Learning Dutch Words: Part Three

I love sharing these because, as I've written about before, it has helped me learn new words by relating pictures and things which I am surrounded with daily or often. I hope this tip will be a help for you if you are also learning Dutch or another language. For my previous blog entries to help learn Dutch words through pictures, click here. Feedback about these words from native speakers of Dutch is always welcome, and I appreciate corrections if any are needed, so please feel free to share in the comments!

In the photo above, to say the sun is breaking through the clouds, or a sunbreak, is de zon breekt door [de wolken] or simply de zon breekt.

For the next image, first a little introduction:


[At the Schöneberg city hall in 1963.]

"Ich bin ein Berliner." —President John F. Kennedy

It is said some could mistake this as JFK claiming to be a jelly donut.
But he didn't mean he was a donut, like these Berliners:



We bought them in Germany recently for a treat. These were filled with a fruit jam. This is an urban legend, or Dutch "een broodjeaapverhaal" [literally: an ape sandwich story] or "stadssage."

But he didn't mean he was a donut, like these jam-filled Berliners I bought recently in Germany. You can also buy these in the Netherlands, where they call them singular Berlinerbol and plural Berlinerbollen. Literally: Berlin ball[s].

In the Netherlands, I've typically found them filled instead with a sweet cream or custard-filling called banketbakkersroom.



Sheep in Dutch are schapen.
Singular is a schaap.
Little sheep, like these in the picture above, are called schaapjes.
A lamb is a lam or a lammetje.



A matchbook in Dutch is a lucifersboekje.
Matches in Dutch are called lucifers.
A match is a lucifer.
A matchbox is a lucifersdoosje.

This matchbook is from the former Pink Taco restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona. They are no longer found in Scottsdale, but you can find a location in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and coming soon in Hollywood, San Diego and Miami.

I remember lucifer being the word for match with the relation to fire, which reminds me of Lucifer, known as another name for Satan. This is also so in Dutch.



Cleaning products or cleansers in Dutch are called schoonmaakmiddelen.
Singular is schoonmaakmiddel.
They are also referred to as schoonmaakartikelen.



An escalator or moving staircase in Dutch is a roltrap.
Plural are roltrappen.



Fabrics in Dutch are stoffen.
Singular is stof.



Batteries in Dutch are batterijen.
A battery is a batterij.
A rechargeable battery is a oplaadbare batterij.



The border in Dutch is the [de] grens.
Plural are grenzen.
Border crossing in Dutch is grensovergang.



Cappuccino is also a cappuccino in Dutch. Here is how a cappuccino is made.

More to come soon!
Have a great week, everyone!

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Beautiful Things

A very nice surprise! I received recently a blogger award from Kristin over at A Military Wife in Paradise!

I am going to slightly change the topic of this award from 7 interesting things about myself to 7 things I find beautiful in the Netherlands.

The rules to this award are as follows:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award.
2. Paste the award on your blog.
3. Link the person who nominated you for the award.
4. Share 7 things you find to be beautiful around you*.
5. Nominate 7 bloggers or less.

* As I have done, you too may use the same topic or change this to whatever is interesting to you, about you or what beautiful means to you.

7 things I find to be beautiful in the Netherlands.


[A misty morning in the Netherlands.]

The "old" feeling. Something we lack in many part of the United States, here in the Netherlands I find it on the countryside, in some dorpjes [English: smaller towns] and even within the larger cities. It's the feeling of history all around you, if you open your eyes to it. And if you do a little research, you may just find that the glass of beer you are drinking has been brewed since the 14th century, or that a nearby palace you've visited may have once been in the possession of the French army in the late 18th century.


[Huis nummer 97.]

Take a look at the 3 things in this one image: a tram, a bicyclist and a house number. These three things live together in harmony. Many people live in the Netherlands. Last I heard, it is nearly 16.5 million people! Better yet, there must be just as many bicycles in this country and nearly everyone uses them either daily or randomly each week. Even when it's snowing! And if it's too far to bicycle to their destination, there are many other options to choose from besides a car. As a matter of fact, I can get around easily and quickly in the Netherlands without a car!


[A bomenrij is a line/row of trees.]

Just less than 10 minutes outside of a city center, nature is all around. And although a lot of what you can see from your car on the roads can be beautiful, nature seen from your bicycle on a fietspad [English: bicycle path] is usually much more beautiful.


[Outside of a café in Amsterdam.]

A bruin café [English: brown cafe] or a restaurant. These are slightly different from an American restaurant or cafe because the atmosphere is much more laid back. There is no rush to eat or drink, if you wish to sit and enjoy the company of a friend or companion. Outdoor seating on a terras [English: terrace] is wonderful on a spring or summer evening.


[Oortmanmolen.]

The windmills still intrigue me. During the first few years I lived over here, it struck me both as hilarious and fascinating how I lived near many of these which nearly everyone knows about. Yet some people may never see any in person in their lifetime. I still stop whenever I can to take photographs of these and look them up to find out when they were put there and what they were or are still used for. This windmill above is the Oortmanmolen. Click here to learn more, and here is also my blog entry about it.


[Decorative manhole cover in Münster, Germany.]

How close the Netherlands is to so many other countries nearby is great! Aside from the fact that it takes only 2-3 hours to cross the country, when it takes roughly 12 hours to drive non-stop from the top of the state of California to the bottom. Takes about that same amount of time to drive from Amsterdam to Marseille, France. Therefore it is not impossible to visit other countries on a long weekend getaway via train or your car.


[Mixture of U.S. coins and euro coins.]

Hands down, one of the best features about living abroad is how much more positively diverse I've become and am still becoming. It's multifaceted and often difficult to explain, but it's positive. And whether or not this has much to do with the Netherlands, I can't say for sure. But what I can say most of all is that I see myself as a more tolerant and progressive person. For example, before I came to the Netherlands, I was already open-minded and socially accepting of others. But now I deal with others differently, and by this I mean a positive change. Living abroad and having to survive in many new situations has definitely taught me lessons about life and about others, more than what any school book or professor could teach. More than what I would have learned in my own hometown. It's a broad-minded feeling which no history lesson can share, and more than what any movie on the screen or song on the radio can convey. I now understand what an immigrant in the United States goes through. The learning of a new language is difficult enough, but learning how to cope and learn about and face a different culture on a daily basis can also be quite tough for some.

It was tough to choose just 7 blogs to nominate, as I follow nearly 100! Here are my 7 expat in the Netherlands blog nominations for the Beautiful Blogger award:

1. A Flamingo in Utrecht
2. From Argentina to the Netherlands, for Love!
3. The Misadventures of Mub
4. Clogs and Tulips: An American in Holland
5. Greetings From Holland!
6. Orangesplaash
7. Presépio com Vista para o Canal

OK, I actually would really like it if all who read my blog did this on their blog! I nominate you as well! Seriously, I know I'm breaking the rules, but why not. . .

It's Friday!

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Learning Dutch Words: Part Two

I really enjoyed sharing these before, so here are a few more. And I will share more of these every so often.

First, as seen above, Bad & Douche Crème is Dutch for "Bath & Shower Cream."

Some native English speakers and especially Americans may think immediately "douche" means something else, but it in Dutch it means indeed "shower."

Crème is originally French for "cream," but the Dutch also use this, and douche is also originally French for a shower. Douching in English usage usually refers to washing out a body part or cavity. See here for more about this. Douche is also a slang word used in English to describe someone who is an idiot.



Bloem is Dutch for "flower."
Plural is bloemen.

Feijoa is a bar/café located in Amsterdam.
Here via Google Street View, and you can see a 360° view of the interior here.



Stukjes chocolade is Dutch for "little pieces of chocolate."
Singular is stukje chocolade.

You can also call them stukken chocolade, which means "pieces of chocolate."
Singular is a stuk chocolade.



Uren is Dutch for "hours."
Singular is uur.

This Albert Heijn location in Amsterdam, found on the Vijzelstraat, is open also on Sundays from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. This is not common [yet] throughout the entire country to find a supermarket open for so many hours on a Sunday. How about in your part of the Netherlands on Sundays? Are the supermarkets closed, open a few hours or open for long, convenient hours?



Terras is Dutch for "terrace."
Plural are terrassen.

Sitting on the terrace in Hengelo here in the Netherlands with friends, enjoying a late afternoon drink and snack on a Friday last spring at Bier- &Eetcafé 't Pleintje.



Vlag is Dutch for "flag."
Plural are vlaggen.

This flag I saw at the Albert Cuyp market in Amsterdam. It's a flag for a stand where they sold the traditional Dutch herring [Dutch: haring]. Have you ever tried this? If so, what did you think?



Graffiti in Dutch is the same in English.

Seen on Nieuwe Doelenstaat in Amsterdam.
You can view the same location here on Google Street View.



Snoep or snoepjes is Dutch for "candy" or "little candies."

These candies are Mike and Ike® candies, Tropical Typhoon-flavored, sent to me recently by a friend in America.



This old fashioned streetlight is called in Dutch an "ouderwetse straatlantaarn.
Plural are straatlantaarns.

Also a lamppost is a "lantaarnpaal."
Plural lantaarnpalen.

This is seen at the Leidseplein in Amsterdam.



Last, roadside is called by the Dutch "[aan de] kant van de weg."

And maybe you can help me identify where exactly in the Netherlands this is found? I believe I took this photo while riding in the passenger seat of the car somewhere on a motorweg or snelweg here near or within the Utrechtse Heuvelrug. But I could be wrong. Any ideas for where exactly this piece of roadside art rests? Could be along the A12, A27 or the A28.

What interesting Dutch word did you learn this week and how? Feel free to share in the comments!

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