Disambiguation: Many common Dutch words have more than one meaning.
Om acht uur
2 |
At 8 (o'clock) |
Om acht uur precies
2
|
At 8 o'clock sharp |
Om ongeveer vier uur
|
At about 4 (o'clock) |
We komen om vier uur aan
2
|
We'll arrive at 4 |
Ik ga om acht uur weg
2
3
|
I'm [going away] leaving at 8 |
Ik moet om acht uur weg
2
|
I have to leave at 8 |
We gaan om zes uur weg
|
We're leaving at 6 |
't Is om zes uur
2
|
It is at 6 (event etc.) |
't Begint om negen uur
|
It starts at 9 |
Ik heb een afspraak om acht uur
2
3
|
I have an 8 o'clock appointment |
Om elf uur viel ik in slaap
2
|
I fell asleep at 11 |
Ik werd om vier uur wakker
|
I woke up at 4 |
Ik ben om zes uur opgestaan
2
|
I got up at 6 |
Ik ga meestal om half elf naar bed
2
|
I usually go to bed at 10:30 |
Ik probeer om tien uur in bed te liggen
2
|
I try to be (lying) in bed by 10 |
Kun je me om zeven uur wakker maken?
2
3
|
Could you (please) wake me up at 7 |
De volgende trein gaat om half twaalf
2
|
The next train [goes, leaves] is at 11:30 |
De laatste trein gaat om tien over twaalf
2
3
|
The last train is at 10 past 12 |
't Was alsof de zon om middernacht opkwam
|
It was as if the sun came up at midnight |
Ik moet om acht uur op m'n werk zijn
2
3
|
I have to be at work at 8
(at the place where I work, 'on the job')
|
Om te beginnen ...
2
|
To start with ..., For starters ... |
Om 't af te leren
2
3
|
'to unlearn it,' 'to break the habit'
- said when you take one too many drinks or snacks
|
Om van 't gezeur af te zijn
2
|
To be done with the nagging, to get rid of the
hassle, the pointless, annoying talk |
Drinken om te vergeten
2
3
|
Drinking (alcohol) to forget |
Om precies te zijn ...
2
|
To be exact ... |
Te dom om voor de duivel te dansen
2
|
Too stupid to dance for the devil |
Iets om naar uit te kijken
2
|
Something to look forward to |
Iets om over te praten
2
|
Something to talk about |
Dingen om over te praten
2
|
Things to talk about |
Het is geen schande om arm te zijn
2
|
It's not shameful to be poor
(being poor is no disgrace) |
Het is niet om te lachen
2
3
4
|
[It's not to laugh about, it's not for laughing]
- It's no laughing matter, it's not funny |
t Is niet aan ons om te oordelen
2
3
4
|
It's not for (up to) us to judge |
Hij was te klein om over de schutting te kijken
2
|
He was too small to look over the fence |
Nederlands is een mooie taal ...
|
Dutch is a beautiful language ... |
... maar misschien niet om te zingen
(2)
|
... but maybe not for singing |
De beste plaats om Nederlands te leren
|
The best place to learn Dutch,
for learning Dutch |
Wat bezielt die mensen
om dat te doen?
2
3
|
What drives those people to do that? |
Ik was van plan om het huis wit te verven
|
I was planning to paint the house white |
We zijn van plan om morgen weg te gaan
|
We're planning to leave tomorrow |
We waren van plan om weg te gaan
|
We were planning to leave
|
Hij deed veel
om de stad mooi te maken
2
|
He did much to beautify the town |
Next to use similar to English 'to' with verb infinitives like in
3. 'om' =
'about,' '~because of,' 'for' - giving a reason
Veel gedoe om niks
|
Much ado about nothing |
De Slag om Arnhem
2
|
The Battle for Arnhem
->> |
om een-of-andere reden
2
|
for one reason or another
- on vague, questionable grounds |
om gezondheidsredenen
2
|
for reasons of health,
because of health concerns |
Oog om oog, tand om tand
2
3
|
An eye for an eye,
a tooth for a tooth (archaic justice) |
Kom daar nou nog eens om!
2
|
[Come for that nowadays again] - It's not possible
to find something like that anymore - an item or an attitude that
went out of fashion |
om den brode
2
|
[for the bread] - for the money, for a living |
The Dutch verb
'gaan'
->>
by itself means 'to go' but combined with various prepositions it
takes on different meanings. 'Gaan om' means 'to be
about' - 'that what is important,' while 'gaan over'
is also translated as 'to be about' but then it is
giving the subject of a book etc. See also:
Disambiguation: Over and the
gaan verb page
't Gaat om 't geld
2
|
It's about the money |
't Gaat niet om 't geld
|
It's not about the money |
't Gaat wel om 't geld
2
|
It really is about the money
->> |
|
Waar gaat 't om?
2
|
What is it about? |
Dat is niet waar 't om gaat
2
|
That's not what it is about |
But the compound verb
omgaan
2
can mean 'to circulate,' "go 'round" and
omgaan met
2
can mean 'to handle, deal with' but also something like 'to meet
socially, spend time together'
Er gaat veel geld om
2
|
There's a lot of money [going 'round] in it |
Hij kan niet met geld omgaan
2
3
|
He cannot handle, deal with money |
Ze gaan veel met elkaar om
2
3
4
|
They're spending much time together, they're seeing a lot of
each other |
|
omdat
|
because
- more |
Omdat er zoveel te zien was
|
Because there was so much to see |
Omdat ik Nederlands ben
|
Because I am Dutch |
Hij was blij
omdat het mooi weer was
|
He was glad because [it was nice weather]
the weather was nice
|
Ik was kwaad
omdat ik weer voor m'n rijexamen gezakt was
2
|
I was angry because
I failed the driving test again |
Omdat ik het zeg
2
3
4
|
Because I say [it] so (an authoritarian statement) |
Omdat het niet anders kan
2
3
|
[Because it can't be (done) differently] - Because
there is no other way |
(de) oorzaak
| cause |
(het) gevolg
| effect |
|
waarom?
2
|
what for? why? |
Waarom zijn de bananen krom?
2
3
|
Why are bananas not straight? |
Waarom ben je nu hier?
|
Why are you here now? |
Waarom ben je boos?
|
Why are you angry? |
Waarom doe je dat?
2
3
|
Why are you doing that? |
vraag niet waarom
|
Don't ask why |
Waarom een Nederlander?
|
Why a Dutchman? |
Er is geen reden waarom hij niet zou kunnen winnen
|
There's no reason he couldn't win |
|
Waarom moet 't zo moeilijk zijn?
2
|
Why does it have to be so difficult? |
Waarom kan 't niet gemakkelijk zijn?
2
|
Why can't it be easy? |
|
daarom
2
|
that's why, because of that |
Waarom? Daarom!
|
Why? [That's why!] Because!
|
... en daarom ben ik weggegaan
2
3
|
.. and that's why I left |
... en daarom wil ik geen elektrische fiets
2
3
|
... and because of that I don't want
an electric bicycle |
4. 'om' =
'around' -or- 'a turnaround'
Bomen om het huis
|
Trees around the house |
Om de hoek
2
3
|
Around the corner |
Ik ga even een blokje om
2
|
I'm going for a little walk around the block |
Alles om me heen lijkt zo langzaam,
alsof ìk in een hogere versnelling zit
|
Everything around me looks so slow,
as if I am in higher gear |
Kijk om je heen!
2
|
Look around you! |
'om de Noord'
2
3
|
'around the North'
- the search for a Northern sea route from Europe to Asia, the 'Northwest' or
'Northeast Passage'
't Weer sloeg plotseling om
2
3
|
The weather suddenly (turned around)
changed |
't roer omgooien
|
['to [throw] turn around the rudder']
to drastically change course |
omkeren
|
to turn around |
(de) ommekeer
2
3
4
|
turnaround, turn, change |
rechtsomkeert maken
2
3
|
making a 180° turn, turning back,
turning around |
(de) omwenteling
2
|
'turnaround' - rotation, revolution
- also of government |
omkopen
2
|
to bribe ('kopen'
= to buy
->>) |
(het) smeergeld
|
[grease-money] - a bribe, baksheesh
|
|
(de) omweg
2
|
'detour' |
't Is om
|
'It's a detour, it's not the shortest way' |
|
zich omdraaien
2
3
4
|
to turn around (standing up) // to turn over
(lying down, like in bed) |
Hij draaide zich om en liep
weg
2
3
|
He turned around and walked away |
Draai je nou niet nog een keer
om
2
3
|
[Now don't turn over (in bed) another time]
- Get up! |
|
omheen
|
"around" |
Je kunt er niet omheen
2
3
|
[You can't pass around it]- 'You'll have
to deal with it, you can't ignore it' |
|
(de) omgeving
2
3
|
surroundings, environment // surroundings, neighborhood |
|
(de) omtrek
2
|
circumference |
rondom
2
3
|
~around |
achterom
2
|
'around the back,' backward |
Kijk even achterom
voordat je afslaat
2
|
Quickly look back
before you make a turn (in traffic) |
|
(de) omstandigheden
2
3
|
circumstances, situation |
de huidige omstandigheden
2
3
|
the present circumstances |
onder bepaalde omstandigheden
2
3
|
under certain circumstances |
onder welke omstandigheden
2
|
under which circumstances |
wegens omstandigheden gesloten
2
3 |
closed due to (unexpected) circumstances |
(de) samenloop van omstandigheden
 |
[convergenge, (running) coming together of circumstances]
- coincidence |
also: (de) situatie
2
|
situation, circumstances |
"Ik ken de situatie"
2
|
I know the situation (the circumstances,
what's going on) |
een vervelende situatie
2
|
an unpleasant situation |
een onhoudbare situatie
2
3
|
an untenable situation,
"it can't go on like this" |
and also: (de) positie
2
|
position |
een onhoudbare positie
2
3
4 |
1. a viewpoint that's unacceptable
2. (military) a location that cannot be defended |
|
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) |
|
5. 'om' =
'alternating'
In a few phrases, 'om' means
'alternating, every other -'
om de week
|
every other week |
om en om
2
3
|
'alternating' |
om de dag
|
every other day |
Actually, 'every other
day' can also have a radically different meaning: 'every other day
than this' - which in Dutch is: |
elke andere dag is goed
2
3
4
|
Every other day (than this) is fine |
6. various
vragen om
2
3
|
to ask for |
Hij vroeg om een glas water
2
3
|
He asked for a glass of water |
Hij vroeg om een verklaring
2
|
He asked for an explanation |
Ze vroegen om geld
2
3
4
| They asked for money |
We vragen om hulp
2
3
|
We're asking for help, assistance |
Ze vroegen ons om hulp
2
|
They asked us for help, assistance |
Ik heb er niet om gevraagd
2
3
|
I did not ask for it |
bidden om regen
2
3
|
praying for rain |
|
zich omkleden
|
to change
(clothes) -
reflexive verbs |
Ga je je omkleden?
2
|
Are you going to change (clothes)? |
|
Vandaag moet ik een boom
omzagen in Heelsum
2
3
|
Today I have to cut down a tree in Heelsum |
|
(de) omschrijving
2
|
description |
Kun je 't omschrijven?
2
|
Could you describe it? |
Ik kom om van de honger
2
3
|
I'm perishing of hunger, I'm famished, I'm starving
- usually jocular: I'm very hungry |
|
omhoog
2
3
|
'up' |
We klommen omhoog
|
We climbed up |
omlaag
2
|
'down' |
We gleden omlaag
2
|
We slid (glided?) down |
kortom ...
2
3
|
'in short,' summarizing, 'in conclusion' |
Dutch Vocabulary Overview
- Dutch Grammar Overview
- Listen to and Read Dutch
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Don't be a
dief (thief) /
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2
|