Today, I want to discuss one of my favorite uitdrukkingen (expressions) in the Dutch language. Because it is so weirdly unique, I want to dedicate this entire post of Dutch Idioms to it. It involves bathing your little baby in nice warm water, but then considering throwing out that water, including the baby! What on earth did the Dutch think up now? Come join the ride of the weird world of sayings and expressions. Hungry for more Dutch sayings and expressions? Check out the other posts in our Dutch Idioms series here. Het kind/de baby met het badwater weggooien Wait! Don’t throw the bath ..read more

Benzineprijzen (gasoline prices) have gone off the rails in the Netherlands. They shot well above 2 euros per liter (in American terms, that’s more than 8 dollars per gallon!), with record stijgingen (increases). A main reason given is de oorlog in de Ukraine (war in Ukraine). Some tankstations (gas stations) took this crisis as an opportunity for a reclamestunt (ad stunt), and attracted long rijen (queues) for more affordable prices aan de pomp (at the pump). So with benzine in the news so much, let’s talk about tanken (to get gas)! Tanken in ..read more

Sometimes we read something in the news, or we hear something raars (strange), we frown, and we ask ourselves: klopt dat wel? (Is that actually true?) Then we start digging, to uncover the waarheid (truth). And as we all know, truth comes out in the end. Or well, we say something like that in Dutch Idioms. Here’s how the Dutch use distance to describe truth in a spreekwoord (saying) and an uitdrukking (expression)! For other idioms in this series, click here. Leugens hebben korte benen Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash A lie has no legs Literally: Lies have ..read more

When I grew up, a person with a disability was known in the Netherlands as an invalide. This doesn’t mean they are “invalid”, of course. It comes from French invalide, which in turn goes back to Latin invalidus – the opposite of validus, which means strong and healthy. So to say that having a disability makes you invalid, in other words, not strong and healthy, is quite harsh, seen as discriminerend (discriminatory) – and it’s not accurate, either. The Dutch have shifted to the word mindervalide instead to highlight this. Mindervalide means “le ..read more

2021 – Perhaps not the best year we had. But as every year, there are hoogte- en dieptepunten (ups and downs). And a jaaroverzicht (“year overview”, a end-of-year review) is a great way to reflect on the year to see this stuff. And the Dutch? Well, they enjoy doing that, too! Here are a few jaaroverzichten that give a pretty nice idea of what was in focus this year. NOS Journaal 2021 Jaaroverzicht Photo by Moritz Knöringer on Unsplash NOS is the Dutch TV omroep (channel) for news. They host the most-watched Dutch evening news, and do a lot of other news programs, such as ..read more

We’re nearing the end of the year, so it’s time to talk about the word of the year again! Every year, the woordenboek (dictionary) publisher Van Dale organizes the vote for the Woord van het Jaar, and everybody can vote on their favorite word from a list of candidates. This year’s: Prikspijt! (“jab regret”, regret over getting vaccinated). What other words had a shot, and why did this word win? How Prikspijt became the word of the year Let’s talk about the winning word first before moving to the other nominations. In Dutch, prikspijt is defined by Van Dale as “spijt die ie ..read more

It’s Christmas Eve! An exciting time in many places in the world, including in the Netherlands. While Christmas is not celebrated in the same way as it is in some other countries, it’s still a very significant holiday. What to do? Maastricht in the snow around Christmas time (Photo by Matthias Kinsella on Unsplash) The Dutch have plenty of important holidays and traditions, such as Sinterklaas on December 5. Kerst(Christmas) is of course important from a religious perspective, but it has a somewhat different meaning culturally. While Americans, Germans and many other people celebrate Christm ..read more

When you think of pyramides (pyramids), you probably think about hot deserts, scorching heat and merchants on camelback with the majestic structures in the background. So when I tell you that there’s a pyramid in the Netherlands, you probably think it must be some pyramide the Dutch got from Egypt! But that’s not the case at all. If pyramids evoke an image similar to the one I presented above, then get ready to be surprised for a bit of a different take on what a pyramide is! The French are coming The Netherlands is one of the oldest Republieken (republics) in the world. Started ..read more

Sinterklaas is back in the country. Yesterday, it was time to get your arts and crafts skills out to make surprises. Now we need the more intellectual, brainy side of you – we have to write a gedicht (poem). This is part 2 for the ultimate surprise for pakjesavond (“gift evening”) on December 5! Let’s dive in! Each year again, Sinterklaas comes from Spain to make the Dutch, young and old, happy with snoepgoed (sweets) and cadeautjes (gifts). Even with some controversy around the event, it is a favorite holiday for many inhabitants of the Netherlands. One special t ..read more

Sinterklaas is back in the country. Get your schaar (scissors), papier (paper) and lijm (glue), because it’s time to make surprises. Together with a great little gedicht (poem), you’re – I mean, Sinterklaas is – sure to make the most impressive gift! How does this process work? And how to create the ultimate surprise for pakjesavond (“gift evening”) on December 5? This is part 1 of 2, as there’s quite a lot to say! Tomorrow you can find part 2 here on the blog. Let’s dive in! Each year again, Sinterklaas comes from Spain to make the Dutch, young and old ..read more