Beatrix, our queen, is known for her eloquence in any given language. Whenever she is abroad she'll be giving a lecture why national leaders should school themselves in at least one foreign language.
If only out of politeness, mr. Bush and mr. Putin!
After all, they
are the business card representing a sovereign state. And yet, in a distant way,
she stands very close to her subjects, moving among them on coronation day (30th
April, also the birthday of the Queen Mother). Who else than she must be
painfully aware of all the mixups people make when it comes to using specific
proverbs and sayings, that which make a language distinct from other languages.
But is that really the case?
Say what you will, but when it comes to proverbs the great divide between our
respective languages doesn't seem nearly as big as we have come to
expect.
Yet, we all laugh at the awkward attempts our politicians make when
they actually venture into addressing their hosts/guests in what they presume is
their native speech.
This page will try to illustrate this in an ever growing
number of expressions. Listed are English expressions and their Dutch
equivalents. Sometimes they are very similar, sometimes they aren't alike at
all.
| English | Dutch equivalent | Meaning literally |
|---|---|---|
| A | ||
| Actions speak louder than words | Praatjes vullen geen gaatjes | Words alone come to nothing |
| All's fair in love and war | In liefde en oorlog is alles toegestaan | ...the same... |
| All roads lead to Rome | Alle wegen leiden naar Rome | ...the same... |
| All that glitters is not gold | Het is niet alles goud wat er blinkt | ...the same... |
| All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy |
De boog kan niet altijd gespannen zijn | The bow cannot always be drawn |
| Any port in a storm | Vuil water blust ook een brand | Even dirty water kills a fire |
| B | ||
| Beggars can't be choosers | Liever koekjes worden niet gebakken | Free cookies are never baked |
| Beware of Greeks bearing gifts | Vreest de Grieken, ook al brengen zij geschenken |
...the same... |
| A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush |
Beter één vogel in de hand, dan tien in de lucht |
It's better to have one bird in the hand, than ten flying about |
| Birds of a feather flock together | Soort zoekt soort | Kin can be found among kin |
| Blood is thicker than water | Het hemd is nader dan de rok | A vest is closer than a dress-coat |
| Brevity is the soul of wit | Kortheid is het wezen der geestigheid | ...the same... |
| C | ||
| Chickens have come home to roost | Met de kippen op stok gaan??? | ...the same (almost)... |
| A cobbler should stick to his last | Schoenmaker houd je bij je leest | Cobbler stick to your profession |
| Comparisons are odious | Elke vergelijking gaat mank | No comparison can be made |
| Curiosity killed the cat | De duivel heeft het vragen uitgevonden | It's the devil that has invented questions |
| D | ||
| Desire is nourished by delay | Uitstel versterkt het verlangen | ...the same... |
| The devil finds work for idle hands | Ledigheid is des duivels oorkussen | Idleness is kissing the devil's ear |
| Don't meet trouble halfway | Men moet het ongeluk geen bode zenden | One must send trouble an envoi |
| A drunken man is always dry | Een gulzige mond is nooit verzadigd | A greedy mouth will never be satisfied |
| E | ||
| The early bird catches the worm | Vroeg begonnen, veel gewonnen | An early start makes profit |
| Easy come, easy go | Zo gewonnen, zo geronnen | Easy won is easy lost |
| Eat, drink, be merry, for tomorrow we die |
Drink zonder zorgen, de kater komt morgen | Drink without sorrow, you won't be hung over til the morrow |
| Empty vessels make the most sound | Holle vaten klinken het hardst | ...the same... |
| To err is human, to forgive is divine | Vergissen is menselijk | To err is human |
| Every dog has its day | Iedereen heeft wel eens geluk | Everybody can be lucky |
| English | Dutch equivalent | Meaning literally |
| F | ||
| Fools rush in where angels fear to tread | Bezint eer gij begint! | Think twice before taking action |
| For want of a nail a kingdom was lost | Men moet om een ei geen pannenkoek bederven |
One mustn't spoil a pancake for an egg |
| Forewarned is fore armed | Een gewaarschuwd man telt voor twee | A forewarned man is twice a man |
| A friend in need is a friend indeed | In nood leert men zijn vrienden kennen | ...more or less the same... |
| G | ||
| The game isn't worth the candle | Het sop is de kool niet waard | The broth isn't worth the cabbage |
| Give a dog a bad name and hang him | Wee de wolf die in een kwaad gerucht staat | Woe the wolf that has a bad name |
| Gluttony kills more than the sword | De veelvraat delft zijn eigen graf | The glutton digs his own grave |
| Good company on the road is the shortest cut | Goed gezelschap maakt korte mijlen | Good company makes short distance |
| Good fences make good neighbours | Buren zijn leuk, als je ze niet te vaak ziet | Neighbours are nice, provided you don't see too much of them |
| Grasp all, lose all | Wie het onderste uit de kan wil, krijgt het lid op de neus |
Who seeks the bottom of the jug Gets the lid on his nose |
| H | ||
| Half a loaf is better than none | Beter een half ei dan een lege dop | It's better to have half an egg, than its scale |
| He that touched pitch will be defiled | Met zijn honden naar bed gegaan met vlooien opgestaan |
Spend the night with his dogs gets up with their fleas |
| He who hesitates is lost | Jantje-durft-niet doet zelden goede zaken | Johnny-dare-none makes bad business |
| His bark is worse than his bite | Blaffende honden bijten niet | Barking dogs don't bite |
| I | ||
| If one sheep leaps over the ditch all the rest will follow |
Als er één schaap over de dam is volgen er meer |
if one sheep has crossed the dam the rest will follow |
| If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen |
Wie A zegt moet B zeggen (more or less) | Who says A got to say B |
| Ignorance is bliss | Zalig zijn de dommen | The stupid are blessed |
| It is ill jesting with sharp tools | Wie met vuur speelt kan zijn vingers branden | he who plays with fire can burn his fingers |
| It isn't a fit night out for man nor beast | Het is hondeweer??? | It's beastly weather??? |
| It will be all the same in a hundred years | Over honderd jaar zijn we allemaal dood | We will all be dead in a hundred years |
| K | ||
| Kindle not a fire that you cannot extinguish | Neem nooit teveel hooi op je vork | Don't take too much hay on your pitchfork |
| English | Dutch equivalent | Meaning literally |
| L | ||
| The last straw breaks the camel's back | De laatste druppel doet de emmer overlopen | The last drop makes the bucket spill |
| Let sleeping dogs lie | Men moet geen slapende honden wakker maken | ...the same... |
| Let's cross that bridge when we come to it | Dat zien we dan wel weer | We'll see when we're there |
| Little pitchers have big ears | Kleine potjes hebben grote oren | ...the same... |
| Love laughs at locksmiths | Liefde schiet pijlen over honderd mijlen | Cupid's arrows fly a hundred miles |
| M | ||
| Make hay while the sun shines | Smeedt het ijzer als het heet is | Forge the iron while it's hot |
| A man is known by the company he keeps | Men herkent een man aan zijn vrienden | One knows a man by his friends |
| A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds |
Kakelen is nog geen eieren leggen | Clucking doesn't mean eggs yet |
| Men are not measured in inches | Lengte zegt niets | ...Length doesn't mean anything... This one is hilarious!!! |
| Too Many cooks spoil the broth | Teveel koks bederven de brij | ...the same... |
| Money begets money | Waar geld is, wil geld zijn | Where is money, money wants to be |
| N | ||
| Needs must when the devil drives | Met geweld kan de kat de kerk ompissen | With violence a cat can piss any church over |
| Never tell your enemy that your foot aches | Ga nooit bij de duivel te biecht | Never confess to the devil |
| O | ||
| One man's meat is another man's poison | De één zijn dood is de ander zijn brood | One's death is another man's shop |
| One of these days is none of these days | Van uitstel komt afstel | From delay comes cancellation |
| One volunteer is worth two pressed men | Met onwillige honden is het kwaad hazen vangen | One cannot catch hare with unwilling dogs |
| English | Dutch equivalent | Meaning literally |
| P | ||
| People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones | Men moet de vuile was niet buiten hangen??? | One must not hang one's dirty laundry to dry in the garden |
| Pigs might fly lest they had wings | Als de katten ganzeëieren leggen | When cats lay goose eggs |
| Procrastination is the thief of time | Uitstel is de dief van de tijd | ...the same... |
| The proof of the pudding is in the eating | De praktijk zal het uitwijzen | Practice will proof it |
| R | ||
| Raise no more devils than you can lay | Niet teveel hooi op je vork nemen | Don't take too much hay on your pitch fork |
| A rich man's joke is always funny | Geld maakt 'vrienden' | Money makes 'friends' |
| A rolling stone gathers no moss | Een rollende steen vergaart geen mos | ...the same... |
| Rome wasn't built in one day | Keulen en Aken zijn niet op één dag gebouwd | Cologne and Achen aren't built in one day |
| S | ||
| Some man are wise, and some are otherwise | Je hebt mensen en potloden | There people and pencils |
| Speaking of the devil | Spreek van de duivel en je trapt hem op zijn staart | Speak of the devil and you'll trip on his tail |
| A still tongue makes a wise head | Spreken is zilver, zwijgen is goud | Speaking is silver, but a still tongue is worth gold |
| T | ||
| There is no better manure than the farmer's foot | De beste mest hangt aan de zolen van de boer | ...the same... |
| There is no fool than an old fool | Hoe ouder hoe gekker | ...the same... |
| The tongue ever turns to the aching tooth | De gedachten keren altijd bij hetzelfde terug | Thoughts will ever return to the same spot |
| W | ||
| A watched pot never boils | Aan wachten komt geen eind | Waiting is for eternity |
| We never miss the well till it runs dry | Als er geen water meer is, kent men de waarde van de put | When water runs out, we realise the well's worth |
| When in Rome do as the Romans do | Men moet huilen met de wolven in het bos | One must howl with the wolves in the woods |
| Y | ||
| You can't squeeze blood from a stone | Men kan van een kale kip geen veren plukken | One cannot pluck a plucked chicken |