Disambiguation: Many common words can have more than one meaning, with
different translations
List of Prepositions and Other 'Little Words'
— Pages:
- Aan
- Achter
- Af
- Al
- Als
- Binnen/Buiten
- Daar
- Dan
- Dat
- Door
- Eens
- Er
- Erg
- Even
- Haast
- Het
- In
- Laat
- Maar
- Na
- Naar
- Net
- Nog
- Of
- Om
- Onder/Boven
- Op
- Over
- Toen
- Uit
- Van
- Voor
- Vroeg
- Waar
- Wat
- Weg
- Zo
- more
Disambiguation: Dutch 'Al'
- Multiple Meanings and Related Words
Al
2
'already' -
"Are the bananas already yellow?"
'all, every' (adverb and adjective)
- "I've sold all my books"
- >>
>>
'even if'
- a contradiction,
an exaggeration or a strong feeling>>
1. 'Al' =
'Already'
Already -
something happened or was established in the
past, before now, nothing new - the status of an expected development
Zijn de bananen al geel?
2
Are the bananas already yellow?
Zijn de perziken al rijp?
2
Are the peaches ripe already?
Heb je al kaartjes?
2
3
Did you already get the tickets? (travel, events)
Heb je al een rollator?
2
3
Do you have a walker already?
't Is al over elven
2
It's already past 11 Weet je al wanneer?
2
Do you already know when?
Weet je al wanneer 't gaat gebeuren?
2
3
Do you know already when it's
going to happen? Heb je al gegeten?
2
Have you eaten (already)?
Is de post al geweest?
2
Has the mail come in already? Has the mailman
come by already?
Heb je al gestemd?
2
Did you vote already?
Have you voted already?
Heb je het nieuws gehoord?
2
3
Have you heard the news?
Heb je het nieuws al gehoord?
2
3
Have you (already) heard the news?
Had ik dat al gezegd?
2
Did I say that already?
Zoals ik al zei
2
3
As I already said, as I said before
Er wordt al zoveel gezegd
2
So much is being/has been said already
Ze zijn al twintig jaar samen
2
They've already been together for 20 years
(married, in a relationship)
Ze werken al twintig jaar samen
They've been working together
for 20 years already
't Is eigenlijk al te laat
It is actually? already too late
Al doende leert men
2
3
[Already doing, while doing you learn]
- 'Practice makes perfect'
Daar was ik al bang voor
2
I was already afraid of that
Hij heeft z'n hand al ingepakt
( 2
3
4 )
He's packed his hand already
*
Ik heb al zoveel
I already have so much
Ik heb je er al vaak op gewezen
2
3
4
I have already pointed it out to you
[so often] many times
Ik heb al verkering
I am already in a relationship
* Hij zag de bui al hangen
(expression) ['He had already seen the rainshower
"hanging"']
- 'He understood trouble was brewing' Doe maar normaal,
dan doe je al gek genoeg
2
Just do like you always do,
that's crazy enough already 't Is al minder erg
2
3
[It's already less bad] - It's not as bad as it
was (pain etc.)
Synomyms, Alternates and
Related Words
The very old-fashioned
alreeds
2
3
looks and sounds somewhat similar to 'already' -
in books you may find the slightly more
modern reeds
2
'Alvast'
2
3
4
means 'already' or 'meanwhile' in the sense of bridging a period of
time, usually 'in advance' or 'in preparation of'
Hier is alvast een voorschot
2
Here's already some money in advance
2
Thank you in advance! or you can say:
Thank you in advance!
2
[My thanks in advance] Thank you in
advance!
'Alvast'
2
3
4 can be
shortenend to vast
2
I'm already starting on it
'Allang'
2
3
[already long ago] - (already) a while ago. (The sample lines below all have
about the same meaning: you should have left a while ago but you
were tardy or you were delayed.)
2
3
4
I should (already) have left a while ago
2
I should have been on my way a while ago
2
I should have been on the way a while ago
English 'ready' is klaar
in Dutch, and both have the two related meanings: 'done, finished' and
'prepared'
De koffie is klaar
Coffee is ready Ik ben klaar
2
3
I'm ready (1. I'm prepared
2. I'm done, finished the task) Ik ben nog niet klaar
2
3
4
I'm not yet ready, I'm not ready yet:
We moeten doorgaan tot 't klaar is
2
We'll have to, we need to continue until it's finished Ik ben ermee klaar
2
3
2
3
I'm done with it, I finished the task Ik ben er klaar voor
2
2
I'm ready for it, I'm (well-) prepared (for it) Ben je er klaar voor?
2
3
Are you ready (prepared) (for it)? Ik ben bang
dat 't nog niet klaar is
I'm afraid it's not ready yet 't Is bijna klaar
It's almost ready Ik ben zo klaar
2
I'll be ready (finished) in a moment Ben je al klaar?
Are you done, finished already? Zodra we klaar zijn
As soon as we're ready 't Is morgen klaar
It [is] will be ready tomorrow ... en klaar is Kees!
(saying )
... and Casey is done!
(said when a job is finished) klaarzetten
to put out, get ready Zet je de kopjes klaar?
2
3
Could you please put out the cups,
get the cups ready Alles staat klaar
2
3
Everything is ready, all necessary things are
put in readiness Klaar ... af!
Ready ... set ... go!
Dutch klaar
can also mean something like 'clear' - both 'unambiguous, easy to
understand' and 'transparent, like water.' It is a bit old-fashioned.
klare taal
2
'clear language' - a clear, unambiguous statement Zo klaar als een klontje
2
['Clear as a piece of crystal sugar']
- very clear, no need for further explanation 't Klaart op
'It's clearing up'
- clouds are disappearing and the sun is
coming out op klaarlichte dag
2
[in clear-light day] in broad daylight verklaren
2
1. to explain, make clear
(de) verklaring
explanation // statement de enige logische verklaring
2
3
4
the only [logical] rational explanation Ik kan het niet verklaren
2
I can't explain (it) - I don't understand
ouwe klare
2
'old clear' jonge klare
2
3
'young clear'
Jenever
2
('Dutch gin') varieties - clear as water. 'Old' is spicy and about 40%
alcohol, Young' is milder and about 30% alcohol
is sometimes had with a glass of
beer: 'het stelletje'
The more common words for 'clear' are duidelijk
(duidelijke
- duidelijk / duidelijke
)
helder
(heldere
2
3
- helder/heldere
)
Was dat duidelijk voor je?
2
Was that clear to you? Did you understand that? Was 't duidelijk?
2
3
Was it clear? Er is duidelijk vooruitgang
2
There is clearly progress,
it's clear that there is progress (de) helderziende
2
3
[clear-seer] clairvoyant, psychic Waldhoorns schallen helder en luid
French horns ringing clear and loud Ik voel me niet helemaal helder
I'm don't feel entirely clear/awake,
I feel a bit foggy ... 't water erg helder ...
... the water very clear ... ... de heldere lege kamer van de deugd ...
... the clear, bright but empty room of virtue ...
't Is immers duidelyk dat men op die wys maar
tweemaal in 't water hoeft te vallen om doodarm te
wezen.
For it's clear that in that way
you'll be [dead-poor] a beggar when you fall into the water
twice.
‑>>
Iets zouden we doen.
2
What the thing was we were going to
do was never clear to us. But we were going to accomplish
something.
from Nescio: 'Titaantjes'
‑>>
Also: begrijpelijk
2
'understandable, ~reasonable, ~logical'
onbegrijpelijk
2
3
'incomprehensible, impossible to understand, ~not reasonable'
more
2. 'al' =
'all' - adjective and adverb 'every' and noun 'everything'
Remember that adjectives often get
an -E ending:
alle
/al/alle
- more
Ik heb al m'n boeken verkocht
2
I have sold all my books
Ik heb al m'n gereedschap weggegeven
I've given away all my tools
Al die dingen doen dat nou
2
3
4
[All those things do that now]
- All those devices now have that feature Al de domme dingen die ik gedaan heb
2
3
All the stupid things I've done
Al die moeite voor niks
2
All that effort [for nothing] wasted, in vain
Hoe krijgen we al dat water weer weg?
How can we ever get rid of all that water?
Hoe krijgen we al dat water in hemelsnaam weer weg?
How in heaven's name
will we ever get rid of all that water? Alle beetjes helpen
[All little bits help]
- Every little bit helps 'n Dag als alle andere
2
3
A day like all others, just another day Alle mensen zijn gelijk
All people are equal met alle mogelijke middelen
2
(doing something) with all possible means,
throwing everything available at it We hebben alle tijd
2
3
4
We have all the time (in the world)
- no need to rush Alle begin is moeilijk
2
3
Every start is difficult,
starting is always difficult Alle hens aan dek
2
3
'All hands on deck'
(probably in imitation of the English phrase)
Voor alle zekerheid
2
3
[for all certainty]
- to be absolutely sure, making sure something is safe
'Al'
2 as a noun ('everything')
is a little old-fashioned. The more common Dutch word for 'everything' is
alles
Al wat groeit en bloeit
en ons telkens weer boeit
All that grows and blooms and fascinates us again
and again
('nature' segment
of a radio program
by Dr. Fop I. Brouwer) Eind goed, al goed
2
3
[End good, all good]
- All's well that ends well
Wat hebben we al niet willen opknappen!
2
All the things we wanted to, were going to
fix!
(Nescio ) Aan alles komt een eind
2
To everything there [comes] is an end Alles blijft veranderen
2
All things keep changing Alles grijpt in elkaar
2
Everything is connected Alles op z'n tijd
2
3
Everything in (its) good time Alles staat klaar
2
3
Everything is ready, all necessary things are
put in readiness Alles went
2
3
You (can, will) get used to anything Alles gaat mis
2
3
Everything is going wrong Alles was rustig
All was quiet Eerlijk zullen we alles delen
2
We'll share everything [honestly] fairly Ze deden alles samen
They were (always) doing everything together
Hij doet alles zelf
2
3
He does everything by himself Ik begin aan alles te twijfelen
2
3
I'm starting to have doubts about everything Alles is hetzelfde gebleven
2
Everything has remained the same Alles wat je zegt
2
3
Everything (anything) you say Sommige dagen gaat alles mis
2
On some days everything goes wrong Sommige dagen gaat er van alles mis
On some days all kinds of things go wrong Ik heb al van alles
2
I already have all kinds of things alles behalve
2
3
'everything except' - but when written as one word
it rather means 'certainly not' alles behalve de tomaten
2
3
everything except the tomatoes Hij is allesbehalve betrouwbaar
2
3
He is [everything except trustworthy]
certainly not to be trusted
Synomyms, Alternates and
Related Words
'al'
2
al/alle
'all' ieder
ieder / iedere
2
'every' elk
elk / elke
'each'
The words above do not mean exactly the same, but they are close. The
differences are mostly in usage. I may not be getting the English
exactly right.
De zon komt iedere dag op
The sun comes up every day Iedere soldaat heeft een moeder
Every soldier has a mother iedereen
everyone, everybody (anybody) Niet iedereen kan dat
2
3
4
5
Not everybody can do that Iedereen maakt fouten
Everyone makes mistakes Iedereen is welkom
All are welcome Er is genoeg voor iedereen
2
3
There is enough for everybody Dat kan iedereen overkomen
2
3
That can happen to anybody Elke dag is goed
Every day is good, any day suits me
't Kan elk moment gebeuren
2
3
It can happen any moment Ik sta elke dag vroeg op
2
I get up early every day Er is elke dag weer
te weinig tijd
It's really every day
that there is not enough time Elk wat wils
Something for everyone (to everyone's liking) Elk pondje gaat door 't mondje
Each pound goes through the mouth
(dieting slogan) Ik eet elke dag een sinaasappel
2
I [eat] have an orange every day Elk vogeltje zingt
zoals 't gebekt is
Each bird sings as its beak is (you can't change a
leopard's spots) Elke dag
heeft genoeg aan z'n eigen leed
Each day has enough suffering of its own Elk woord was waar
Every word was true Elke keer dezelfde
excuses!
2
3
Every time the same excuses! per
'for each' - and other meanings per stuk
2
'each,' for each item twee gulden per stuk
2 guilders each één keer per dag
'one time a day, once daily' twee keer per dag
two times, twice daily Dat hoeft maar eens per jaar
2
3
4
That only needs to be done once a year, that
only requires action once a year vier uur per dag
2
4 hours a day
‑>> tien minuten per uur
2
3
10 minutes each hour dertig kilometer per uur
30 kilometers an hour per persoon
2
3
4
'for each person,' per person per ongeluk
2
by accident, inadvertently
Elkaar
is 'each other'
onder elkaar
'among each other' - in trusted, exclusive company mannen onder elkaar
2
3
'men among each other' - men without women,
occasionally misbehaving Ze ontmoetten elkaar op een
feestje
2
3
They met [each other] at a party Elkaar voor rotte vis
uitmaken
2
3
4
(expression) 'Calling each other spoiled (rotten) fish' - mutual insulting
See also: Reciprocal Verbs
'Welk'
2 /
'welke'
2
(welk/welke'
2 )
is 'which'
welke boom?
2
which tree? welk huis?
2
3
which house? welke auto?
which car? welke auto's?
2
3
which cars?
‑>>
- 2
Welke dag komt je het beste uit?
[Which] What day would suit you best? Welke kant op?
2
Which way? Which direction? welke dan ook
2
3
'whichever' - any op welke manier dan ook
in whatever way possible, in any manner Je kunt wel zien
uit welke hoek de wind waait
2
['You can see from which corner the wind is
blowing'] - 'You can see
where that's coming from, what's behind it'
There are many common compound words
with 'al,' for instance:
altijd
all the time, always
->> meestal
2
most of the time, usually
->> overal
2
everywhere
't heelal
2
3
['the whole all'] - the universe allemaal
'all,' 'all of it, in its entirety'
and (about a group of people) 'everybody,' 'all (people)' helemaal
2
completely, entirely, fully, all over
altijd
all the time, always
‑>> Vers brood is altijd lekker
2
Fresh bread is always [tasty] good Hij wil altijd meer
2
3
He always wants more,
it's never enough for him Ze willen alijd meer
2
They always want more Ik krijg
wel eens honger op straat,
maar ik eet altijd thuis
Sometimes I get hungry on the street,
but I always eat at home
Er is altijd wel iets
There's always something (wrong, bad)
D'r is ook altijd wat
2
There's always something Zo gaat 't altijd
2
3
4
[It always goes ...] - It's always like this Er is voor jou altijd plaats
2
3
There's always room, a place for you Hij staat altijd voor je klaar
2
He's always [ready] there for you Hij staat altijd klaar voor je
He's always [ready] there for you Er gaat altijd zoveel mis!
2
So many things go wrong, all the time Waarom gaat altijd alles mis?
2
3
4
Why does everthing always go wrong? Ik moet me altijd ergens aan
vasthouden
2
3
4
I need to hold on to something
(a fixed point) at all times voor eens en altijd
2
3
4
for once and for all time Dan weet je dat voor eens en altijd
2
3
Then you'll know (that) once and for all
(you won't forget it) bijna altijd
almost always meestal
2
most of the time, usually
->> 't Is meestal bewolkt in Nederland
2
It's usually overcast in Holland Ik ga meestal om half elf naar bed
2
I usually go to bed at 10:30 De trein is meestal op tijd
2
The train is usually on time overal
2
everywhere Waar je ook kijkt - overal water
Wherever you look - water everywhere 't Is toch overal hetzelfde
2
[it's the same everywhere after all]
It's the same everywhere anyway
- wherever you go, it doesn't get any better Ik heb overal jeuk
2
3
4
[I'm itching everywhere] - I'm itchy all over In a certain specific
context (with a preposition) 'overal'
2 means
'everything' ‑>>
Hij is overal tegen
2
He is against everything, He is not in
favor of anything Hij weet overal van
2
He knows everything (about a certain case) Hij weet overal wat van
2
3
4
5
He knows something (a little) of everything
(Renaissance person?) Hij had overal aan gedacht
2
3
4
He had thought of everything (he was well-prepared) alom
2
'all around,' everywhere Hilariteit alom
2
3
Hilarity all around, everyone was laughing (de) alomtegenwoordigheid
2
3
omnipresence, ubiquitous-ness (said of God) allemaal
'all,' 'all of it, in its entirety'
and (about a group of people) 'everybody,' 'all (people)' 't Is allemaal onzin
2
[All of it is nonsense]
- It's all/pure nonsense Wat een onzin allemaal
2
3
4
Such a load of nonsense/crap 't Was dus allemaal gelogen
2
So all of it [was lied] were lies 't Is allemaal hetzelfde gebleven
2
It has all remained the same 't Maakt toch allemaal niks uit
2
[All of it doesn't make a difference]
- Nothing can be done, it's hopeless wat er allemaal ...
all the things that ... Wat er allemaal mis kan gaan
2
3
4
5
6
All the things that can go wrong Welterusten allemaal!
2
Goodnight all! In die tijd hadden we allemaal lang haar
At that time, all of us had long hair
Similar to 'allemaal'
('all of it') Dutch has 'helemaal'
2
('completely, entirely, fully, all over.')
't Was helemaal wit
It was (had gone) entirely white
(probably after snowfall) Ik vertrouw 't niet helemaal
2
I do not fully trust it, I'm a bit suspicious Ik ben helemaal gaar
I'm fully cooked
(something lasted too long) Ik werd er helemaal naar van
It (fear or other emotion)
made me sick all over Ik was 't helemaal vergeten
I had completely forgotten (it) - I'd forgotten
all about it Je kunt nooit helemaal zeker zijn
2
3
4
You can never be entirely certain,
completely sure Je hebt helemaal gelijk
2
You are entirely right (informal 'you') U heeft helemaal gelijk
You are entirely right (polite 'you') Helemaal mee eens!
2
3
I fully agree Er ging iets helemaal mis
2
3
4
5
Something went completely wrong helemaal niet
2
3
not at all helemaal niet zo gek
2
3
not that crazy at all - a good idea Hij was helemaal niet
wijzer geworden
He [had become] was none the wiser Ik heb helemaal geen interesse
I have no interest at all Dat is helemaal niet zo
2
3
It isn't like that at all, that's completely wrong We zijn er bijna ...
We're almost there ... ... maar nog niet helemaal
2
... but not yet entirely (travel) Ik ben er nog niet helemaal uit
2
3
['I'm not yet completely out of it'] -
I do not yet fully understand it Ik voel me niet helemaal helder
I'm don't feel entirely clear/awake,
I feel a bit foggy Hij was helemaal overstuur
2
3
He was completely shaken up, disturbed, not
his usual self Ben je helemaal gek geworden?
Have you gone completely crazy?
Are you out of your mind?
Zijn ze helemaal gek geworden!
2
3
They must be crazy, they sure have gone mad!
De minuutwijzer
lijkt wel helemaal stil te staan
2
It looks like the minutes hand
completely stopped moving niet helemaal precies hetzelfde
2
3
[not entirely exactly the same] -
not completely identical Er hoeft maar iets te gebeuren of
't gaat helemaal mis
2
3
4
[It only needs a little something to happen and
it'll go completely wrong] - Any little thing
can offset the precarious balance and lead to disaster Ik moet helemaal overnieuw beginnen
2
3
4
I [will] have to start all over again Ik moet helemaal opnieuw beginnen
2
3
4
5
6
I [will] have to start all over again Dat is helemaal de rage hier
2
'That is all the rage here,'
it's quite a craze here Dat mag helemaal niet!
2
3
That's absolutely not allowed
Compleet
(complete
)
and
volledig
2
3
4
(volledige
2 )
are 'complete, full'
een compleet overzicht
2
3
a complete survey, overview, outline (de) volledige baan
2
3
full-time job
‑>>
de volledige werken van Vondel
the complete works of Vondel
'Heel'
2
3
(hele
/ heel/hele
2 )
can also mean 'all, complete' but usually in the sense of
'whole'
‑>>
['the whole day'] 'all day'
2
'all through the day,' 'all day long'
2
all the time
2
all over the world
2
3
4
We have searched the whole world over
geheel
/
gehele
2
3
('whole, complete')
completely in black (black clothes)
2
teetotaler, person staying away
from alcohol
2
3
completely unexpected, out of the
blue Nederlands
2
3
4
He quite unexpectedly speaks Dutch
very well
Aller
2
- 'of all' - is the
old-fashioned possessive of 'al' still found in names and standard
phrases etc.
(De) Allerheiligenbaai
('Bay of All Saints'
- San Salvador (?) Brazil - probably named after the day it was 'discovered.')
aller with a superlative:
De mooiste auto aller tijden
2
3
4
'the most beautiful car [of all time] ever'
->>
de armen
2
3
'the poor' - also the
body parts between hands and shoulders de armsten
2
3
'the poorest people' de allerarmsten
2
'the poorest of all, the poorest of the poor'
de eerste vogels
2
3
4
the first birds de allereerste vogels
2
3
the very first birds allerlei
2
1. all kinds of things
The opposite of
'al/alles'
('everything') is 'niets'
('nothing') or the slightly more common 'niks'
- note that while Dutch says 'verb nothing,'
English usage is often 'not verb anything.'
Alles of niets
All or nothing Er is mij niets van bekend
2
[Nothing is known to me about it]
- I know nothing about it Niets is heilig
Nothing is sacred 't Gaat me niets aan
2
It's none of my business (de) nietsnut
2
a good-for-nothing, useless person See also:
iets
something Niks voor niks
2
'Nothing for nothing'
- everything has a price, nothing is free niks nieuws
2
3
nothing new Daar weet ik niks van
2
I know nothing about that,
I don't know anything about that Ik weet er niks van
2
I know nothing about it,
I don't know anything about it Hij weet van niks
2
3
He knows nothing about it Ik begrijp er niks van
2
3
[I understand nothing of it] - I don't understand any of
it, I don't understand it at all Dan weet ik nog niks
2
3
Then I still [know nothing]
don't know anything - failed experiments Er was helemaal niks over
There was [nothing at all left]
not anything left Er bleef niks van over
2
There was nothing left of it, it was gone completely Er is niks te lachen
2
3
There is nothing to laugh about,
it's not funny Al die moeite voor niks
2
All that trouble for nothing,
all that effort in vain Ik vind er niks aan
I don't care for it, it doesn't interest me
(I'm bored) 't Zou niks voor mij zijn
2
3
[It would be nothing for me]
- I wouldn't want that (something some other people
seem to enjoy) Ik heb er niks aan
2
3
4
5
It's not useful to me,
it's of no use to me Er is niks aan
2
3
1. It's not interesting 2. It's an easy job, it doesn't
require much skill Raak niks aan!
2
3
[Touch nothing] - Do not touch anything! Er is niks aan te doen
There is nothing that can be done about it Niks aan te doen!
2
3
Nothing can be done about it! Ik kan er niks aan doen
I can't help it /or/ it's not my fault 't Verbaast me niks
2
I'm not surprised Je merkt er niks van
2
3
You won't notice a thing 't Voegt niks toe
2
It doesn't add anything Ik geloof er niks van
2
3
[I believe nothing of it] - I don't believe a word
of it (#2) Ik geloof er niks van
2
3
4
[I believe nothing of it] - I don't believe a word
of it Er is niks op tegen
2
There is nothing against it (go ahead) Er is niks veranderd
Nothing has changed Er is helemaal niks veranderd
2
Nothing at all has changed,
not a single thing Er is niks aan de hand
2
There's nothing going on (move on) Ik trek me er niks van aan
2
[It doesn't influence me] I don't care,
it doesn't bother me, I'll just do what I do
't Maakt
toch allemaal niks uit
2
[All of it makes no difference]
It doesn't make any difference,
(it's hopeless) Ik wil niks
verloren laten gaan
2
I don't want anything to go to waste Ik wil er niks
mee te maken hebben
2
3
I don't want to have anything to do with it,
I don't want to be involved in it Dat wordt toch niks
2
3
4
[That's going to be nothing anyway - That's not
going to be anything ever] That's never going to work Hij heeft niks bereikt
2
[He reached nothing] - He has achieved nothing, he
didn't get results, 'he got nowhere' Daar bereik je niks mee
2
3
4
5
That's not going to get you results, you won't
achieve anything with that, it's useless, 'it gets you nowhere' niksen
2
3
doing nothing, idling Hij zit te niksen
2
3
He's doing nothing, idling, he's lazing about
'Biologisch' is niks anders dan vroeg negentiende eeuwse landbouw
'Organic' is nothing else than (the same thing as)
early 19th-Century agriculture
'Nergens'
2 usually
means 'nowhere' - but sometimes it's used as
'nothing' -
more
niemand
2
nobody, no-one Niemand is volmaakt
Nobody is perfect Er was niemand boven hem
There was no-one above him Niemand heeft genoeg tijd
2
3
Nobody has enough time
Daar kijkt niemand meer van op
2
3
Nobody is surprised, impressed
by that anymore See also:
iemand
someone, somebody
'Alleen'
can sometimes be translated as 'alone' - which also
either means 'only' or 'by yourself, on your own'
alleen suiker
2
sugar only, just sugar (in your tea or coffee) alleen melk
2
milk only, just milk
(cream for coffee is called 'melk')Hij dronk alleen water
He only drank water, all he drank was water Alleen op zondag
2
3
Only on Sundays Er is alleen herrie
There is only a racket,
all there is is horrible noise Dat kan alleen mij overkomen
2
3
[That can only happen to me] - Things like
that only happen to me (I am a person of much bad luck) In de hemel zijn alleen goede mensen
In heaven, there are only good people 't Is alleen windstil
als je wilt vliegeren
2
3
The only time there's no wind is
when you'd like to fly a kite M'n vrouw zegt
dat het alleen windstil
is als je wil(t) vliegeren
My wife says the only time there's no wind is
when you'd like to fly a kite Het is alleen een gewoonte
2
All it is is a habit, it's just a habit De mens kan niet alleen van brood leven
Man cannot live by bread alone from
'Miracle on 34th Street '
Ik wil alleen maar bij deze lieve
mevrouw blijven
2
[I want only] All I want
is to stay with this kind lady
'Alleen'
and 'alone' can also mean 'on your own,' 'by yourself' alleen thuis
2
home alone Eenzaam maar niet Alleen
Lonely but not Alone
(Queen Wilhelmina's autobiography) Je hebt 't rijk alleen
2
['You have the realm to yourself']
- said when you leave one
person by themselves in a house or an office Je staat er alleen voor
2
You're on your own, you're by yourself eenzaam
2
3
(eenzame
2
3 )
lonely
3. 'al' =
'even if'
Dutch 'al' can also mean something
like 'even if' indicating a contradiction,
an exaggeration or a strong feeling
Al zeg ik 't zelf
2
3
[Even if I say so] If I may say so myself
Al kost 't duizend gulden
2
3
Even if the price is a thousand guilders
Al kost 't me jaren
2
3
Even if it's going to take (me) years
Al is de leugen nog zo snel, de waarheid achterhaalt haar
wel
2
3
4
['However quick a lie may be, the truth will overtake it']
- Lies won't last, the truth will come out eventually
Synomyms, Alternates and
Related Words
In another type
of sentences we find
'even' - zelfs
Zelfs in de schaduw was het warm
Even in the shade it was hot
Zelfs als hij geweten had dat het zou gaan regenen ...
2
Even if he'd known that it was going to rain ...
See also the 'even'
disambiguation page
Dutch Vocabulary Overview
- Dutch Grammar Overview
- Listen to and Read Dutch
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Copyright © Marco Schuffelen 2014.
All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, redistributed,
or hotlinked to.
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![[Marco at Microphone]](artwork6/MarcoMicrofoonH150RT.jpg)
2![[Ring Lardner's 'You Know Me Al']](artwork5/YouKnowMeAl300.jpg)