Word of the Day: VERJAARDAG, birthday
It’s my VERJAARDAG (birthday) today. Thanks everybody who commemorated me today on Facebook and LinkedIn and wished me ‘gefeliciteerd’ (best wishes), ‘proficiat’ (congratulations), ‘van … Read more
Word of the Day
Word of the Day: TRAM, tram
So you live in or near The Hague… You’ve been here for quite some time now… And yet, you admit that you hardly know … Read more
Word of the Day: DWEPEN, idolize
There is no getting away from it… The streets and the houses are orange, people are dressed in orange and everywhere you look, you … Read more
Word of the Day: IJSJE, ice cream
IJS – IJS – IJS – IJS – IJS – IJS – IJS (Ice cream, you scream…) These are wonderful days for IJSJES (ice … Read more
Word of the day: pier (pier)
In my last posting I quoted a letter by the famous Irish novelist James Joyce when he, his wife Nora and his daughter Lucia … Read more
Word of the day: Scheveningen strand (Scheveningen beach)
Some ninety years ago in 1927 the famous Irish novelist James Joyce, his wife Nora and daughter Lucia visited The Hague for a short … Read more
Word of the Day: PERZIK, peach
Last week I was teaching the first lesson of the Beginners Course and those who once witnessed it, know that fruit plays an important … Read more
Word of the day: vrij (free)
On the fifth of May the Dutch celebrate the liberty they achieved in 1945 when the occupying Nazi’s were defeated. Almost seventy years on, … Read more
Word of the Day: GETROUW, faithful
In these hopeful days of spring you can hear the Dutch sing their national anthem ‘Het Wilhelmus’ on many occasions. ‘Singing’ does not really … Read more
Word of the Day: TROUW, loyalty
Unlike ‘love’, which is a feel-good word, tasting like honey, TROUW (loyalty, fidelity, faith, faithfulness, truth) is bitter and swollen with moral dignity and … Read more
Word of the Day: KONINGSDAG, King’s Day
KONINGSDAG, King’s Day Saturday 26th April, we celebrate King’s Day. As every international living in the Netherlands will know by now, King’s Day is … Read more
Word of the Day: OUBOLLIG, old-fashioned
OUDBOLLIG, old-fashioned No, wrong! It’s definitely not OUDBOLLIG, but OUBOLLIG! This adjective is not a combination of the words ‘oud’ (old) and ‘bol’ (ball, … Read more
Word of the Day: EI, egg
Vrolijk Pasen, Happy Easter one and all. Have you found all the hidden eggs in your garden yet? While I am writing this I hear … Read more
LOOSDUINEN’S MIRACLE
LOOSDUINEN Het wonder (miracle) van LOOSDUINEN occurred seven centuries ago on Good Friday. It is a fantastic story. I’ll tell you about it. Fascinating, … Read more
Word of the day: kennis (acquaintance)
Last week I briefly discussed the distinction between VRIEND (friend) and KENNIS (acquaintance) and I intended to follow this up later on. I was … Read more