in Dutch.
This is the word order for a sentence starting with "dan" (or, equivalently, "toen", "vervolgens", etc). In storytelling mode we simply leave out these words but they are implied. You can probablyfigure out which word goes where in your example above.
I think sociologically speaking 'gezin' means nuclear family. I had some sociology classes and they used the English term and I was thinking, ja gezin.
Anti-kraak is geen kraak. Kraak is kraak (squatters taking your building to live in). Anti-kraak is renting out that same building to people: to PREVENT a kraak. Which is often cheaper then 'real renting', but its not kraken.
Kraken used to be big, starting in the 60s, or perhaps just after the war: we lacked the housing to house all people in the Netherlands, 'woningnood'. Some people pointed out that some buildings where empty, for instance a large abandoned factory that was empty for decades: some people would sneak in, break the door ('kraak'), and replace the door with their own door/lock. The police would not know what to do: was it stealing? Yes, perhaps it was, but since there was woningnood, and the krakers mostly did good for the neighborhood and property, they where not beaten out by the police: they got a legal status if they followed some basic rules, like the building must be empty for an amount of time, they would have to inform the police when they had done a kraak, etc. A lot of hippies and free thinkers where krakers: it was a politcal movement 'de krakersbeweging', that tried to live 'outside the system'. With a lot of drug use and vandalism and graffiti. And the owners of the buildings also started to complain: some people where just renovating their house, or working abroad half a year, to find their house 'stolen' by krakers: and unable to remove them (legally, some just beat them out, but then the krakers could call the police, and the police would be on their side). People have the right to a house. If those houses not exist: they can occupy empty buildings. That was the main idea. Over time: counties produced lots of houses, the woningnood got a bit less problematic. It became harder and harder to legally kraak a house. One of the things they do now is 'anti-kraak': renting the place to people for below market prices; on the condition that they move out the moment the place is sold (normally you cannot evict a person that wants to remain in his house without a LOT of hassle). Since one of the conditions of a legal kraak is that the house should be empty: they dont get 'kraakt'. Note that if a kraker legally kraakt your house: you CANNOT evict him. AND he does not have to pay rent. AND he can destroy your house while you can do nothing about it. So its very much hated / loved, depending on who you ask. Nowadays: the krakersbeweging is, well, more dead then alive. Most people that kraak nowadays are non-Dutch, like for example polish illegals. They dont even bother to do a legal kraak, they just occupy, make a mess, drug use everywhere. The hippies tried to make music and a nice atmosphere: these people wont anymore. This created a hate towards krakers. They are now just seen as 'thieves who steal the house of hardworking people', mostly. There is still some 'real krakerbeweging' that is all ideological, but its become very rare. nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraakbeweging since 2010 its become MUCH harder to legally kraak. When 'krakersbolwerken' got evicted, sometimes the krakers resisted, which created the (in)famouse 'krakersrellen'. nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krakersrellen
@@sehabel it is a German word. 100%. We just use it as is in Dutch. But it is not Dutch. You do even see it as zowiezo. That is Dutchified. Same with ueberhaupt.
@@loeshalberstadt9998 Dat klopt. Je kunt bijvoorbeeld een kamer gezellig inrichten. Dat zegt dan niets over (de gevoelens van) de personen die zich in die kamer bevinden.
Hello. There is one word that i miss and i never heard in a list is the dutch word "stoer". You can translate it like tough but it is more than that. And if you are working today, werk ze😉
Same with 'flink.' And with 'potig,' In English it just seems like you are calling them fat if you want to try and translate these words. 'Sturdy' might come closest for all three, whcih is weird because they all mean slightly different things.
fine example of dutch often being way more nuanced and variable then english yes ... bold would be the closest in English ... dapper... which coincidentally is also a dutch word...well not coicidentally , as coincidental as two sisters being family
I like the words overmorgen and eergisteren. I don't think the English language really has any words other than 'the day after tomorrow' and 'the day before yesterday'.
Anti kraak... hiring out space to people on a special contract, so a quatters won't steal that room, because people live in it.. they are NOT squatters they are anti squatters,,
@@caseykilmore Honestly I'm just curious what kind of accent you have. I saw a video once where someone tried to pronounce "aarbeien" and they sounded like they were form Limburg.
@@caseykilmore Would be fun to hear some longer texts. Maybe you could look at some dutch song lyrics and translate them on the spot and discuss them. 15 miljoen mensen by Fluitsma & Van Tijn seems a good starting point. Then you can go into all kind of topics Doe Maar - Nederwiet Drs P - Knolraap en Lof Schorseneren en Prei Herman van Veen Opzij Opzij Opzij Klein Orkest Over de Muur De Dijk Iedereen is van de wereld Raggende Mannen - Poep in je hoofd or Lullen bij de bus of Fiets which are both shorter and less controversial. Katinka Polderman Erge dingen vind ik ook heel erg Actually there is a ton of interesting songs in dutch cabaret. Brigitte Kaandorp - Protestlied is hilarious too....
Hangt van de context af. Als in een aanbesteding vertaal je het naar “to grant” (“The city granted the contract to the Spanish manufacturer yesterday”) Als in een positieve toewensing is er inderdaad geen goed engels woord voor; je zal de zin moeten verbouwen: “Ik gun het je van harte!” => “You really deserve that!” => “I really wish that will work out for you!”
Used to hear my dad say this and in context I always took it to mean " old ladies of dubious social standing gossiping complete nonsense." Bit of slang, but gets the sentiment across.
‘Gezin’ while technically meaning your immediate family actually refers to the family you live with. Which in Belgium or the Netherlands traditionally would be your parents and siblings as a child. And then later as an adult would refer to your partner and children. For instance as an adult I would never refer to my parents anymore as my ‘gezin’ even though they are my immediate family.
One of the words I find hard to translate properly is ‘lief’. You could say like ‘you’re sweet’ but you can also use it like ‘you’re very, very nice’ as in ‘ ik heb je lief’ as in "I love you", but just not yet daring to say that. We actually had a campaign "doe ‘s lief" = "be nice to each other" One other typical one is ‘ooo, op die fiets!’ Which is like ‘now I understand’
Ohhhhhhhhh good one!!! I love reading the comments and finding good additions to these list. I also like op is op which again is just a shorter better way to say it then the many ways and words you'd have to use in english to say the same thing.
I'm curious to the other way around: expressions or words that you find easy in English, but that don't have a good Dutch translation. You might of course already have done that video, I haven't watched all your video's yet.
What I would like to know then is if their use of the word is correct too, or do they just replace cozy with gezellig? I’ve talked to American friends of mine about gezellig and they started to sometimes replace cozy. But cozy isn’t the same as gezellig. Sure, it can be the same. But gezellig is so much more than just cozy
Yeah, I always feel weird when English speakers say "I'm Sorry" in that situation. To me, it implies that it's their fault or something, while saying "sterkte" pretty much means "I wish you strength in this situation", which to me feels more appropriate to say.
“Sterkte” is also used at funerals and I really think it’s a lazy way of solving the problem of what to say in that case.it sounds a bit like an insult to me. It’s like saying “ too bad and I hope things will work out with a bit of effort. But then I’m knowen to “vergis mij af en toe in mijn opienies”.I was born in de oudste stad van België and was brought up in de Vlaamse taal ( Flemish, ABN or Algemeen Beschaaft Nederlands or Hollands or Dutch) and lived in Canada ( English) for the last 53 yrs and noticed that all languages evolve and change over time. The only ones that not change are the old or dead ones like old Latin and Greek especially Grammarly , but they are the foundations of modern English, French, Dutch ,German enz...And that makes different, as humans , of de hele dierenwereld but not necessarily slimmer / smarter ....jusayin !...
Correction:seeing it’s impossible to edit my already sent message , I meant to say at the end that we ,as humans are on the cusp or spear point of the evolution of life on earth and we as part of the animal world ,differentiat ourself from other animals by languages but it’s not necessarily an advantage seeing how the present politians talk and behave.... jusayin !...
I myself am half Dutch / half English , and am born and raised in the small coastal town called Egmond aan Zee , which we locals call Derp. The language we speak (spoke) is called "Derps" and it a sub-dialect of the "West-Frisian" dialect. Our town is more than a 1000 years old and for a long time the "Derper" dialect was what we spoke and most Dutch people couldn't understand us. Such a small country with so many distinct dialects. Nowadays , the Derper dialect is at it's last breath and soon it will be lost. There is very little written "Derps" and even the little snippets that do exist cannot phonetically express it. It is a dialect you must HEAR , there are no letters to describe the sound. I wish I knew how to record say me speaking in that dialect , preferably telling the Derper version of "Roodkapje en de 7 dwergen." and add it to this video.
To me the extention "-je" "-pje" or "-tje" is very dutch in that I always find it hard to translate it directly. Like the sentence: Een sigaretje roken. Would translate to smoking a cigarette, but in that you lose the -je part in sigaretje. And you wouldnt say smoking a little cigarette because that just makes no sence. I find examples like that all over the place in Dutch and its kind of driving me nuts.
You could translate "een sigaretje roken" as "having a quick smoke." But yeah, it's often quite hard to properly translate Dutch diminutives into English.
A colleague had an irish partner and the most difficult part of Dutch for him was "de" versus " het". But he found a solution: if you make it small, with "-je" behind, it is ALWAYS "het" leading to such obvious ploys as "doe jij vanavond het afwasje?"
Wow , finally a good way how i could translate gezellig to a non dutch person. so far the best option to explain it I'll stick to "the vibe of niceness"
Yes, but only as long as you life in the same house! Your parents aren’t part of you gezin anymore when you move out! Yet they always remain part of your immediate family.
"Ik ben aan het genieten" is so great about our language because we don't have to explain the specific thing which we enjoy because it's not about the thing. It really puts the focus on the enjoyment instead of the cause of your enjoyment as the English language does
@@caspardejonge5902 well it does by explaining you're enjoying "yourself". In English you usually cant say "I'm enjoying." When translating that would definitely be the closest translation in English but still not totally direct translation because it doesn't exist in English.
'Gekkenhuis!' 'Het is hier een gekkenhuis', zeg je als het erg druk is. Maar als iemand tegen je zegt dat hij net iets triviaals heeft gedaan of gekocht, kun je zeggen: 'Zo, gekkenhuis!' Letterlijk vertaal je het met 'nuthouse!'
"Hoe dan?" can be used in many ways like: "What you're saying is crazy, explain yourself" or even rhetorical as in "This is crazy" period. Or even asking for confirmation "Casey said to me she was going to open a refregirator shop on Antarctica, hoe dan?" like, isn't that insane?
2:01 for those who do still are confused about "gezin". It basically means the family currently living in your house. A classical "gezin" would consist of a husband, wife and their children (assuming they all live in your house). Once someone left the house and normally no longer sleeps in the house, they are no longer part of the "gezin". An aunt who doesn't life in your same house, is also not part of the "gezin", but she is part of the "familie". That being said, a pet dog or cat who you are close with and normally also sleeps in your house, in the Netherlands that is, is often also included in the "gezin". However, say a horse, can never be part of the "gezin".
Thanks for these videos Casey! I'm an English expat living in Amsterdam and I love surprising groups of Dutch friends when I throw one of these in casually ;)
I never thought about "ik ben aan het genieten" that way! How nice to see the language through your eyes. One that might be nice for your next list might be "gelukkig". In English you might say "happy", but "gelukkig" has so much more weight. I would never ask someone if they were "gelukkig" unless I wanted to have a really deep conversation. "Happy" always seems so much more flitty, easy to just brush off with something superficial. "Yeah, sure I'm happy, the weather is nice, my shoes fit, I'm grand". :) If you ask me if I'm gelukkig you'd better be a close friend and have a big pot of tea or a stiff drink ready. :)
3:41 Doe normaal is just saying. act normal. or in other words. just be Yourself. We saying this because ask yourself this question, how many people know themselfs? A lot of people want to look or act like someone else. So we say. act normal My quote in life is alwawys: do not forget who you are.
Anti Kraak is like House Sitting for a homeowner to prevent squatting by some gang. We do it with our own house when we decide to live in the Philippines for some months.
Overall Dutch had some very efficient words. Maybe that's because of our directness you talked about in a previous video. We don't like to spend time on small talk (well yes, ofcourse we do talk small, but not whe doing business). In several dialects it's even worse; people leave out words and even complete sentences to describe an action or a feeling. It has it's roots in our polders (a good Dutch word polder, which led to the verb polderen): despite our differences in religion, tradition or politic, we need each other to keep our feet dry. There is a world of Dutch sayings that are intranslatable.
@3:20 anti kraak is a big fat lie, its illegal to squat but because the state for decades has been neglecting actual nationbuilding and instead keeps pulling in immigrants this system came out of it; which boils down to; you pay full rent for a derelict sub standard house because theres little other choice; its an absolute affront tol human diginity and livability
That's a very good way to put it, I was thinking the same thing. You can put "ze" after almost every noun though. I.e. "bike it", "walk it", "eat it". It is always meant positively though ("eat it" does not sound positive in english 😅). Some nouns are more common in issue
i like your video's about my country and language very much, i send them to my friend in Florida so she can learn about the dutch and their country. thank you for your great video's.
Hoi Casey, Geen idee waarom iedereen hier in het Engels reacties geeft maar enfin. Volgens mij kan je het woord "doorgewinterd(e)" ook niet echt in het Engels vertalen. Google translate komt met seasoned maar dat betekend heel wat anders. En nu het toch bijna kerst is ...... hier is een plaat van een bekend Nederlands kerstliedje maar dan in het Dinglish (Engels letterlijk vertaald naar het Nederlands) of Steenkolen Engels. Ik heb geen flauw idee of je er dan nog wat van kan maken. No idea why everyone here comments in English, but anyway. I don't think you can really translate the word "doorgewinterd(e)" into English. Google translate comes with seasoned, but that means a lot different. And now that it is almost Christmas ...... here is a record of a well-known Dutch Christmas song but in Dinglish (English literally translated into Dutch) or Steenkolen English. I have no idea if you can make something out of it. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VB98pOxjj0g.html
4:24 That's amazing for me to learn as an American learning Dutch - we have the slang verb "to vibe" over here which operates similarly grammatically. If you say "I'm vibing" it basically means you're enjoying yourself, but if you want to say that something - like a song - is making you vibe, you say "I'm vibing with..." the song, the person, the vibe (if you want to be meta), etc. I've always wanted a more perfect way to translate this because it has a youthful, energetic sense to it which "ik ben goed" simply doesn't encapsulate. I'm vibing when I'm having a truly good night, listening to some great music and without a care in the world. This seems like the closest translation I can use - so that's incredibly useful! "Antikraak" was also fascinating - I've never left North America, so I am not privy to many of the policies which many of us worship as a body without understanding the specifics of. There are an estimated 6,500 homeless people in my city (of about 684,000) which, though the lowest it's been in years, is surely going to go up because of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. I wonder how our mayor and city council would feel about using antikraak-type methods to temporarily house them while we work on building more affordable housing, since we're wedged between other cities and have literally no room to expand. Wonderful video!
The word "lekker" can also be used negatively ... for example in the sentence "nou , lekker ! ... or ... daar ben ik lekker mee ! .. This is said when one is not happy with something But also, for example, the sentence .. 'dat schiet weer lekker op !' can be meant both positive and negative ( To make it even easier LOL)
gezin ... more like family members from one single household. can include father mother children ... but also pets can be part of "het gezin". full expression of "doe maar normaal." is "doe maar normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg." the literal translation is . "act normal, that's crazy enough." But there is a underlying fact that normal is a fluctuating thing. normal to me might not be normal to you . so it's more like " act normal."with an underlying connotation of just be you ... don't put up an act." SO now you know if a dutch person goes HOW? what, why? ... hoe dan gezellig is best explained by breaking up the word. 'gezel' means companion the 'ig' or in this case 'lig' modifier turns the word gezel into a situation. so being together with companions. the feeling you get while you are with them. that is 'gezellig' and it can happen under the most extreme of circomstases. as long as being together makes it a better experience.
@@ronaldderooij1774 for you it might not be ... but oppinions can differ ... for some pets are almost like children. and as such they most surtainly CAN be part of het gezin. same as any other relatives that live in the same household. even if they are not related by blood.
@@dawnmaster68 If relatives live in one house (brothers for example) you call it "een huishouden" not "een gezin" Gezin is only vader, moeder en kind(eren). En dieren, no sorry, Animals do not count. But whatever, as you say, language is free to use. Maybe animals will have legal rights in the family soon (like inheriting things by default, just like children).
@@ronaldderooij1774 you ever heard of the dogs that inherited from their former owner ... she had no next of kin and put her savings in a trustfund so her pets could live out their lives in comfort. furthermore modern lifestyles, including the law, leave room for "gezinssamenstelling" that is less traditional ... so for example a mother in law living in the house or a threeway connection where either the man or the woman has a lover that lives in the household is also an option. referencing to for example "Anton Heiboer" and his 9 wives
@@dawnmaster68 What Anton Heiboer did, was illegal in so far as he claimed they were married. No action was taken (and rightly so) but still illegal. It would be legal to see Anton Heiboer's "huishouden" as a unformalised group (commune). And I know that many different ways of living together exist (and that's good) but sorry, still not a "gezin" but a "huishouden". And the dog did not inherit anything, the trustfund did.
I like the word "smoesjes" and I have yet to find an apt translation for it that captures its full meaning. Calling it "excuses" isn't really correct imo.
Hm, maybe "commiserations" but it certainly doesn't mean the same. Sterkte is most commonly translated as "get well soon" but you can also use it when expressing compassion and encouragment wrt other misfortune.
@@eendjesman9723 Every time the hamsterweken at Albert Heijn begin I can't resist singing this song: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-p3G5IXn0K7A.html Warning once you make this connection you'll hate the word "hamsteren" even more! :-P
I love how, when you tell a Dutch person you like (for example) their shirt or shoes we reply with "thanks! It was only 5 euros!" Or "thanks! Got it with XX % discount!" We really love our bargains hahaha But when it wasn't 'cheap' or on sale we just say "thanks, I got it at XX". Just a little something I noticed when growing up (': Also: - Ben je in de kerk geboren ofzo? - We stoken niet voor de mussen! - "ja ja", "he he", "poeh poeh", "zo zo"
Compliments on exxplaining the word 'gezellig' (I'm dutch) 😉 Totally covers the it. The saying 'hoe dan?' however can be translated much easier with 'but... how?'
@@windmill1965 Jazeker, het Japanse woord wist ik zelf niet, maar het ging natuurlijk om het principe dat voor sommige "dingen" in het Nederlands niet echt handige woorden zijn
@@romy7522 Ik snap precies wat je bedoelt. Soms heeft een andere taal een handig woord of uitdrukking waarvan je zou willen dat het Nederlands iets soortgelijks heeft. Maar, zoals de video toont, is het omgekeerde ook het geval.
Als leraar Nederlands en NT-2 docent (Nederlands als tweede taal) wil ik even vermeld hebben dat taalverwerving (spreken en luisteren en het herkennen en toepassen van de daarbijhorende nuances van de moedertaal) gebeurt door de opvoeders en niet door je docent Nederlands op de middelbare school. Die docent biedt verdieping in taal aan, geen taalverwerving.
About "Doe eens normaal": it's more like "act normal" then "be normal". The sentence is used when someone behaves unbecoming of the circumstance. Can be used in an ironic or - more common - in a derogative(?) way.
Yeah. It's a way to say "stop exaggerating, act like normal people" in a derogatory way. The derogatoriness can be serious or mock, depending on te context.
Immediately thought about this when she began talking about it. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gf1brl2R6Hs.html (english translation available)
Anti-kraak is not a squatting system. It's prevention AGAINST squatting. Very different! You would have been more amazed when squatting itself was still legal. Anti-squat doesn't guarantee your legal rights as a renter unfortunately.
👋👋 Just stopping by and showing some support 👍 Full watch for you friend ( even the ads 😉)...see you soon! 👋 Ashley, Nate and Blake from The Adventure Encounters
There is one more. “Sterkte.” After an American friend of mine died, her daughter looked over some of the condolences I got on my Facebook. She was at first confused by all the people saying “strength.” But after a while she started to understand that it means much more than that
Heikneuter: uncivilised, rude, impolite person. Matennaaier: untrustworthy person who misleads/screws over his colleagues, partners. But my favourite is kut. It's so versatile: Het is kutweer vandaag. - It's bad weather today. Deze kutschoenen doen me pijn. - These damn shoes hurt. Hou op met dat gekut. - Stop nagging, whining. *hitting finger with hammer* -> "Kut!!"
As someone who's lived in the Netherlands for their entire life, I can't recall ever hearing someone say "Ik ben aan het genieten". It doesn't sound off to me, but it's not something I'd say I hear very often. What, in my experience, is used a lot more often (and actually sounds a lot better, too) is "Dit is echt genieten". It's essentially the same thing, but it's more clear you're enjoying the situation in general, and you're describing the situation as generally enjoyable, rather than needing to state that you specifically are enjoying the situation. "Dit is [verb in infinitive form]" or "Het is [verb in infinitive form]" is a common way to phrase things in Dutch. Examples would include "Het is even hard werken, maar dan wordt het ook wat.", "Het is flink pijn lijden, ik zou het niet aanraden." or the, perhaps even weirder, "Dit is echt geen doen" (This is frustratingly difficult)
I’m Belgian used to work on Festival in Belgium The Netherlands and Germany. And the first time someone said ‘werk ze’ It felt so disingenuous to me. That I was like yeah I hope your day sucks as well. I was really bothered by the fact that while I was working someone who was not working said something like enjoy work felt so fake. Anyway I talked to a Dutch co-worker and he was like no it’s cool they didn’t mean it sarcastically it’s just a thing we say just like have a nice one or enjoy the weekend.
I would have a similar reaction if someone said enjoy work as they left a shop and I was working. I'd be like how rude are you? hahaha. I've definitely come to enjoy it and you can apply it to more things too for example eet ze and geniet ze. Do you have these versions in Belgium??
The genieten is really scenery important. If you’re ‘aan het natafelen’ (like after having dinner with friends/family your still at the table, just enjoying the evening) and than you’re aan het genieten, you’re enjoying the evening, just like a sunset...
as continuation of "hoe dan?" is "doe even!" When someone anoys you... you couild never do that but your husband ofcourse can annoy you sometimes, haha.. in for example when you cozy on the couch, but you keep wiggling your leg, so he moves ..e cou8ld say "Doe even!"... or if he tries to do something impossible or difficult... "doe even" not meant as a command : do it! ..typing this I think that is most common in Northern Netherlands, specific Groningen. I had a girlfriend from Randstad, Ijmuiden, close to Haarlem We had some differences in telling time.. she was : the hour, ten past, quarter past, 10 minutes to half..half, up to next hour., ten minutes past half, ten to next hour... Here in North we go the hour, ten past, quarter past, twenty past, 5 before half, half hour, twenty (minutes ) to, ten minutes to..etc.. till next hour comes Dus..straight translation : so as in: I bike, so I move faster then walking..Ik fiets, dus ik ga sneller dan dat ik zou lopen.. but dus can also be a reaction on say a dirty, naughty joke that sets a whole new atmosphere of where the conversatrions are avout or breaking some ice out of the blue, think your Dutchy can explain.. I hope
The best and most useful word in Dutch is lekker. It's so versatile and it's really used all the time by all people and all its translations are positive. Love it!
"werk ze" = "work em" = "enjoy your work and do your best" "gezin" = the people you live with, your "family unit" "doe eens normaal" = "act just normal", (the "just" here doesn't mean "only", it means "just do that for once, you've always done the opposite, now try this", literally "eens" means "once") we love this one, because we like it when people just act normal, in a weird paradoxical way its one of the reasons the Dutch are tolerant, because we don't care who you are, as long as you "just act normal", which doesn't mean you have to be normal or even that you have to pretend to be normal, it just means you can be as weird as you want as long as you don't bother me with it and just behave like a functioning member of society instead of thinking you're special and requiring special treatment. So you can be weird, but you're not special. I love this concept. "ik ben aan het genieten" = "I am enjoying", I am existing in the state of enjoyment. "jammer" = "too bad", "unfortunate" "hoe dan" = "how then?". "If that's true, then how?" "gezellig"....well, we all know this one. I especially like it when its' "lekker gezellig".
I've seen anti-kraak organisations in London, where it's called "live-in guardians". It's the same system, where people can apply to live in unoccupied buildings to prevent others from illegally squatting there.
Nice one about "gezin" I always was jealous about the english word "Siblings" because in dutch you need to say the gender if you talk about your siblings. e.g.: "Mijn broer en mijn zus" "Jammer" I would translate as pity Nice video, I like them. By the way, I am dutch (from Zeeland, Vlissingen) and I'm living in Belgium. Language differences between Flemish and Dutch are part of my life :).
Hi Casey, Like you suggested, Dutch, like all languages, has unique expressions etc. that are very difficult to explain accurately. This especially is the case when the 'background-info' is required for things to make sense. 'doe eens normaal' - I think this a VERY Dutch expression indeed. I feel it has the extreme form of egalitarianism that is a cornerstone of dutch society at it's foundation. The dutch dislike overt 'standing out from the crowd'; esp. when it is seen as bragging, displaying wealth, a sense of 'superiority'. Acting 'silly', out of the ordinary, or being obnoxious too is frowned upon. Behavior like that will inevitably be 'pushed back' by "doe eens normaal!". It's a powerful way to push people 'back in line' and imho has a big drawback: It, to some extend, stifles entrepreneurship, individualism, uniqueness & marching to your own drum. 'antikraak' - this too is Dutch yet not unique [I've seen it in the UK]. In the Netherlands squatting is illegal; HOWEVER.... once squatters are IN the house / building, it is legally very difficult to evict them because of rental-rights etc. [yes I know, it seems very ODD indeed]. So this is what they came up with: "anti-kraak"; Anti-kraak means: A known person / persons enter into a specific contract. They move into an empty building [legally] for the explicit purpose of preventing [illegal] squatting. The contract has explicit agreements on the nature of use, the length of stay and vacating the building at a set time or when certain circumstances are met. This ensures that the building remains under control of the owners, generates a [very small] income and will remain available for re-development at a later date.
Isn't the English translation for "gezin" nuclear family? But I guess that's not a term you'd ever use in conversation unless you're talking to a Social Sciences professor... Edit: after watching your awesome video fully, I just gotta say that your Dutch pronunciation is really excellent, yet surpassed by your understanding of (contextual) Dutch words. Most of these lists are the same clichés, but I couldn't help but chuckle when you mentioned "jammer" and "hoe dan?!" :) To support your point: an often used elongation of "jammer" is "jammer-de-bammer", which ties into the English translation :D Thank you so much for this video!!
A pretty cool word I like to use is "insgelijks" For example someone wishes you a fine day.. "Fijne dag verder" You can reply by saying.. "Ja dank je wel, insgelijks" Most people use the word "hetzelfde", meaning the same (to you). Personally I prefer "insgelijks" meaning "likewise".
I don't know if these are decent enough for a video but here we go. -Kutweer! A way to describe that the weather is not nice. -Klootzak is what you would use in Dutch for a man if you think he behaves bad. In English you would use the word asshole, -Ben je gek geworden ofzo? Did you become crazy or something? Ofzo is a nice word too by the way. -Ojee! Is said just before something goes wrong, is going wrong at that time, or you realise the aftermath of what has gone wrong. -Tof! Comes from the Hebrew "tov" that means good. In Dutch it is more like cool or exciting. -Rot op! Can be used as the English "get lost!" Or "Fuck off"! But also as an "Are you kidding me?" -Jaahaa! When somebody keeps asking you when you already understood the question or already did what they asked. Like a yeahhes. And loads more. But I will leave room for other Dutch folks to suggest. Ik hoef niet het onderste uit de kan te halen. ;)
"Antikraak" originally was a way in which real estate owners would prevent "kraak" (squatting) of their buildings hence "anti" + "kraak". I am not aware it now has been turned around in meaning.
I dunno, instead of werk ze, I often say "succes verder". Or somtimes more like "succes vehdeh". The -r in Dutch, ey. Which can also apply to gardenwork, construction work or when I see someone repairing something. Succes = good luck, of course. Verder in this context is further? More like remainning. So "keep having good luck". Which can also be coupled with "Nou": "Nou, succes verder". Which can mean "I don't care about that, but I wish you the best with it". Which kind of is direct, but still positive.
Hi Casey, like so many other Dutch people , I too enjoy your videos, especially since I have lived in the UK now for 20 years and because my wife and I have named our daughter Casey! What I have come to realise in those 20 years is how many differences AND similarities there are in the two languages, and especially , how many intricacies affect these differences or similarities. For example, your mentioning of the word 'gezin'. There simply is no direct translation. Your suggestion of 'immediate family' (vs extended family, or relatives)is entirely understandable, but still not 100% accurate. The condensed (legal) definition of immediate family is: A person - and their parents, siblings, spouse, children. i.e. 3 generations. Some argue the case for inclusion of grand parents and grand children. i.e. 5 generations) For the sake of brevity I won't go into the issue of blood-relations vs non-blood relations. The point is that the above immediately makes clear that it describes a group far larger than what the Dutch refer to when talking about "gezin". A stereotypical 'gezin' - albeit slightly outdated in the modern world- is a family group of mum dad and kids living together under one roof. It's the latter part of the description that is key: Those living together under one roof. When you think about it, it seems strange that the English language does not have a dedicated word for describing a family unit living under the same roof. However, most Brits will have that unit in mind when talking about 'family'.
Wait a second. Kraak was a fantastic system. The law and the local regulations were crystal clear. But property owners bluntly (as always) refused to understand the law and the rules. So what happened: squatting suddenly turned illegal. For no reason at all: good squatters had exactly the same role as Anti Kraak today. With one exception: today you must pay, it is business as usual (making money) instead of FREE living in a building that would otherwise not be used at all. Anti-Kraak is a horrible system. You have simply never met the GOOD squatter community, I guess?
Aaah wat zielig. “Oooh, feel bad for you” / “You are so pathetic”, quite different meanings indeed. That is actually quite a good one. We do have pathetic too, pathetisch.
There's another sentence you would probably like: "lekker niets doen"! To translate (more or less): "Enjoying myself doing nothing". Sometimes kids say when they were naughty: "Ik deed niets hoor!'. That is something completely different. They are only trying to convince you that, whatever happened, had nothing to do with them -It wasn't their fault. "Lekker niets doen" is more like: "Just sitting and watching the grass grow".
A few other typical Dutch words/phrases are: Betovergrootvader/betovergrootmoeder: great-great grandfather/grandmother Goedemorgen/goedenavond/goedemiddag: Good morning/good evening/good afternoon: In English you would most likely use them as a greeting. In Dutch they can be a greeting or a good bye. Snikken: sobbing, again not really the same. Sobbing is more like ugly crying, while snikken is more like the state just before or just after actual crying, where your eyes are still watery, but your not yet/no longer crying
So, you did go down the “gezellig” rabbit hole 😜 Gezellig can’t be translated. It’s a word that’s even been studied by linguists! And even they threw in the towel😜 It’s more than a vibe. A room can be gezellig, a conversation, a movie, a light, a smell (freshly baked apple pie, if that doesn’t smell gezellig, then nothing does), a person can be gezellig, an action can be gezellig, just about anything. The closest translation would be cozy, but it’s just not the same. Not even close.
Hey Casey, the way you (and other people from English talking countrys) explain Dutch to your fellow English users, does not only learn them something, but as dutchman I learn al lot of it too. I can' t explain all our Dutch words in English, but you give us Dutchies the right words too. So get used to many Dutchies to your video's too. We are here to help or to comfirm ( or deny, if you are wrong)... but as an minority nation concerning our language... we love these English, Americans, Australians etc that love the Dutch way of live...or at least love a big part of it. Well I'am one of them. You make us find out about our selves.
