Dutch proverbs Quotes and Quotation

• Achter het net vissen
  • Literal Translation: "To fish behind the net"
  • Meaning: "to be too late for having success, doing things without result"

• Al draagt een aap een gouden ring, het is en blijft een lelijk ding
  • Literal Translation: "Even if a monkey wears a golden ring, it is still an ugly thing"
  • Meaning: "One can not fix up something internally bad by a simple outer change"

• Al doende leert men.
  • Literal translation: "Whilst doing one learns".
  • Meaning: obvious

• Al te goed is buurmans gek.
  • Literal Translation: "All too good is neighbours fool"
  • Meaning: "If you are always helping everyone, someone will abuse it"

• Als de kat van huis is, dansen de muizen op tafel.
  • Literal Translation: "When the cat is not home, the mice dance on the table"
  • Meaning: "Grabbing the opportunity when nobody watches"
  • Better English: "While cats away, mice will play".

• Als twee honden vechten om een been, loopt de derde er mee heen.
  • Literal Translation: "When two dogs fight over a bone, a third one carries it away."
  • Meaning: "Quibbling (or worse) between two parties, leads to opportunities for a third party."

• Appels met peren vergelijken
  • Literal Translation: "Comparing apples and pears"
  • Meaning: "Comparing apples and oranges"

• Als een slak op een teerton.
  • Literal Translation: "Like a snail on a barrell of tar."
  • Meaning: "Slower than a wet week".

B

• Beter één vogel in de hand dan tien in de lucht
  • Literal Translation: "Better one bird in the hand than ten in the air"
  • Meaning: "One bird in the hand is better than two in the bush".
    • later joked by a famous Dutch comedian: Better one bird in the hand then the air (smell) of ten!

• Beter een goede buur dan een verre vriend
  • Literal Translation: "Better a good neighbour than a distant friend"
  • Meaning: It is better to be friendly with a neighbour, than a distant friend"

• Beter laat dan nooit.
  • Literal translation: "Better late than never"
  • Meaning: obvious.

• Blaffende honden bijten niet
  • Literal Translation: "Barking dogs don't bite".
  • Meaning: Obvious

• Boter bij de vis.
  • Literal Translation: "Butter with the fish"
  • Meaning: "Reacting without delay in an appropriate way", more specifically:"Payment at time of purchase"

• Bij de pakken neerzitten.
  • Literal Translation: "Sitting down beside the boxes"
  • Meaning: "Giving up, being discouraged"

D

• Dat slaat als een tang op een varken
  • Literal Translation: "It is related like pliers to a pig"
  • Meaning: "There is absolutely no connection; it doesn't make any sense to bring that up"

• De appel valt niet ver van de boom
  • Literal Translation: "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
  • Meaning: "Kids are somewhat like their parents."

• De beste stuurlui staan aan wal
  • Literal Translation: "The best helmsmen stand on shore"
  • Meaning: "The watchers always know better than the doers"

• ''De ene z'n dood is een ander z'n brood".
  • Literal translation: "The death of one person means bread for another".
  • Meaning: "Whatever ill happens, someone benefits".

• ''Denk aleer gij doende zijt en doende denk dan nog".
  • Literal Translation: "Think before acting and whilst acting still think".
  • Meaning: obvious.

• De pen is machtiger dan het zwaard.
  • Literal translation: "The pen is mightier than the sword".
  • Meaning: obvious.

• De puntjes op de i zetten
  • Literal Translation: "Dotting the i's"
  • Meaning: "Finishing off the last details"

• De vinger aan de pols houden
  • Literal Translation: "Keeping the finger on the pulse"
  • Meaning: "Regularly checking the state of a project or thing"

• De weg naar de hel is geplaveid met goede voornemens
  • Literal translation: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions".
  • Meaning: obvious.

• De wens is de vader van de gedachte.
  • Literal Translation: "The desire is the father of the thought."
  • Meaning: "Something you think may be inspired by desire."

E

• Een brutaal mens heeft de halve wereld
  • Literal Translation: "A cheeky person owns half the world"
  • Meaning: "One can get far by just taking what one needs"

• Een goed begin is het halve werk.
  • Literal Translation: "A good start is half of the job."
  • Meaning: "If you start something off well, you're already half way."

• ''Een goede daad is goud waard'
  • Literal translation: "A good deed is worth gold".
  • Meaning: obvious

• Een goed verstaander heeft maar een half woord nodig
  • Literal translation: An understanding person needs only half a word".
  • Meaning: "A person of understanding does not need a detailed explanation of anything".

• Een half ei is beter dan een lege dop.
  • Literal translation: "Half an egg is better than an empty shell".
  • Meaning: "Half a loaf is better than no bread".

• Een kat in de zak kopen
  • Literal Translation: "Buying a cat in a bag"
  • Meaning: "Buying something that is not as useful as you thought it was"

• Een lange neus maken
  • Literal Translation: "Making a long nose"
  • Meaning: "Going your own way without being disturbed by other's objections"

• Een oogje in het zeil houden
  • Literal Translation: "Keeping an eye on the sail"
  • Meaning: "Continuously checking the state of a project or thing"

• ''Een open deur intrappen.
  • Literal Translation: "Kicking in an open door"
  • Meaning: "Stating the obvious".

• Een steekje laten vallen
  • Literal Translation: "Dropping a stitch"
  • Meaning: "Making a mistake"

• Een vlag op een modderschuit
  • Literal Translation: "A flag on a mud barge"
  • Meaning: "Excessive decoration of a common thing"

• Één zwaluw maakt nog geen zomer
  • Literal Translation: "One swallow doesn't make summer"
  • Meaning: "One needs more than one indication to draw a conclusion"

• Er met de pet naar gooien
  • Literal Translation: "Throwing the hat at something"
  • Meaning: "Not doing your best"

• Er met de pet niet bijkunnen
  • Literal Translation: "Not being able to reach it with your hat"
  • Meaning: "Not understanding something"

• Er geen doekjes om winden
  • Literal Translation: "Not wrapping it in cloth"
  • Meaning: "Saying it exactly like it is, using no euphemisms"

• Er zit bij hem een steekje los
  • Literal Translation: "There is a loose stitch with him"
  • Meaning: "He is a brick short of a full load".

G

• Gedeelde smart is halve smart
  • Literal Translation: "Shared pain is half pain"
  • Meaning: "Having someone who shares your feelings can make them bearable"

• Geen geld, geen Zwitsers.
  • Literal Translation: "No money, no Swiss."
  • Meaning: "Don't expect something for nothing."

• Geen hoge pet ophebben van iemand.
  • Literal Translation: "Not wearing a high-hat of someone."
  • Meaning: "Not respecting someone."

• ''Geen slapende honden wakker maken".
  • Literal translation: "Do not wake sleeping dogs".
  • Meaning: "Do not inform anyone that does not know yet of a somewhat negative item".

• Geen nieuws is goed nieuws.
  • Literal translation: "No news is good news."
  • Meaning: obvious.

• Goed begonnen is half gewonnen.
  • Literal Translation: "Well started is half won."
  • Meaning: "If you start something off well, you're already half way."

• Gooi het maar in mijn pet, dan zoek ik het morgen wel uit.
  • Literal Translation: "Just toss it in my hat and I'll sort it to-morrow."
  • Meaning: "That is too much for me to understand so quickly."

H

• Haast en spoed zijn zelden goed
  • Literal translation: Haste and speed are rarely good"
  • Meaning: "The more haste, the less speed".

• Literal Translation: "Feeling it from his water."
• Meaning: "Getting knowledge from intuition."

I

• Iemands rechterhand zijn
  • Literal Translation: "Being someones right hand."
  • Meaning: "Being indiposable to someone."

• Iets op je lever hebben.
  • Literal Translation: "Having something on your liver."
  • Meaning: "Worrying about something, and not expressing it."

• ''In het land der blinden is éénoog koning."
  • Literal translation: "In the land of the blind, one-eye is king."
  • Meaning: obvious.

J

• Jong geleerd is oud gedaan.
  • Literal Translation: "Learned young is done old."
  • Meaning: "If you learn something at an early age, you become quite good at it when you're older."

K

• Krakende wagens duren het langst.
  • Literal Translation: "Creaking carts last longest".
  • Meaning: obvious.

• Kleine potjes hebben grote oren.
  • Literal Translation: "Small pots have big ears/handles."
  • Meaning: "Kids always hear what they're not supposed to hear."

• ''Kleren maken de man."
  • Literal Translation: "Clothes make the man."
  • Meaning: "Good clothing adds to a man's stature."

• Knollen/Appelen voor citroenen verkopen.
  • Literal Translation: "sell beets/apples as lemons."
  • Meaning: "Presenting something as something else which is more valuable."

L

• Lood om oud ijzer.
  • Literal Translation: "Lead for old iron"
  • Meaning: "Six of one or half a dozen of the other."

M

• Met andermans veren pronken.
  • Literal Translation: "Showing off other people's feathers."
  • Meaning: "Presenting someone elses accomplishments as one's own."

• Met de deur in huis vallen.
  • Literal Translation: "Falling with the door into the house."
  • Meaning: "Coming directly to the point."

• Met de Franse slag.
  • Literal Translation: "With a French sweep."
  • Meaning: "A quickly finished job, not paying attention to details."

• Met de handen in het haar zitten.
  • Literal Translation: "Sitting with the hands in the hair."
  • Meaning: "Not knowing a way out of a problem."

• Met de hoed in de hand komt men door het ganse land.
  • Literal Translation: "With your hat in your hand you can travel the entire country."
  • Meaning: "A little politeness gets you very far."

• Met de mond vol tanden staan.
  • Literal Translation: "Standing with the mouth full of teeth."
  • Meaning: "Dumbfounded."

• Met de pet rondgaan.
  • Literal Translation: "Going around with the hat."
  • Meaning: "Collecting money."

• Met een kanon op een mug schieten.
  • Literal Translation: "Using a canon to shoot a mosquito."
  • Meaning: "Using a tool that is too large for the purpose, overkill."

• Mosterd na de maaltijd.
  • Literal Translation: "Mustard after the meal."
  • Meaning: "Too late."

N

• Na regen komt zonneschijn.
  • Literal Translation: "After rain comes sunshine."
  • Meaning: "Good things follow bad things, every cloud has a silver lining."

• Natte vingerwerk./Met de natte vinger
  • Literal Translation: "Wet fingerwork." (cfr. Germ. "Fingerspitzengefühl")
  • Meaning: "Guesswork/performed on intuition."

• Nieuwe bezems vegen schoon.
  • Literal Translation: "New brooms sweep well."
  • Meaning: "Someone new at a job will change the way things are done (even if only to go not unnoticed)."

• Niet geschoten, altijd mis.
  • Literal Translation: "Not shooting means always missing"
  • Meaning: "If you don't try, you will miss opportunities."

O

• Om de haverklap
  • Literal Translation: "Every flail on the oats."
  • Meaning: "Very often."

• Oost west, thuis best.
  • Literal Translation: "East West, home best."
  • Meaning: "You can travel the world, but the best place is home."

• Op alle slakken zout leggen.
  • Literal Translation: "Putting salt on every snail."
  • Meaning: "Looking for all of the smallest errors to comment on."

• Op de neus kijken.
  • Literal Translation: "Looking down at one's nose."
  • Meaning: "Being disappointed."

• Op elk potje past een dekseltje.
  • Literal Translation: "Every little pot has a fitting lid."
  • Meaning: "There's a solution for every situation. [or] There's a fitting partner for any person."

• Over lijken gaan.
  • Literal Translation: "Walking over corpses."
  • Meaning: "Going for your own target however crude the method."

P

• Potje breken, potje betalen.
  • Literal Translation: "Break a pot, pay for a pot."
  • Meaning: "Paying the piper for playing the tune."

R

• Roeien met de riemen die je hebt.
  • Literal Translation: "Rowing with the oars you posess."
  • Meaning: "Make do with the means available to you."

S

• Spreken is zilver, zwijgen is goud.
  • Literal Translation: "Speaking is silver, being silent is gold."
  • Meaning: "Speaking out is valuable, keeping your mouth shut priceless."

• Spijkers op laag water zoeken.
  • Literal translation: "Looking for nails at low tide."
  • Meaning: "Nitpicking."

• Stel niet uit tot morgen, wat gij heden doen kunt.
  • Literal translation: "Don't postpone until tomorrow, what you can do today."
  • Meaning: obvious.

• Stevig in het zadel zitten.
  • Literal translation: "Sitting securely in the saddle."
  • Meaning: "Having a solid high position; not easy to overthrow."

• Storm in een glas water.
  • Literal Translation: "storm in a glass of water."
  • Meaning: "Storm in a tea cup."

T

• Twee linkerhanden hebben.
  • Literal Translation: "Having two left hands."
  • Meaning: "Being all thumbs."

• Tijd is geld.
  • Literal translation: "Time is money."
  • Meaning: obvious.

U

• Uit het oog, uit het hart.
  • Literal Translation: "Away from the eye, out of the heart."
  • Meaning: "Out of sight, out of mind."

• Uitstel is afstel.
  • Literal translation: "Postponement is cancellation."
  • Meaning: "Postponing something leads to inaction."

V

• Van de hoed en de rand weten
  • Literal Translation: "Knowing of the hat and the brim."
  • Meaning: "Having good thorough knowledge."

• Van een mug een olifant maken.
  • Literal Translation: "To make an elephant out of a mosquito."
  • Meaning: "To make a mountain out of a mole hill."

• Vele handen maken licht werk.
  • Literal Translation: "Many hands make light work."
  • Meaning: "A task is easier if you work together."

• Voor de kat zijn viool.
  • Literal Translation: "For the cat's violin."
  • Meaning: "For no purpose, useless."

• Voor een appel en een ei
  • Literal Translation: "For an apple and an egg."
  • Meaning: "Buying something really cheap, paying very little money."

• Voorzichtigheid is de moeder van de porseleinkast.
  • Literal translation: "Care is the mother of the porcelain cabinet."
  • Meaning: Don't rush in to things, you should always be very cautious, don't leap before you jump. Used more specifically to mean "be very cautious not to step on the toes of people that might have some (be it perceived) power over you"

W

• Waar een wil is is een weg.
  • Literal Translation: "Where there's a will, there is a way."
  • Meaning: "There is a way to achieve anything, if one really tries."

• Water naar zee dragen.
  • Literal Translation: "Carrying water to the sea."
  • Meaning: "Nonsensical activity."
  • English proverb: "Carrying coals to Newcastle."

• Waar het hart vol van is daar loopt de mond van over.
  • Literal Translation: "What the heart is full of, the mouth runs over with."
  • Meaning: "If someone is enthusiastic about an idea he will be always talking about it."

• Wat de boer niet kent dat eet hij niet.
  • Literal Translation: "What the farmer doesn't know, he doesn't eat."
  • Meaning: "A stick-in-the-mud will try nothing new."

• Weet wat je zegt, maar zegt niet alles wat je weet.
  • Literal Translation: "Know what you say, but don't say all that you know."
  • Meaning: "Be sure of your facts before speaking, but some things are best left unsaid."

• Weten waar Abraham de mosterd haalt.
  • Literal Translation: "Knowing where Abraham gets the mustard."
  • Meaning: "Being well-informed."

• ''Wie de schoen past, trekke hem aan."
  • Literal Translation: "He whom the shoe fits should put it on."
  • Meaning: An appeal to take responsibility for ones actions.

• Wie goed doet, goed ontmoet.
  • Literal Translation: "Who does well, meets goodwill."
  • Meaning: "Who does good things to others, will receive good things in return."

• ''Wie het laatst lacht, lacht het best."
  • Literal Translation: "He who laughs last, laughs best."
  • Meaning: When somebody is stating something in a self-confident way to you in an argument, which you know you are right in, and you know (or believe) that that somebody is still wrong, but you cannot refute that somebody now, said to mean that you mean to prove your point in some future.

• ''Wie zijn neus schendt, schendt zijn aangezicht."
  • Literal translation: "He who hurts his nose, hurts his face."
  • Meaning: "Cutting off your nose to harm your face."

• Wie wind zaait, zal storm oogsten.
  • Literal translation: "Who seeds wind, shall harvest storm."
  • Meaning: "Who causes trouble, will be a victim of the trouble."

Z

• Zachte heelmeesters maken stinkende wonden.
  • Literal Translation: "Gentle doctors cause smelly wounds."
  • Meaning: "It is better to treat a problem thoroughly even if the treatment is painful, otherwise it may get worse."

• Ze niet allemaal op een rijtje hebben.
  • Literal Translation: "Not having all of them in a row."
  • Meaning: "Being one short of a dozen."

• Zich met hand en tand verzetten.
  • Literal Translation: "To resist with hand and tooth."
  • Meaning: "To resist with every possible means, not giving in in any way."

• Zij zijn twee handen op één buik.
  • Literal Translation: "They are two hands on one belly."
  • Meaning: "They always make common cause."

• Zijn hand er niet voor omdraaien.
  • Literal Translation: "Not turning his hand around for it."
  • Meaning: "It is an easy job for him."

• Zoals het klokje thuis tikt, tikt het nergens.
  • Literal Translation: "The clock ticks nowhere else the way it does at home."
  • Meaning: "You can travel the world, but the best place is home."

• Zo dom als het achterend van een varken.
  • Literal Translation: "As stupid as a pig's behind."
  • Meaning: "Very stupid."

• Zo lang er leven is, is er hoop.
  • Literal translation: "As long as there's life, there is hope."
  • Meaning: "Never despair."

• Zwijgen is toestemmen.
  • Literal translation: "Being quiet is agreeing."
  • Meaning: "If you don't speak up for yourself, you won't get anywhere.