Zoeks, Scooby! That snert is lekker!

This is a blog entry that is long overdue. It was clear to us within a couple weeks of our Holland adventure that Dutch is a fun language. Useful? Debatable. But its amusement factor is high.

Perhaps English speakers find Dutch pleasantly quirky because many words sound like they could be English, if English were whimsical. Like there's just enough foreignness to Dutch to make it exotic, but not enough to make it impenetrable. Plus it has a lot of cool vowel sounds.

Sometimes we walk around saying our favorite Dutch words to ourselves. It's endless hours of entertainment.

Our Top 3:

Alstublieft: an all-purpose word that means "please" but also (in a customer service situation) here you go, thank you, happy to help, and would you take your change already.

Lekker!: Another all-purpose word, always followed by an exclamation point (or else a question mark). This one word sentence means, essentially, that you really really like something (it literally translates to "Delicious!", but is much easier for little kids to pronounce). Jeff has taken to lekker! like a kid to a candy cane. It also shows up in one out of every four ads, and can often be overheard in exchanges between parents and their children ("Lekker?" "Lekker!").

Let op!: Another phrase that must always be followed by an exclamation point, "let op!" means "look out!" but it sounds friendlier and can also be used as a general warning: "let op!" can mean don't forget, pay attention, watch it buster, the tram is coming, or don't touch the third rail.

These three words alone enable nearly unlimited Dutch conversation. But other fun words include:

• Zoek: Meaning "search" and often appearing on websites. Every time I see it, I think "Zoeks, Scooby! It's Dutch!"
• Knoflook: "Garlic." To fully appreciate "knoflook", know that the "k" is pronounced.
• Snert: For some reason, this is the Dutch nickname for split-pea soup. I really don't understand why anyone would want to call anything they eat (and like) "snert".
• Winkel: "Store". Is it cuter as spelled, or as pronounced ("vinkel")?
• Doei: "Ta ta", and like "ta ta", apparently only used by middle aged women. It is pronounced at a high pitch and is often drawn out ("dooooeeeii!"); at first I thought people were calling their children/cats/cows home.
• Potlood: "Pencil". As in, "Jeff, pass me another potlood."
• Kool: "Cabbage". Which is not nearly as "kool" as it sounds.
• Dragon: "Tarragon". As in, "Gee, Jeff, the eggs are really good, but next time I think they could use a bit more dragon."