I work at Perfect Visit as a Operations Coordinator which allows me to experience a lot of interesti...
If you say so… (Dutch proverbs)
31 August 2011, by Priscilla Nasi
Even though I can speak Dutch at a fluent level, my mother-tongue and the language that I feel most comfortable expressing myself in still remains English. And to this day - almost 20 years - I still find myself in a state of confusion now and then because of the complexity and many a time, illogicality of the Dutch language.
Photo by Flickr user Helga Weber
Let’s take proverbs and sayings for example. Many of them translate the same into English. However, there are a few exceptions, that when translated, make no sense what so ever!
Example: My Dutch friend and I decided to meet at the train station. My friend being extremely punctual, it would shock the Swiss and me being so fashionably late, it was almost last season.
After waiting for 10 minutes, she calls me up and asks (in Dutch) where I was. I explained that I was on my way. Continuing in Dutch she says (and I translate literally) "hurry up, I am shooting carrots."
Trying to sound nonchalant even though being completely thrown off by this comment, I said "okay, cool, see you in a bit." All the way to the station I had this picture in my head of my friend standing in the middle of a train station aiming and shooting at carrots.
Luckily, on arrival, that was not the case, though her statement bothered me the whole day. A combination of courage and curiosity lead me to finally ask her what on earth she meant. She laughed and explained that it is a Dutch saying for being in one place for a long time.
In Dutch the word carrot also means "root" and "shoot" has the same double meaning as in English. Therefore, apart from shooting with something (like a gun) it also means the growth or sprouting of a plant. So basically, what she really meant and what a Dutch person would understand is: "I’ve been standing here so long I am sprouting roots in the ground."
So here are some more Dutch proverbs and sayings (literally translated into English). Let’s see if you can make out what they mean:
1. Lachen als een boer met kiespijn
› Laughing like a farmer with a painful molar
2. Oude koeien uit de sloot halen
› Getting old cows out of the ditch
3. De kogel is door de kerk
› The bullet is through the church
4. Daar lust ik wel pap van
› I would like porridge from that
5. Je weet nooit hoe en koe een haas vangt
› You will never know how a cow catches a hare
6. Je moet een gegeven paard niet in de bek kijken
› You should never look at a given horse in the mouth
7. Wie boter op het hoofd heeft, moet uit de zon blijven
› He who has butter on his head should stay out of the sun
Actual meanings
1. Pretending to laugh with others, though it is insincere
2. Opening up old wounds
3. A decision has been made that cannot be reversed
4. Not being able to get enough of something
5. Never rule anything out, no matter how unlikely
6. You cannot complain about something that is for free
7. First look at yourself before judging others
Any sayings / expressions / proverbs (in Dutch or your mother-tongue) you would like to share?
Half Italian, half Indonesian and born in L.A. Priscilla Nasi works for Perfect Visit. Priscilla's posts can also be found at the Perfect Visit Blog.
Also read
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- How to learn Dutch (and why I haven’t)
- How I got back into the Netherlands
WRITE A COMMENT
do you mean proverbs that litteraly match on both languages?
Number six exists in English as "don't look a gift horse in the mouth", and the logic behind it is very simple if you know anything about horses. It's by looking in a horse's mouth that you can estimate its age.
I am honestly surprised that someone claiming English as a mother tongue does not know this expression.
"To fall with the door in the house." ( = to be straightforward & direct).
Not a very strong article. For example, when the Dutch mention "wortel schieten" they do mean sprouting roots. They're not thinking about carrots at all. Roots can also mean carrots, not the other way around.
Also don't fully agree with some of the translations and meanings. (Like kiespijn = toothache.)
On FB there is a page called "Dutchisms". Some posts are hilarious and makes it clear for the natives why Dutch can be difficult to learn.
Thank you for the "Dutchisms" page Robert! I actually think that the expressions that are used in every language, including Greek, are very difficult for foreigners to understand. So, same goes with Dutch. Learning the language at a school or something doesn't help you to understand those expressions, but Dutch people and everyday conversations, I think that they do.
About the Author
Priscilla Nasi