The 15 best Dutch winter proverbs

The Dutch language may not be the prettiest to the untrained ear. But when you look beyond the strange guttural sounds it is actually a surprisingly rich language with a long history of proverbs and expressions that are still alive and well in everyday use.

If you are taking a Dutch language course, you can impress your teacher with one of our 15 favourite winter-related Dutch proverbs!

Dutch winter proverbs

These five Dutch proverbs all use the word "winter":

› Als de dagen gaan lengen, gaat de winter strengen.

- Literal translation: When the days get longer, winter gets colder.
- Meaning: The coldest part of winter comes after the shortest day.

› Een bonte kraai maakt nog geen winter.

- Literal translation: One crow does not make winter. The bonte kraai is a species of crow that spends the winter in the Netherlands. 
- Meaning: Just one example is not enough for a definitive conclusion.

› Zachte winters vette kerkhoven.

- Literal translation: Mild winters fat graveyards.
- Meaning: Mild winters often led to more disease than cold winters.

› Men hoort van ver dat de winter koud is.

- Literal translation: One hears from faraway that the winter is cold.
- Meaning: It becomes quickly known when there is danger somewhere.

› Zo komt Jan Splinter door de winter.

- Literal translation: That’s how Jan Splinter gets through the winter.
- Meaning: That’s how poor people get through the winter.

Dutch sayings about ice

These six Dutch sayings all use the word "ice":

› Als de kalveren op het ijs dansen.

- Literal translation: When the calves dance on the ice.
- Meaning: Never.

› Als het water zakt, kraakt het ijs.

- Literal translation: When the water goes down, the ice cracks.
- Meaning: Every cause has an effect.

› Met de klompen op het ijs komen.

- Literal translation: Going onto the ice with clogs.
- Meaning: Going where you don’t belong, being careless.

› Met de klompen van het ijs blijven.

- Literal translation: To keep one's clogs off the ice.
- Meaning: Minding your own business.

› Niet over een nacht ijs gaan.

- Literal translation: Not walking over ice formed after one night.
- Meaning: Thinking before you act.

› Zich op glad ijs begeven.

- Literal translation: Venturing onto slick ice.
- Meaning: Talking about something you know very little about.

Dutch expressions about snow

These two Dutch expressions are all about snow:

› De engeltjes schudden hun kussens uit.

- Literal translation: The angels are fluffing their pillows.
- Meaning:  It snows.

› Aprilletje zoet, heeft nog wel eens een witte hoed.

- Literal translation: April sweet, sometimes has a white hat.
- Meaning: It can snow in the beginning of April.

Dutch proverbs on freezing

A couple of Dutch proverbs about freezing:

› Op oud ijs vriest het licht.

- Literal translation: On old ice it freezes lightly.
- Meaning: An old buried hurt or love can quickly surface again.

› Het kan vriezen en het kan dooien.

- Literal translation: It can freeze and it can thaw.
- Meaning: It can go either way.

Have you encountered any of these? Do you know any other seasonal proverbs that are related to winter in the Netherlands?

Source: Woorden.org