Dutch Netherlands

voor geen goud

Expression USED Frequently BY Everyone

(for no gold) • To absolutely not want to do something.

"Ik zou voor geen goud willen skydiven." "Als je het wel doet, bel me dan even. Dat wil ik voor geen goud missen."

"I would skydive for no gold." "If you do, give me a call. I don't want to miss that for no gold."

Confirmed by 2 people

alt

Dutch Netherlands

het beestje bij de naam noemen

Expression USED On Occasion BY Some People

(to call the little beast by the name) • To say clearly and precisely how you think about someone or something. To say exactly how something is. Usually when people try to talk around a certain subject or are trying to avoid phrasing it in a direct way.

"Het is jammer dat etnoculturele factoren nog steeds invloed kunnen hebben op iemands kansen in de woningmarkt" "Je kan het beestje ook bij de naam noemen - mensen hebben een lagere kans op een woning door racisme."

"It is unfortunate that ethnocultural factors can still influence someone's chances in the housing market" "You can also call the bug by its name - people have a lower chance of getting housing because of racism."

Dutch | Flemish Belgium

tussen de soep en de patatten

Expression USED On Occasion BY Almost Everyone

(between the soup and the potatoes) • When something is done very quickly, while you're already busy.

"Ik zal je huiswerk tussen de soep en de patatten wel eens bekijken."

"I'll have a look at your homework between the soup and the potatoes."

syn

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Dutch Netherlands

broodje aap

Expression USED On Occasion BY Some People

(monkey sandwich ) • Something that’s nonsense or made up. Fake news.

“Achteraf bleek dat het allemaal broodje aap was.”

“In the end it turned it it was all monkey sandwich.”

Confirmed by 4 people

ety

alt

Dutch Netherlands

maak je borst maar nat

Expression USED On Occasion BY Almost Everyone

(make your breast wet) • Prepare yourself for a lot of hard work or unpleasant conditions.

"Maak je borst maar nat, vanavond gaat het hard onweren."

"Go ahead and make your breast wet, tonight there will be heavy thunder."

Confirmed by 4 people

Dutch Netherlands

staan

Word USED Frequently BY Everyone

(v.) • (to stand) • This refers to how something (clothing, haircut, etc) looks on you. Something "standing" means it looks good on you, but it can also be used in combination with an adjective to indicate how something looks on you by saying "it stands you ..." (good, bad, fantastic, professional, hip, etc.)

"Staat dit of staat dit niet?" "Ik vind het je heel leuk staan." "Ja, staat je heel sjiek."

"Does this stand or does this not stand?" "I think it stands you well." "Yes, stands you very chique!"

Confirmed by 5 people

alt

Dutch Netherlands

klein bier

Expression USED On Rare Occasion BY Some People

(small beer) • Something relatively unimportant

"Het verliezen van je baan aan Corona is klein bier vergeleken met het verliezen van een familielid aan Corona."

"Losing your job to Corona is small beer in comparison to losing a family member to Corona."

Confirmed by 4 people

syn

Dutch | Flemish Flanders, Belgium

het hol van pluto

Expression USED On Occasion BY Some People

(the ass of pluto) • The middle of nowhere

"We waren echt in het hol van pluto, er was geen enkel huis te bespeuren!"

"We were really in the ass of pluto, there were no houses to be seen!"

alt

Dutch | Flemish Flanders, Belgium

met je gat in de boter vallen

Expression USED On Occasion BY Everyone

(to fall with your ass in the butter) • To be very lucky, to end up in a good place

"De eigenaar van het hotel was heel vriendelijk. We zijn er echt met ons gat in de boter gevallen!"

"The owner of the hotel was very nice. We really fell with our asses in the butter there!"

syn

Dutch | Flemish Flanders, Belgium

het leven is geen ponykamp

Expression USED On Rare Occasion BY Some People

(life is not a pony camp) • Life is not always easy.

"Ik ben gebuisd voor mijn examen. Helaas, maar het leven is geen ponykamp."

"I failed my exam. It sucks, but life's not a pony camp."

ety

syn

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Dutch Netherlands

frisje

Word USED Frequently BY Most People

(n.) • (little fresh) • A combination of the Dutch word for soda, "frisdrank" (freshdrink), and the Dutch national pastime of using words in their diminutive form. It's a way of asking for a soda, without specifying which one you actually want. This is usually followed by a brief discussion where the person asking for the "little fresh" is still forced to make a decision about which soda they actually would like to have.

"Kan ik iets te drinken inschenken?" "Ja, doe mij maar een frisje." "Oké, we hebben cola, fanta, rivella..." "Doe maar cola."

"Can I pour you something to drink?" "Yes, you can do me a little fresh." "Okay, we have coke, fanta, rivella..." "Do me a coke then."

Confirmed by 2 people

Dutch Netherlands

rondkomen

Word USED Frequently BY Everyone

(v.) • (to come round) • To make enough money to get by

"Sinds ik minder uren werk is het steeds lastiger om rond te komen."

"Since I've been working fewer hours it's getting harder to come round."

Confirmed by 5 people

Dutch Netherlands

helaas pindakaas

Expression USED On Occasion BY Children

(too bad peanut butter) • A sarcastic, childish and rhyming way of saying you feel sorry for someone if something not all that bad happened to them. Like "that's too bad".

"Ben je je potlood kwijt? Helaas pindakaas."

"You lost your pencil? Too bad peanut butter."

Confirmed by 4 people

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Dutch Netherlands

kattenkwaad

Word USED On Occasion BY Almost Everyone

(n.) • (cat evil) • Mischief.

"De jongeren tegenwoordig zijn alleen maar bezig kattenkwaad."

"Youth these days are only busy with cat evil."

Confirmed by 4 people

æ

Dutch Netherlands

prinsheerlijk

Word USED On Rare Occasion BY Adults

(adj.) • (prince delicious) • Comfortable, at ease, relaxed, satisfied

"Kijk hem nou prinsheerlijk op z'n bootje varen."

"Look at him prince delicious on his little boat."

Confirmed by 2 people

syn

alt

æ

Dutch | Drenths & Gronings Noord-Nederland, Netherlands

moi

Word USED Frequently BY friends & acquaintances

(interj.) • It's a local variety of 'hi', can also be used as a parting-greeting. I believe it to stem from either 'goedemorgen' (good morning) or 'mooi(e dag)' or something similar (which means beautiful (day)) but this is guesswork on my part.

“Moi, hoe is 't?” Ok, moi hè!

“Hi, how is it?” “Ok, bye”

Confirmed by 4 people

Dutch Netherlands and Belgium

tuinslang

Word USED On Occasion BY Everyone

(n.) • (garden snake) • Garden hose.

"Ik giet de bloemetjes met de tuinslang."

"I water the flowers with the garden snake."

Confirmed by 5 people

Dutch Netherlands

van eigen bodem

Expression USED Frequently BY Everyone

(from own soil) • Something coming from the Netherlands.

"Undercover is de eerste Netflix serie van eigen bodem."

"Undercover is the first Netflix show from own soil."

Confirmed by 6 people

Dutch Netherlands

zweetsnor

Word USED On Rare Occasion BY Young People

(noun) • (sweat mustache) • The sweat on your upper lip. Though it can be used by anyone, it seems to be most often used by women.

"Het is zo warm, ik heb de hele dag al een zweetsnor."

"It is so hot, I've had a sweat mustache all day."

Confirmed by 5 people

Dutch Netherlands

het één doen en het ander niet laten

Expression USED On Occasion BY Some People

(to do the one thing and not leave the other) • It is used in situations when multiple options are given, but there is no need to make a choice for either one of them, so you can do one thing and not leave the other thing undone. In other words - do both.

"Moeten ik geld sparen voor mijn pensioen of voor noodgevallen?" "Je kan het één doen en het ander niet laten."

"Should I save money for my retirement or for emergencies?" "You can do the one and not leave the other."

Confirmed by 5 people