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Disambiguation: Many common Dutch words have more than one meaning.
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Erg |
|
1. erg = very | |
gezellig ~ pleasant, nice, enjoyable, gregarious, cosy |
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|
heel erg = 'really very' | |
heel = very | |
verschrikkelijk = horrible, terrible; very serious | |
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2. erg = very bad, awful, terrible | |
erger, ergst = worse, worst | |
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zeer = very // hurt, pain | |
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Hij is erg blij | He's very happy |
Ik ben erg moe 2 | I'm very tired |
Hij was erg moe | He was very tired |
Ze waren erg arm 2 | They were very poor |
Ze zijn erg gevoelig 2 | They are very sensitive |
Gisteren was het erg mooi weer | Yesterday the weather was very nice |
Gisteren was het erg slecht weer | Yesterday the weather was very bad |
Heb je je erg verveeld? 2 | Were you very bored? Was it really boring? |
Het valt erg mee 2 3 | It's by far not as bad as we were afraid of or as it looked |
Ik hou(d) erg van Bach 2 3 | I really like Bach, I love Bach |
Hij houdt erg van soep 2 | He likes soup very much, he really loves soup |
Hij kan erg hard fietsen 2 | He can ride a bike very fast, he's a fast biker |
Hij is erg nieuwsgierig 2 3 | He is very curious (inquisitive, eager to know things) |
Hij gaat erg achteruit 2 3 | ['He goes backward badly..'] He's quickly getting worse (health, mental state) |
Dat is erg ongebruikelijk 2 3 | That's very unusual |
erg lekker 2 | very enjoyable (food, sensations) |
Het eten was erg lekker | The food was [very tasty, very enjoyable] great |
M'n zoon vond 't erg leuk | My son really enjoyed it (say, a concert) |
Hij is heel slim en bovendien erg aardig 2 3 4 | He's very clever and on top of that very kind, a nice person |
De film ... van ... vind ik ook erg goed | I also really like the movie ... by ... |
Hij is erg principieel 2 3 | He is very principled, he lives by high principles |
erg groot
2
3
slow slow2 slow3 |
very large, gigantic |
't Was erg gezellig | It was really pleasant, we/I enjoyed it very much |
'gezellig' 2 3 (gezellige 2 3) pleasant, nice, enjoyable, gregarious, cosy (there is no exact English equivalent for this word)
A person can be gezellig: een gezellige man | a gregarious guy |
een gezellige prater 2 | a person that it's nice talking with |
a space can be gezellig: een gezellige kamer | a cosy room |
time spent together can be gezellig: een gezellige avond | an enjoyable evening |
or: een gezellig etentje 2 3 | a cosy, enjoyable dinner (in or out) |
'Een gezellige dag gewenst' 2 3 | 'Wishing you a pleasant day (in the company of family and friends)' |
also used as an adverb: Gezellig dat je meedoet 2 3 | It's so nice that you're joining us (in an activity) |
We zaten gezellig te praten 2 | We were having a pleasant conversation, a nice chat |
herinneringen ophalen 2 | to reminisce, bringing up memories |
We zaten gezellig herinneringen op te halen 2 | We were reminiscing pleasantly, we were having a good time chatting about the past |
Gezelligheid kent geen tijd 2 | [Good times know of no clocks] ~ 'Time flies when you're having a good time with friends' |
Het was vorige maand erg koud | It was very cold last month |
'Heel erg'
2
is the superlative degree for 'erg' meaning 'very' - there's
no straightforward equivalent in English ('very very') - I often
translate it as 'really very' or something like that.
heel erg veel
very much, really a lot, a very large amount
'Erger' is the superlative degree of 'erg' meaning
'bad' - see - below
Het is heel erg koud 2 | It's really very cold, terribly cold |
Ik ben heel erg moe 2 | I'm really very tired, terribly tired |
Hij is heel erg moe | He's really very tired, terribly tired |
't Spijt me heel erg 2 3 | I'm really very sorry |
Ze was wel knap, maar niet heel erg knap 2 3 | She was pretty but [not extremely, extraordinarily pretty] breathtakingly so |
Er is erg veel regen 2 | There's [very much] really a lot of rain |
Heel goed, dank je 2 | Very good, thank you (in answer to: 'how are you?') |
Het houten huis is heel oud | The wooden house is very old |
Ik vind het heel raar 2 | I think it's very strange |
Een heel klein beetje 2 | A very small amount |
heel even 2 | a very short time |
Hij speelt heel goed gitaar 2 3 | He plays the guitar very well |
't Betekent heel iets anders 2 | It means something [very] completely different |
'Cowboy Gerard' in 'Het Spel Kaarten:' | |
Wat heb je daarop te zeggen? 2 | What have you got to say about that? (explain yourself) |
Heel veel 2 | Really a lot, very many things |
'Verschrikkelijk' (verschrikkelijke 2) can mean 'horrible' but also 'terrible' - 'very serious,' in a serious, often 'terrifyingly' high degree
Ik ben verschrikkelijk moe 2 | I am terribly tired, really very tired |
verschrikkelijk langzaam 2 3 | terribly slow |
Dit is verschrikkelijk langzaam 2 | This is terribly slow |
Dit is niet verschrikkelijk langzaam | This is not terribly slow |
Een verschrikkelijke winter | A horrible, very bad Winter |
Ik hoop dat je het niet erg vindt | I hope you don't think it's bad, I hope you don't mind |
Is het echt zo erg? 2 3 4 5 | Is it really that bad? |
't Is niet zo erg als het lijkt 2 | It's not as bad as it looks |
Zó erg is 't toch ook weer niet? 2 3 | [Thàt bad is it yet also again not?]
It's not really thàt bad, is it? |
Zó erg is 't nou toch ook weer niet? 2 3 4 5 6 7 | It's not really thàt bad, is it? |
Ik vind het heel erg | I think it's [very] really bad, I'm upset over it |
't Is allemaal niet zo erg 2 3 | [All those things are] - It's not that bad, not that grave - don't worry |
Ik heb erge pijn 2 3 | I'm in bad, serious pain |
't Is al minder erg 2 3 | [It's already less bad] - It's not as bad as it was (pain etc.) |
Ik vind 't niet erg 2 3 4 | I don't mind, it doesn't bother me (usually said about an inconvenience) |
Compare 'heel erg' in the examples below:
Ik vind het heel erg | I think it's [very] really bad, I'm upset over it |
't Spijt me heel erg 2 3 | I'm really very sorry |
Is 't erger geworden? 2 | Did it [become] get worse? |
't Had erger kunnen zijn 2 | It could have been worse |
't Was nog erger dan ik dacht 2 3 | It was even worse than I had thought |
't Wordt steeds erger 2 3 | It's getting worse [all the time] and worse |
Dat maakt 't alleen maar erger 2 3 4 | That only makes it worse, that just makes it worse |
Ik erger me dood 2 3 | I'm annoyed to [death] no end |
zich ergeren aan 2 3 4 | to be annoyed by (at, with) |
Ik erger me aan z'n houding 2 3 4 | I'm annoyed by his attitude |
Ik erger me aan de buren 2 3 4 | I'm annoyed by the neighbors |
'Ergste' means 'worst' - it is the superlative degree of 'erg' meaning 'bad.' In the examples it's used as a noun: | |
op 't ergste voorbereid 2 | prepared for the worst |
't Ergste is voorbij 2 | The worst is over |
Ik vrees 't ergste 2 3 | I fear the worst (has happened) - I'm afraid the worst possible outcome has come about |
't Ergste dat je kan overkomen ... 2 3 | The worst that can happen (to you) ... (usually said when that 'worst' isn't so bad, you're not taking much risk) |
'Ergs' is the noun of 'erg'
Er is iets heel ergs gebeurd 2 3 4 | Something [very] really bad happened ->> |
As you may have seen the Dutch word (de) worst means 'sausage' (like German 'Wurst')
De worst is over 2 | The sausage was left over, not eaten |
'Ergens' 2 ('somewhere' - and sometimes 'something') and 'nergens' 2 ('nowhere' - and sometimes 'nothing') moved to the Disambiguation: 'Er' page
The somewhat old-fashioned zeer 2 similarly to 'erg' means both 'very' and 'hurt, pain.'
zeer vereerd | [very] much honored, "obliged"? |
oud zeer | 'old hurt,' historical wrongs, long-lasting grievances |
Doet 't zeer? 2 | Does it hurt? |
Tegen 't zere been 2 3 | ['Against the sore leg'] - figuratively hitting someone in a sensitive, already sore spot, like pointing out an already acknowledged failure |
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