The Small Change of Conversation™
I found the phrase in a book by Henry James. It's a useful concept for students of foreign languages. The pages in this series (and my website in general) will help you speak with Dutch people.
I hope you have the passive vocabulary to understand what people say or write to you - to comment on that, learn the phrases on this page that look useful to you, make them part of your active vocabulary.

Talking about Chance, Luck, Outcomes and Risk

English 'chance' and its Dutch equivalent (de) kans can mean both 'a possibility or probability of something happening' and 'an opportunity to do or achieve something' - the meanings are related, can come down to the same thing

Grijp je kans! 2 3 'Grab your chance!' Make use of the opportunity kans op onweer 2 3 a chance of a thunderstorm

(de) kans chance, possibility, occurrence // opportunity
kansen 2 chances, opportunities
(de) pakkans 2 3 the chance (of a criminal) being caught

dit is de enige kans This is the only chance Is er enige kans? 2 3 Is there any chance? ‑>> Grijp je kans! 2 3 'Grab your chance!' Make use of the opportunity Sla je slag 2 3 4 Seize the opportunity, grab your chance Ergens een slaatje uit slaan 2 3 Taking advantage of an opportunity, making (good) use of something Je voordeel doen met 2 3 Doing something advantageous, seize an opportunity to your advantage Hij heeft weinig kans He has little chance (de) gemiste kans 2 3 missed chance, missed opportunity gemiste kansen 2 3 missed chances, missed opportunities (de) herkansing 2 [re-chance] - a new chance, like a rematch de laatste kans 2 3 4 the last chance
(de) gelegenheid 2 opportunity, ~chance een goede gelegenheid 2 3 a good opportunity een mooie gelegenheid 2 a [beautiful] good, fitting opportunity 't Is een unieke gelegenheid 2 3 4 5 It's a unique opportunity, ~a rare chance ongelegen 2 inconvenient, 'not a good time'

kans op onweer 2 3 a chance of a thunderstorm een kans van één op tien 2 a chance of 1 in 10, a 10% chance kleine kans 2 3 a small chance "dikke kans!" 2 "fat chance!" (often ironic, meaning: zero chance!) een reële kans 2 3 a real chance, a good chance, it could really happen

mogelijk 2 (mogelijke ) 'possible' - or sometimes English uses the verb 'can.'
(de) mogelijkheid 2 3 'possibility'
onmogelijk 2 'impossible'
Hoe is 't mogelijk? 2 3 4 5 6 How is it possible? How can it be? zo mogelijk 2 'if possible'
zo lang mogelijk 2 as long as possible zo spoedig mogelijk 2 as soon as possible zo weinig mogelijk 2 3 as little as possible met alle mogelijke middelen 2 with all possible means 't Is haast onmogelijk 2 3 It's almost impossible 't Zou kunnen 2 It could be, It's possible more kunnen

gebeuren to happen, occur, take place ‑>> 't Kan gebeuren 2 It [can] may happen - Things like that happen 't Kan elk moment gebeuren 2 3 It can happen any moment, anytime

See also (het) toeval ('chance, coincidence, random event') and (het) lot 2 3 / het noodlot 2 ('fate') ‑>>

The Dutch word (het) geluk 2 can mean both 'luck,' fate favoring you, and 'happiness,' a lasting state of good feeling - but 'geluk' as 'happiness' is a bit old-fashioned. Most people will use the English word 'happy' (as an adverb or adjective) instead ‑>>

Ik had geluk 2 I was lucky Als je geluk hebt ... 2 3 If you're lucky ... Je hebt geluk gehad 2 3 You [have been] were lucky Gelukkig maar! 2 3 Lucky indeed! We're lucky Vroeger was geluk heel gewoon 2 3 In the past, happiness was quite common (Carmiggelt)

The Dutch verb lukken 2 means 'to succeed' (in something) or 'to be successful' (in something)
Dat lukt je nooit 2 You'll never succeed in that, you'll never be able to do that, you'll never pull that off Dat lukt me nooit I'll never succeed in that, I'll never be able to do that, I'll never pull that off Zou 't lukken? 2 Is it going to work out? 't Wil maar niet lukken 2 3 I can't get it right (said after many failed attempts) "Lukt 't een beetje?" 2 3 [Are you somewhat succeeding?] - How is it going? (inquiring with doubts about how a job is going)

slagen 2 3 4 ('to succeed // to pass a test')

slagen		to succeed // pass a test
ik slaag		I succeed
wij slagen		we succeed
ik slaagde		I succeeded
wij slaagden		we succeeded
ik ben geslaagd		I have succeeded
2 3 4

Ik ben geslaagd 2 1. I have succeeded, I was successful
2. I passed the exam (or test) Ben je geslaagd? 2 3 1. Did you pass the exam (or test)
usually: 2. Did you get what you wanted? We slaagden er niet in 2 We did not succeed (in it) - we were not successful

(Het) ongeluk 2 is 'accident,' something bad happening inadvertently. In traffic it's often better to call it a 'crash' - (de) botsing 2 ->>
Ik werk me een ('n) ongeluk 2 3 (4 5) (saying) I'm working ["myself an accident"] very hard' Een ongeluk zit in een klein hoekje (saying) ['an accident is in a small corner'] - accidents can happen in unexpected places (and unexpectedly) Een geluk bij een ongeluk 2 ['Some luck in an accident'] - A bright spot in a bad situation het ongeluksgetal - dertien the unlucky number - 13

'Bad luck' is (de) pech 2
(de) pechvogel 2 (bad-luck bird) a person who has much bad luck domme pech 2 3 [mindless] random bad luck Je hebt pech 2 You're not lucky, you're having bad luck Hadden jullie pech? Did you guys have bad luck? - usually this means: Did you guys have car trouble? Wat 'n pech! 2 Such bad luck! Hij heeft te veel pech 2 'He has too much bad luck' - he's accident-prone

Per ongeluk 2 is 'by accident, inadvertently' - its opposite, 'deliberately' (often negative, malicious) is:
expres 2 3 on purpose, deliberately, intentionally ik doe 't niet expres 2 3 I'm not doing it on purpose, it was not the intended outcome, I can't help it met opzet 2 3 on purpose, deliberately, intentionally (de) bedoeling 2 'purpose, intention, aim') ‑>> Dat is niet de bedoeling 2 3 That's not what I had in mind; that's not what it's for Dat was niet de bedoeling 2 That was not what I had in mind, that was not the intention, that was not supposed to happen More formal words for 'deliberate:'
doelbewust 2 ['goal-conscious] or
moedwillig 2

(het) resultaat 2 3 result, outcome
succes 2 success
Veel succes ermee! 2 3 [Wishing you much success with it] - Good luck! (de) teleurstelling 2 disappointment ‑>>
teleurstellende resultaten 2 3 disappointing results 't Is één grote teleurstelling 2 3 4 {It's one big disappointment] - It's a complete disappointment (de) mislukking 2 failure
falen 2 3 4 to fail
(het) debacle 2 debacle, fiasco
(het) fiasco 2 fiasco, debacle

't Kan vriezen en 't kan dooien (saying) [It may freeze or it may thaw] - Things can go either way goed 2 3 gaan ('to go well, have the intended result')
Het gaat goed It's going well Als dat maar goed gaat! 2 3 [If only that goes right] - I'm afraid it will go wrong, end badly Dat ging maar net goed That only just went right, it could easily have ended badly Dat gaat niet goed 2 That's not going well, it's going to end badly Dat kan niet goed gaan 2 That cannot [go] end well, there is going to be a problem mis gaan ('to go wrong')
Sommige dagen gaat er van alles mis On some days all kinds of things go wrong Sommige dagen gaat alles mis 2 On some days everything goes wrong Er ging iets helemaal mis 2 3 4 5 Something went completely wrong Alles gaat mis 2 3 Everything is going wrong Waarom gaat altijd alles mis? 2 3 4 Why does everything always go wrong? more gaan - more goed - more mis

doen 2 3 to do
Zou je dat nou wel doen? 2 3 Should you do that? Are you sure it's a good idea to do that? Moet je niet doen! Don't do that! Not a good idea to do that Dat had ik niet moeten doen 2 3 4 I shouldn't have done that Ik kan er niks aan doen I can't help it /or/ it's not my fault Daar kun je niks aan doen 2 3 You can't do anything about that, it's unavoidable more doen

(Het) risico 2 'risk' - plural: risico's
een te groot risico too great a risk (het) eigen risico 2 'own risk' - in insurance, 'deductible' 'n onnodig risico 2 3 an unnecessary risk risico nemen to take [risk] risks Hij nam geen enkel risico 2 3 He didn't take any [risk] risks Ik wil geen risico lopen 2 3 I don't want to take the risk Zou je het risico nemen? 2 3 Would you take the risk? (Is it worth the risk?) nemen 'to take' ‑>>
riskant 2 3 risky
riskeren 2 3 to risk
Daar moet je mee oppassen 2 3 4 You'd better be very careful doing that ‑>> in gevaar brengen 2 3 4 to endanger Dat kan geen kwaad 2 3 (saying) ['That's not going to do damage'] - 'It's something that can be tried without risk, worth a try'

veilig 2 (veilig / veilige 2) safe, secure
veiligheidsspelden 2 safety pins
veiligheidsbrillen safety glasses
(de) veiligheid 2 3 safety, security
Wereldwijde week van de veiligheid 2
'Global safety week' - a company slogan I thought up Veiligheid vòòr alles 2 [safety before everything (else)] - Safety first (the English phrase is more common)

Hij geeft mij kracht
en leidt me langs veilige paden,
zoals hij beloofd heeft. 2 [He gives me strength
and leads me along safe paths,
like he has promised]
He restoreth my soul;
he leadeth me in the path of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Psalm 23:3 The Lord is my Shepherd

More pages like this:
Meet and Greet
Commenting on Statements and Opinions
Why? - Because - The Reason - Cause & Effect
Talking about Time
Ziek - Talking about Not Feeling Well
Expectations and What Happens

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