Disambiguation: Dutch 'Om' - Multiple Meanings and Related Words

Om	'at' hours - "at midnight" (om ... te) 'to' with verb infinitive, 'for' with present participle - "to die for" - "crying to be heard" 'about,' 'because of,' 'for' - "It's not about money" 'around' - "trees around the house" 'alternating' - "every other day" various

1. om = at (hours)		other 'time' prepositions

2. om te = to (with verb infinitve) - om te = for (with present participle)

3. om = about, because, for (giving a reason)		gaan om = to be about

	omgaan = to circulate - omgaan met = to handle // to meet

	omdat = because		waarom = why		daarom = that's why

4. om = around -or- a turnaround - and compound words

5. om = alternating, 'every other'

6. om - various other meanings

1. 'om' = 'at' (hours)

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')

Synomyms, Alternates and Related Words

Other time units may use other prepositions. See also: Time Thesaurus

Op zondag gesloten 2	Closed on Sundays
Wat doe je met Pasen? 2 3	What are you going to do over the Easter Holiday?
Hij is op 2 maart jarig 2 3 4	His birthday is March 2nd
In augustus 1914 2	In August 1914
Nederland werd een koninkrijk in 1813	Holland became a kingdom in 1813

2. 'om ... te' = 'to' (with verb infinitive) / 'for' (with present participle)

- reason for, aim or purpose, because of, in order to, with the intention ...

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 'om te,' Dutch 'te'

. can also mean 'too' - excessive, a high degree of

Het is te duur

It's too expensive

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"
de ernst van de situatie 2 3 4	the seriousness of the situation, how serious the problem is
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'

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