Disambiguation: Many common words can have more than one meaning, with
different translations
Raar maar waar
2
3
|
Strange but true |
| Langzaam maar zeker
2
3
|
Slow but steady |
| Rijk maar geen geld
2
3
|
Rich, but no money / Rich without money |
| Eenzaam maar niet alleen
2
|
Lonely but not alone |
| Geen woorden maar daden!
2
|
Not words but actions! No words but action! |
| Hij was eerlijk, maar beleefd
|
He was honest, but polite |
| Ouder, maar niet wijzer
|
Older, but not wiser |
|
Ik had schrijver willen worden,
maar ik ben spreker geworden
|
I wanted to be a writer,
but I've become a speaker |
|
We zouden gaan fietsen,
maar 't begon te regenen
|
We were going to ride our bikes,
but it started to rain |
|
Ik krijg wel eens honger op straat,
maar ik eet altijd thuis
2
|
I get hungry in the street sometimes,
but I always eat at home |
|
De geest is gewillig,
maar 't vlees is zwak
2
3
|
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak
(Matthew 26:41) |
| Ik werd niet door
een wesp gestoken, maar door een bij
|
I was not stung by a wasp, but by a bee |
|
|
Ik ben wel oud, maar toch niet zò oud
2
|
I may be old, but I'm not that old |
|
De wind is gaan liggen,
maar we zitten nog steeds in het water
|
The wind has died down,
but we're still [in the water] flooded |
| |
| Nederlands is een mooie taal ...
|
Dutch is a beautiful language ... |
| ... maar misschien niet om te zingen
(
)
|
... but maybe not for singing |
| |
| Geld maakt niet gelukkig ...
2
|
Money doesn't make you happy, money does not
create happiness ... |
| ... maar 't is wel (ge)makkelijk
2
3
|
... but it is convenient,
it makes life easier |
| |
| 't Is niet vies ...
2
3 |
It doesn't taste bad ... |
|
- maar 't had lekkerder kunnen zijn
2 |
- but it could have been better |
|
- maar 't was ook niet geweldig
2
3 |
- but it wasn't great either |
|
- maar 't is ook niet bijzonder
2
|
- but it's not special either
(talking about experiments in cooking) |
| |
| 't Is niet fout ...
2
3 |
It's not wrong ... |
|
- maar 't is niet mooi
2
3 |
- but it's not pretty |
|
- maar je kunt het eenvoudiger zeggen
2
3
|
- but there's a simpler way to say it |
| |
| Ik heb een paar jaar pianoles gehad ...
|
I've had a few years of piano lessons ... |
|
... maar ik had beter gitaar kunnen leren spelen
|
... but it would have been better
if I'd learned to play the guitar |
| We zijn er bijna ...
2 |
We're almost there ... |
|
... maar nog niet helemaal
2
|
... but not [yet entirely] quite |
| |
M'n vrouw zegt
dat de bal niet in het doel
wordt
geschopt maar geschoten
|
My wife says that the ball is not
kicked but shot into the goal
(soccer; English usage may be different) |
| Velen worden geroepen,
maar weinigen worden uitgekozen
|
Many are called,
but (only a) few are chosen |
| Ja, maar ...
|
Yes, but ...(voicing objections) |
| Maar jazeker!
2
|
But certainly! |
| Maar gaat U verder
|
But please continue
(with what you were saying) |
| Maar niet heus
|
But not really - "Not!" |
| Maar wij
zitten met de gebakken peren
2
3
|
(expression) But we are left with [the baked
pears] an unwanted responsibility |
| Maar vandaag
voel ik me gelukkig weer een stuk beter
|
But today luckily I feel a whole lot better |
| Er zijn speciale molentjes voor
maar ik heb er geen
2
|
There are specialized 'little mills' for it
but I don't have one
(talking about kitchen gadgets like a Romano beans slicer) |
| 'Maar'
= only, just |
|
|---|
| 't Lijkt maar zo
|
It only looks that way |
|
Misschien lijkt 't maar zo
2
3
4
|
Maybe it only looks that way |
| We wonen nog maar kort hier
2
|
We've only lived here for a short while |
| Dat ging maar net goed
2
3
|
That only just went well (it could easily have
gone wrong) |
| Door de tegenwind
kwamen we maar met moeite vooruit
2
|
Because we had the wind against us,
we only progressed [with difficulty] slowly |
| Door de tegenwind
kwamen we met moeite vooruit
2
|
Because we had the wind against us, we progressed [with
difficulty] slowly |
| Ik wil alleen maar
bij deze lieve mevrouw blijven
2
|
[I only want ...] -
All I want is to stay with this kind lady
(from 'Miracle on 34th Street') |
| 'Maar'
= only, no more than
|
|
|---|
| 't Duurde maar tien minuten
|
It lasted only ten minutes |
| 't Kostte maar vijf minuten
2
|
It [did cost] took only 5 minutes |
| Er is maar één oplossing
2
|
There's only one solution |
| 't Gebeurt maar eens in je leven
2
|
It happens only once in your life |
| 't Is maar een verhaaltje
|
It's just a story |
| 't Is maar een schrammetje
2
|
It's only a scratch |
| Hij is nog maar een baby
2
|
He's [still] just a baby |
| één keer maar
2
3
|
just one time, one time only |
| "Dat is maar bijzaak"
2
3
4 |
'That is only a side issue,
that's not the important thing |
| Dutch people don't use the equivalent
slechts ('just, only') in the spoken language,
it's only written |
| 'Maar'
= just (continuation) |
|
|---|
| 't Water blijft stijgen
|
The water keeps rising |
| 't Water blijft maar stijgen
|
The water just keeps rising |
| 't Blijft maar regenen
2
|
It just keeps raining,
the rain just doesn't let up |
| 't Houdt maar niet op
2
|
It just doesn't stop, it just never stops |
| 't Gaat maar door
2
3
|
It just goes on and on, it never stops (like waves
breaking on a beach) |
| Ik heb 't maar zo gelaten
2
|
I just left it like that - I didn't take (further) action |
| 'Maar'
= just (warning or encouragement) |
|
|---|
| Laat je handjes
maar eens wapperen
2
|
['Just make your (little) hands wave frantically,
snap']- Get active! Get cracking! |
| Als je dat maar laat!
2
3
|
['If only you don't do that']
- Leave it out, don't do that |
| Als je dat maar weet
2
3
|
[If only you know that]
- Be sure to keep that in mind |
| Als je haar maar goed zit!
2
3
|
[If only your hair 'sits well']
- The most important thing is that your hair looks OK |
| |
| Zeg 't niet tegen Piet
2
|
Don't [mention it to] tell Piet |
| Zeg 't maar niet tegen Piet
2
|
[Just] Please don't tell Piet, It would
be better not to tell Piet |
| Zeg maar niks tegen Piet
2
3
4
|
[Just] Please [say nothing] don't say anything about it
to Piet |
| 'Maar' = just |
|
|---|
| Doe maar normaal,
dan doe je al gek genoeg
2
|
Just do like you always do,
that's enough craziness already |
| 't Is maar wat je gewend bent
2
3
|
It's just what you're used to |
| 't Wil maar niet lukken
2
3
|
[It's indeed not succeeding]
- It just isn't working out |
| Hij doet maar wat
2
3
|
["He just does something random"]
- (He's not serious, not making an effort) |
| Hij zegt maar wat
2
3
4
|
[He's just saying something at random] - He's not
serious, what he says is of no value |
| Was ik maar ...
2
3
|
I wish I was ..., I wish I had ...
(Dutch can use either 'zijn' (to be) or hebben
('to have') for the
perfect tense) |
| Was ik er
maar nooit aan begonnen
2
3
4
|
I wish I had never started (on) it,
gotten into it |
| Was ik maar
bij moeder thuis gebleven
2
3
4
|
I wish I had stayed with my mom
(at my parents' house - "Mama told me not to come") |
| Was ik maar in Den Haag!
2
|
I wish I was in The Hague. Things would be better
if I was in The Hague. |
| Had ik maar ...
2
|
I wish I had ..., If only I had ... |
| Had ik maar een boel geld
|
I wish I had a lot of money |
| Lag ik maar aan het strand
2
|
I wish I was lying (lazing?) on the beach |
| Kon ik nog maar even blijven liggen!
2
3
|
['If only I could remain lying down a moment
longer '] - I wish I could stay in bed a little longer |
| |
| Compare: |
|
|---|
| Als 't niet te laat is
2
|
If it's not too late |
| Als 't nog niet te laat is
2
3
|
If it's not too late yet |
| Als 't nog maar niet te laat is
|
If only it's not too late
(I hope it's not too late) |
| Laat maar
|
Let it be, never mind, don't bother
(no need for action) |
| Laat maar zitten
2
3
|
['No need to 'move,' just leave it be']
- Keep the change (offering the change as tip) |
| Zeg 't maar
2
3
|
You can say it, Feel free to speak up |
| Zeg maar
wat je zou willen hebben van Sinterklaas
|
Just say what you'd like to have from Santa
(from 'Miracle on 34th Street') |
| Doe 't maar
2
|
Go ahead, do it |
| Geef maar hier
2
|
You may hand it to me (I'll take care of it) |
| Let maar niet op mij
2
|
Now don't pay attention to me |
| Rustig maar
2
|
There, there (comforting an upset person) |
| Gelukkig maar!
2
3
|
Lucky indeed! We're lucky |
| Je bent er maar druk mee
2
3
|
[You're quite busy with it.]
It's taking a lot of your time. |
| 't Zal je kind maar wezen
|
Just imagine that it would be your child |
| Ho maar!
2
|
Stop it! That's enough. |
| Nederlands ho maar!
|
Dutch [just stop] - not so much! (said when an
outrageous statement is made in bad Dutch) |
| Zo zie je maar ...
2
|
So, this way you see ..., this shows ... |
| Zo zie je maar wie echt je vrienden zijn
|
This shows who your real friends are |
![[Marco at Microphone]](artwork6/MarcoMicrofoonH150RT.jpg)