That´s not expensive – Dat is geen geld
To be made of money – Bulken van het geld
Money down the drain – Weggegooid geld
Money makes the world go round – Alles draait om het geld
I am not made of money – Het geld groeit mij niet op de rug
To have money coming out one´s ears – Geld hebben als water
To look twice at one´s money – Ieder dubbeltje tweemaal omkeren
To make money of… - Geld slaan uit…
Money is no object – Geld speelt geen rol
To make money out of somebody – Iemand geld uit de zak kloppen
Money should circulate – Geld moet rollen
There is nothing wrong with money – Geld stinkt niet
To make pots of money – Geld verdienen als water
To be rolling in money – Zwemmen in het geld
Not have to watch the pennies – Niet op geld kijken
To have money to burn – Stinkend rijk zijn

Do you want to test your knowledge of money? Then test it here!

[Nederlands]

Geld… is het onontbeerlijk, heel belangrijk of gewoon fijn om er genoeg van te hebben? Het feit dat er vele uitdrukkingen over geld gaan, zegt veel over de status die geld in onze maatschappij heeft. In het Nederlands en het Engels zijn er een flink aantal uitdrukkingen over geld. Met de financiële net achter de rug is het fijn om uit te kijken naar een jaargetijde waarin je weer wat geld kunt besteden. In deze tijd van het jaar moet je waarschijnlijk warme winterkleren kopen en wat te denken van alle Kerstcadeaus...? Met deze uitdrukkingen kun je jouw financiële situatie in ieder geval adequaat beschrijven.

Dat is geen geld – That´s not expensive
Bulken van het geld – Be made of money
Het geld groeit mij niet op de rug – I am not made of money
Weggegooid geld – Money down the drain
Alles draait om het geld – Money makes the world go round
Geld hebben als water – Have money coming out one´s ears
Geld speelt geen rol – Money is no object
Iemand geld uit de zak kloppen – Make money out of somebody
Geld moet rollen – Money should circulate
Geld stinkt niet – There is nothing wrong with money
Ieder dubbeltje tweemaal omkeren – Look twice at one´s money
Geld verdienen als water – Make pots of money
Zwemmen in het geld – Be rolling in money
Geld slaan uit… - Make money of…
Niet op geld kijken – Not have to watch the pennies
Stinkend rijk zijn – Have money to burn
Geld verspillen – Money down the drain

Wil je nog meer weten over uitdrukkingen met geld? Test dan hier jouw kennis met deze test!

[English]

Met de herfst voor de deur worden wind en storm weer een dagelijks onderdeel van het leven. In Nederland, net als in vele andere landen, wordt het woord wind in vele uitdrukkingen gebruikt. Sommige van deze hebben niets met het weer te maken. In de onderstaande lijst vindt je interessante spreekwoorden in het Nederlands met de Engelse vertaling erachter, zodat je altijd de juiste wind kunt bepalen.

Iemand de wind uit de zeilen nemen – To take the wind out of somebody´s sails
Zo snel mogelijk gaan – To go like the wind
Alle voorzichtigheid laten varen – To throw caution to the wind
Er is altijd wel iemand die er profijt van heeft – It´s an ill wind that blows nobody any good
Ergens lucht van krijgen – To get wind of something
Wie wind zaait zal storm oogsten – Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind
Zien uit welke hoek de wind waait – See how the wind blows
Iemand de wind van voren geven – To tell somebody off
De wind van voren krijgen – To catch some flack
Er de wind onder hebben – To have them well in hand
Het stinkt een uur in de wind – It stinks to high heaven
Iemand angst aanjagen – Put the wind up somebody
Zijn raad in de wind slaan – To fling cautions to the winds
Met alle winden meewaaien – Swim with the tide
Op het kantje af zijn – Close to the wind
Zoals de wind waait, waait zijn jasje – He´ll go along with everything
De wind mee hebben – Have the wind behind one

Wanneer je meer over wind in Nederlandse uitdrukkingen wilt lezen en zien, klik dan hier.

[English]

With the autumn coming, wind und stormy weather become part of everyday life again. In the Netherlands, as well as in other countries, the word wind is used in many expressions. Some of those have nothing to do with weather at all. In the list below you will find interesting phrases in English with Dutch translations, to give you a little help in describing the right kind of wind.

To take the wind out of somebody´s sails – Iemand de wind uit de zeilen nemen
To go like the wind – Zo snel mogelijk gaan
To have the wind behind one – De wind mee hebben
Close to the wind – Op het kantje af zijn
To throw caution to the wind – Alle voorzichtigheid laten varen
It´s an ill wind that blows nobody any good – Er is altijd wel iemand die er profijt van heeft
To tell somebody off – Iemand de wind van voren geven
To get wind of something – Ergens lucht van krijgen
To put the wind up somebody – Iemand angst aanjagen
To catch some flack – De wind van voren krijgen
To sow the wind and reap the whirlwind – Wie wind zaait zal storm oogsten
To see how the wind blows – Zien uit welke hoek de wind waait
To have them well in hand – Er de wind onder hebben
It stinks to high heaven – Het stinkt een uur in de wind
To fling cautions to the winds – Zijn raad in de wind slaan
To swim with the tide – Met alle winden meewaaien
He´ll go along with everything – Zoals de wind waait, waait zijn jasje

If you want to read and see more about wind in Dutch expressions, just click here.

[Nederlands]

Stille wateren hebben diepe gronden – Still waters run deep
Het water loopt je in de mond – It makes your mouth water
Water in de wijn doen – Put water in one´s wine
Het hoofd boven water houden – Keep one´s head above water
In troebel water vissen – Fish in troubled water
Water naar de zee dragen – Carry coals to Newcastle
Weer boven water komen – Turn up again
Het water stijgt hem tot de lippen – He´s up to his neck in problems
Ze zijn als water en vuur – They are like cats and dogs
Zij lijken als twee druppels water op elkaar – They are like two peas in a pod
In grote moeilijkheden verkeren – Be in deep water
Aan lagerwal zijn – Be in low water
Zich voelen als een vis op het droge – Be like a fish out of water
Handenvol geld uitgeven – Spend money like water

Zin in een glas water...?

[English]

Still waters run deep – Stille wateren hebben diepe gronden
It makes your mouth water – Het water loopt je in de mond
To keep one´s head above water – Het hoofd boven water houden
To put water in one´s wine – Water in de wijn doen
To carry coals to Newcastle – Water naar de zee dragen
To turn up again – Weer boven water komen
He´s up to his neck in problems – Het water stijgt hem tot de lippen
They are like cats and dogs – Ze zijn als water en vuur
Fish in troubled water – In troebel water vissen
They are like two peas in a pod– Zij lijken als twee druppels water op elkaar
To be in deep water – In grote moeilijkheden verkeren
To be in low water – Aan lagerwal zijn
To spend money like water – Handenvol geld uitgeven
To be like a fish out of water– Zich voelen als een vis op het droge

Fancy a glass of water now...?

[Nederlands]

After part 1 (Arsch) of the German swearwords let's take a closer look at one of the other frequently used German swearwords: Scheiße. It's often used as a standalone expression but you can literally add it as a prefix to any German word and this word immediately gets a negative touch. Scheißwetter, Scheißtag, Scheißunterricht, it works for every word. The word is quite vulgar but often not outright rude, so a literal translation into English (i.e. shit) wouldn't be 100% correct. It's probably something between damn! and shit!, the British prefer the word bloody (which as a literal translation wouldn't work at all in German). By the way, its popularity is also reflect by our statistics - it is the third most-listened to German word. So, let's take a look at some of the most used German Scheiß-expressions:

1. Scheiße!
Literal translation: Shit!
Meaning: Damn! Crap! Bloody hell!

2. scheißfreundlich
Literal translation: shit-friendly
Meaning: nice as pie

3. Ohne Scheiß?
Literal translation: Without shit?
Meaning: Are you serious? No shit?

4. Scheiß drauf!
Literal translation: Shit on it!
Meaning: Fuck it! Screw that!

5. Das ist mir scheißegal.
Literal translation: I don't shitting care.
Meaning: I don't give a fuck. I don't give a damm.

6. Scheißdreck
Literal translation: shit-dirt
Meaning: crap, garbage

7. Hosenscheißer (Feigling)
Literal translation: in-the-pans shitter
Meaning: scaredy cat, chicken

8. jdm. Scheiß erzählen
Literal translation: to tell shit to so.
Meaning: to bullshit sb.

9. Scheiß machen
Literal translation: to make shit
Meaning: to make a bloody mess

10. Scheißkerl
Literal translation: shit-guy
Meaning: bastard

11. scheißvornehm
Literal translation: shitty posh
Meaning: bloody posh, damn posh

12. Red keinen Scheiß!
Literal translation: Don't talk shit!
Meaning: Don't talk crap!

13. Das geht Dich einen Scheiß an.
Literal translation: It should concern you shit.
Meaning: That's none of your fucking business.

14. Einen Scheiß werde ich tun.
Literal translation: I will do shit.
Meaning: Like hell I will.

That ends our little series on German swearwords. As always I suggest our complaints guide which might help you find the right words while being abroad. Use it wisely, we don't want to see bloody noses!

A few years ago, I went to New Zealand for my studies. My mother being British, I could already speak English quite well, but I only knew British English, and had only heard the Kiwi accent on rare occasions… I discovered once I was there that it wasn’t just the accent that was different in New Zealand, but also some parts of the language and the intonation, which is quite confusing when you’re not expecting it!!

When I arrived in New Zealand, I had to get used to the fact Kiwis seem to ask questions all the time and say “eh” at the end of their sentences. So when people answer “good, eh?” to the question “how was your weekend?”, they don’t actually expect you to know if they had a good weekend or not, they are just telling you it was a good weekend… I used to think “eh” meant something like “wasn’t it” or something… Mind you, “eh” sometimes does mean “isn’t it”… you (just) need to understand it from the context (easy to say, I know)…

The second expression I had to get used to was “sweet as”. Kiwis seem to say it all the time! It can mean “good”, but it may also mean “yes”, “right”, “excellent”… So a Kiwi could also answer “sweet as” to “how was your weekend?” (gosh, so many possible answers, and you’re just asking to be polite!). Someone might also answer “sweet as” to “do you want to go to Emma’s party”… and the list goes on…

As for the actual accent, one of my Kiwi friends was surprised when I gave him a pin and he had actually asked me for a pen… both words are pronounced exactly the same… And I thought someone they were talking about had a lot of holes (pits) in her garden, but they were actually talking about pets, which makes much more sense! (pits and pets are also pronounced the same). The other words I found difficult to grasp (despite the context) were: six and sex, beer and bear, here and hair… and many others

There are also words that mean different things in British and New Zealand English. For instance, “ice block”, which is a block of ice in British English, means an ice lolly (ice cream) in New Zealand English. Or “chips”, meaning “fries” in British English and crisps in Kiwi English… Yes it can get rather confusing!!

And then there are words specific to New Zealand, for instance for plants or cultural facts that do not exist in the rest of the world. A lot of these words come from the Maori language. I was quite bemused, for example, when someone mentioned a Pohutukawa (I still find the word interesting). It is actually a type of tree quite common in New Zealand, also called the New Zealand Christmas tree as it has red flowers around Christmas time.

But despite all that, I totally fell in love with the New Zealand way of speaking and really miss it now I am back in Europe. I actually got so used to it that when I got back home (in France), people asked me why I sounded like I was asking questions all the time – I had become so used to the intonation that I just did it in French too!

[Français]

Il y a quelques années, je suis allée en Nouvelle-Zélande pour mes études. Ma mère étant anglaise, je parlais déjà assez bien anglais, mais je ne connaissais que l’anglais britannique et n’avais entendu l’accent néo-zélandais qu’en de rares occasions… J’ai découvert en arrivant là-bas que ce n’était pas que l’accent qui était différent en Nouvelle-Zélande, mais aussi des éléments de la langue et de l’intonation, ce qui peut surprendre quand on ne s’y attend pas!!

Quand je suis arrivée en Nouvelle-Zélande, j’ai dû m’habituer au fait que les Kiwis semblent poser des questions tout le temps et disent “eh” à la fin de leurs phrases. Donc, quand quelqu’un répond “good, eh?” à la question “comment s’est passé ton weekend?”, ils ne s’attendent pas à ce que vous sachiez comment était leur weekend, ils vous informent seulement du fait que leur weekend était bon… Au début, je pensais que “eh” voulait dire quelque chose comme “n’est-ce pas” ou quelque chose de cet ordre… Mais attention, il arrive aussi que “eh” veuille dire “n’est-ce pas”… il vous suffit (seulement) de vous aider du contexte (facile à dire, je sais)…

La deuxième expression à laquelle j’ai dû m’habituer était “sweet as”. Les Kiwis l’emploient tout le temps ! Elle peut vouloir dire “bien”, mais aussi “oui”, “d’accord”, “excellent”… Donc un Kiwi pourrait aussi répondre “sweet as” à la question “comment s’est passé ton weekend ?” (eh bien, tant de réponses possibles, et vous ne posez la question que par politesse!). On peut aussi répondre “sweet as” à “veux-tu aller à la soirée d’Emma ?”… et la liste continue…

Quant à l’accent à proprement parler, l’un de mes amis néo-zélandais a eu la surprise de voir que je lui donnais une épingle (a pin) alors qu’il voulait un stylo (a pen)… les deux mots se prononcent de la même façon… Et je pensais que quelqu’un dont on parlait avait beaucoup de trous (pits) dans son jardin, mais il s’agissait en fait d’animaux de compagnie (pets), ce qui est plus logique ! (pits et pets sont aussi prononcés de la même façon). Les autres mots avec lesquels j’ai eu quelques difficultés (malgré le contexte) ont été: six et sex, beer et bear, here et hair… et bien d’autres

Il existe aussi des mots qui ont des significations différentes en anglais britannique et en anglais néo-zélandais. Par exemple, “ice block”, qui est un bloc de glace ou un glaçon en anglais britannique, veut dire un bâtonnet de glace (crème glacée) en anglais néo-zélandais. Ou les “chips” qui sont des frites en anglais britannique et des chips and anglais néo-zélandais… Oui, on peut s’y perdre !!

Et il y a encore des mots spécifiques à la Nouvelle-Zélande, par exemple pour des plantes ou des faits culturels qui n’existent pas dans le reste du monde. La majorité de ces mots provient de la langue Maori. J’ai eu un moment de surprise, par exemple, quand on m’a parlé d’un Pohutukawa (je trouve ce mot intéressant encore aujourd’hui). Il s’agit en fait d’un arbre assez courant en Nouvelle-Zélande, aussi appelé l’arbre de Noel néo-zélandais car il a des fleurs rouges au moment de Noel.

Mais malgré tout, je me suis beaucoup attachée à la façon de parler en Nouvelle-Zélande et cela me manque maintenant que je suis de retour en Europe. Je m’y suis tellement habituée que, quand je suis rentrée en France, les gens me demandaient pourquoi j’avais l’air de poser des questions tout le temps – j’avais tellement pris l’habitude de cette intonation que je l’employais aussi en français!

[English]

What are the first words everyone secretly wants to know when learning foreign languages? Besides the obvious 'I love you' of course. It's swearwords, admit to it. Yeah, some slang is nice but swearwords are the cream on top of the pie. So, without further ado, let's jump right into one of the most famous and widely used German swearwords: Arsch (male, noun, vulgar) - ass, arse in English. As a native speaker you never give it a lot of thought but once you take a look at Arsch in the dictionary you realise that it is used in various ways. So I came up with a top Arsch words list that you should (or actually really shouldn't) know. Some of the expressions are similar in English. However, some of them are really hilarious when you translate them literally. Here we go:

1. Leck mich am Arsch.
Literal translation: Lick my ass.
Meaning: Screw you! Fuck off! Kiss my ass!

2. Das geht mir am Arsch vorbei.
Literal translation: It passes my ass.
Meaning: I don't give a shit.

3. Das liegt am Arsch der Welt.
Literal translation: It is located at the ass of the world.
Meaning: That's in the arse end of nowhere.

4. Ich reiße mir den Arsch auf.
Literal translation: I rip my ass apart.
Meaning: I work my butt off.

5. Es ist alles im Arsch.
Literal translation: It's all in the ass.
Meaning: It's all fucked up.

6. Der kriecht ihr in den Arsch.
Literal translation: He is crawling into her ass.
Meaning: He's kissing her ass.

7. Du hast ja wohl den Arsch offen?
Literal translation: Is your ass open?
Meaning: Are you insane? What the fuck is wrong with you?

8. Ich trete Dir gleich in den Arsch.
Literal translation: I am going to kick into your ass.
Meaning: I am going to kick your ass.

9. Ich habe Dir gerade den Arsch gerettet.
Literal translation: I just saved your ass.
Meaning: I just saved your ass.

10. Ich bin voll im Arsch.
Literal translation: I am fully in the ass.
Meaning: I am really screwed. I am dead tired.

11. Da geht mir der Arsch auf Grundeis.
Literal translation: My ass is going onto the bottom of the ice.
Meaning: I am scared shitless. I am shitting bricks. I am shit-scared.

12. Ich beiß mir in den Arsch.
Literal translation: I am biting myself into the ass.
Meaning: I could kick myself.

13. Der kriegt den Arsch nicht voll.
Literal translation: He can't get his ass full.
Meaning: He just can't get enough.

14. Da habe ich wohl die Arschkarte gezogen.
Literal translation: I think I drew the ass card.
Meaning: I think I drew the short straw. I think I got screwed.

15. Arschgeweih
Literal translation: ass horns
Meaning: tramp stamp

16. Arschbombe
Literal translation: ass bomb
Meaning: bomb (to jump in the water with your rear first)

17. Arschgeige
Literal translation: ass violin
Meaning: dipstick

18. arschklar
Literal translation: ass clear
Meaning: bloddy obvious

19. Arschloch
Literal translation: ass hole
Meaning: asshole

Stay tuned for the next part of German swearwords. In the meantime I recommend our complaints survival guide for your vacation just in case you don't know how to say it in a foreign language.