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Not Basic Dutch - Hear Beautiful & Fun Dutch Words

ondersteboven 2 achterstevoren 2 verkeerdom binnenstebuiten 2 hear 4 - 2 [downside-up] upside down backward the wrong way 'round inside-out andersom (het) tegenovergestelde 2 the other way 'round (the) opposite

oorverdovend oogverblindend tongstrelend hear ear-deafening (very loud) eye-blinding (very bright) tongue-caressing (very good-tasting) hartverscheurend bloedstollend hear heart-rending blood-curdling vooruitgang tegenslag hear (progress) (setback) uitzondering onregelmatig hear - 2 (exception) (irregular) stelling bewijs tegenvoorbeeld hear (theorem) (proof) (counter example)

de pap is overgekookt >>

The saying: De uitzondering die de regel bevestigt - hear - 2 - ("The exception that confirms the rule") is often heard in Dutch, but it is of course nonsense. If a counter-example - (het) tegenvoorbeeld 2 can be found the rule is invalid. I remember reading somewhere that the original Latin was something like "The exception that tests the rule."

vergezocht voor de hand liggend vanzelfsprekend hear

(far-fetched) (obvious) (self-evident)

tegenstander 2 concurrent 2

('adversary, opponent') ('competitor' - mostly business) - a word from French

vogelverschrikker ('scarecrow' literally 'scare-birds')
spruitjesgeur - 2 ('the smell of Brussels sprouts' - said to prevail in Dutch literature)
leedvermaak ('Schadenfreude')
gênant ('embarassing' - a word from French: the Dutch are not easily embarassed)
armoedig ('looking poor')
eng ('scary')
engerd ('a creep')
huichelaar ('a hypocrite') - huichelachtig ('hypocritical')
walgelijk 2 ('disgusting')
gruzelementen ('smithereens')
zuinigheid - 2 - 3 ('frugality' - a very Dutch trait)
spiksplinternieuw ('brand new')
bliksemsnel 2 ('[lightning-] very fast')
aantrekkelijk ('attractive')
onweerstaanbaar - 2 ('irresistible')
geestig ('witty')
aarzeling ('hesitation')
teleurstelling ('disappointment') - teleurstellend ('disappointing')
gebruiksaanwijzing - 2 ('manual' [pointer for use])
knipselkrant ('newspaper cuttings service')
grootgrutter ('supermarket chain' - ironic use only)
ons koude kikkerland 2 ("our chilly frogs' country" - it's a place with wretched weather but it's home)
bij nader inzien ('[upon closer inspection] - now that I think about it ...')
alle beetjes helpen ('every little bit helps')
't Vogeltje zit zo zoet op z'n nestje ('the little bird is sitting on its nest so sweetly')

Billy Eric showed me his painting of a levee about to break, in very bad weather, and I wrote back to him a sentence that I only later noticed to be of some interest:
"Je geeft het slechte weer zo mooi weer" ('You depict the bad weather beautifully')
weer = weather (also: again); weergeven = to depict, represent, paint

Wereldwijde week van de veiligheid - 2 ('Global safety week' - a company slogan)
Ik werd wakker van de wekker ('I was woken up by the alarm clock')

Angst en vrees ('fear and dread' - vrees is when you know what you're afraid of, angst is an undefined fear)
De mens lijdt het meest van het lijden dat-ie vreest ('Man suffers most from the suffering he fears' - a sentiment somewhat similar to President Roosevelt's 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself' - FDR)

More Fun Words

food

kitchen

flowers

animals

buildings

traffic

fire

electricity

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Don't be a dief (thief) / dievegge (female thief) - diefstal (theft) - stelen (to steal) - heler (dealer in stolen goods) - hear Dutch - 2