DutchIn a Dutch meeting you hear them all the time: we have to de knoop doorhakken, the management is de kat uit de boom kijken, and that plan has been op de lange baan geschoven. Knowing the words doesn't get you the meaning. Idioms are pictures, and a picture is something you learn to see.
Short answer: learn an idiom as one block, together with its picture: met de deur in huis vallen (to fall into the house with the door) is getting straight to the point, de kat uit de boom kijken (to watch the cat out of the tree) is waiting to see. Change one word (the tree instead of the door) and people will often still understand you, but they'll also laugh. And many fixed combinations come with a preposition you can't guess: rekening houden met, in aanmerking komen voor.
1 Learn the picture, not the words
An idiom means more than its words. De kat uit de boom kijken isn't about a cat: you wait to see how something turns out, the way you'd watch a cat that has to climb down from a tree by itself. Once you see the picture, you remember it, and you stop mixing up the words. That's why every idiom below comes with its picture.
Tip: when you meet an unknown idiom, look up the whole expression, not the single words. A dictionary usually lists it under its main noun: deur, kat, knoop.
2 Ten idioms for a meeting
| Idiom | Meaning | The picture |
|---|---|---|
| met de deur in huis vallen | get straight to the point | walking in without knocking |
| er geen doekjes om winden | say it plainly, without softening | no cloth around something sharp |
| de kat uit de boom kijken | wait and see | the cat has to come down by itself |
| iets op de lange baan schuiven | put off, often with no date | a long track, still far from the end |
| iets in de ijskast zetten | deliberately shelve for a while | it won't spoil, but nothing happens |
| een kwestie aankaarten | raise an issue properly | putting the card on the table |
| aan de bel trekken | sound the alarm | the alarm bell |
| de vinger op de zere plek leggen | put your finger on the real problem | where it hurts |
| de knoop doorhakken | finally decide | a knot that won't come loose, you cut |
| op één lijn zitten | be on the same page | all facing the same way |
3 The fixed little word
Many combinations have a fixed preposition. There's no logic you can work out, and English often leads you astray: account for is rekening houden met, depend on is afhangen van. So learn them as one word.
| Combination | Example |
|---|---|
| rekening houden met (take into account) | We houden rekening met de vakantie. |
| in aanmerking komen voor (be eligible for) | Zij komt in aanmerking voor die functie. |
| behoefte hebben aan (need) | Er is behoefte aan duidelijkheid. |
| bezwaar hebben tegen (object to) | Heeft iemand bezwaar tegen dit plan? |
| afhangen van (depend on) | Het hangt af van het budget. |
| het eens zijn met (someone), over (something) | Ik ben het met je eens over de datum. |
| zich houden aan (stick to) | We houden ons aan de afspraken. |
| opzien tegen (dread) | Hij ziet op tegen de presentatie. |
Tip: always learn a whole sentence, even if you only want to remember the preposition. Rekening houden met de vakantie sticks better than rekening houden: met.
4 When do they fit?
Most of the idioms above are just ordinary business Dutch: you hear them in meetings, in emails and on the news. Two to watch. Met de deur in huis vallen and er geen doekjes om winden announce that you're about to be direct. The Dutch often appreciate that, but what you say next still has to be friendly: Ik val maar met de deur in huis: de planning is te krap is fine, ... de planning is waardeloos is not.
And de kat uit de boom kijken and op de lange baan schuiven are often a reproach. Say them about your own team and it sounds as if you think nothing is happening.
Anyone who says he's falling into the house with the tree (met de boom in huis) certainly has the meeting's attention.
5 Traps
- Swapping a word. De kat uit de deur kijken, het touw doorhakken, op de lange bank schuiven: people usually get it, but it sounds funny. The picture helps you remember the right word.
- The English preposition. Rekening houden voor (account for) and afhangen op (depend on) are the best known.
- Leaving a bit out. Ik val in huis without met de deur means you really fall.
- Almost the same, something else. Aan de bel trekken is sounding the alarm; aan de bel hangen is nagging.
Partner tip Play "Guess the picture". One of you describes something from the day (my colleague said straight away the plan was no good), the other finds the Dutch idiom for it: hij viel met de deur in huis. Draw an idiom literally on a note and let the other guess. Laughing at the tree in the house is allowed.
Test yourself
You wait to see how things go. Which idiom fits?
De kat uit de boom kijken.
We moeten rekening houden ... de deadline.
met: rekening houden met.
What's wrong with: "Wij hakken vandaag het touw door"?
It's de knoop doorhakken: finally deciding.
Het hangt ... het weer af.
van: afhangen van, and af goes to the end.
