#useful phrases
Sometimes apologies fix the problem. Sometimes all that’s needed to make things ok is to acknowledge that you did something wrong. For instance, if you accidentally bump into someone, saying “sorry” clarifies that you didn’t do it on purpose and don’t intend to hurt them. That’s usually enough in that kind of situation.
When someone apologizes in a way that fixes the problem, it’s usually good to say something like “it’s ok”. Because now that they’ve apologized, it *is* ok.
Sincere apologies aren’t always enough to make everything ok. Sometimes mistakes hurt people in ways that persist even after an apology. They can still matter. Fixing part of a problem is better than doing nothing.
If someone apologizes to you in a way that’s real but doesn’t erase the problem, you may not want to say “it’s ok” (because it still isn’t). One thing you can say instead is “Thank you for apologizing”. Thanking someone for apologizing acknowledges and accepts the apology without pretending that everything is fixed. This can create space for the problem to actually get solved.
Tl;dr: When sincere apologies don’t fix everything, ‘thank you for apologizing’ can be a better thing to say than ‘it’s ok’.
Geeft niks. = No problem.
This is a usual answer to someone’s excuses, you will often hear it if you stepped on someone’s foot or spilled coffee on someone’s table. Not to be confused with “Geeft niets”, as in “doesn’t care”.
Maakt niet uit. = Doesn’t matter.
When you are offered an alternative, but you don’t care which option to use, just casually say it. Very casual and simple say of saying “nevermind”.
Zullen we vandaag of morgen afspreken? - Maakt niet uit.
Should we agree to meet today or tomorrow? - Doesn’t matter.
Dat scheelt. = It saves, it makes a difference.
There is a common belief that Dutch adore economizing on things and actions, this is also manifested in the language. You will hear this phrase often in everyday use.
Dat scheelt me een hoop tijd. It saves me a lot of time.
Dat scheelt me een ritje naar supermarkt. It saves me a trip to supermarket.
What I find unusual is that it is often used as a reaction. Imagine you boast about a good route home that saves you a lot of time, or a good deal for your kid’s swimming lessons, in reply as an approval you will just hear “Dat scheelt.” without saying what it saves.
Wat is er gebeurd? = What happened?
Simple question to ask when you see the consequences and want to know what led to it. It can be rhetorical and very emotional, like if you see a broken window and a company of kids with a ball nearby, or a cat near trashed flower pots. One popular Dutch rap formation group has a single with a slang version of this phrase, that equals to a question “what’s up?”. Really not a good advise to watch it, because even native speakers don’t fully understand the lyrics.
Dit slaat nergens op. = This makes no sense.
After you’ve heard the answer to the previous question, you think that the story is not convincing enough, all the excuses (smoesjes) are just ridiculous (belachelijk), so you can use this phrase, to conclude all your feelings. “Dit” can be substituted by “dat, het”.
Dat is niet de bedoeling.. = That is not meant to..
This one is certainly a way that Dutch people express criticism. It almost equals to just saying “You shouldn’t”. If someone is being too clever to use his position in his profit, nobody in the Netherlands will be too shy to point it out.
Dat is niet de bedoeling dat je auto van je werk gebruikt om naar je vakantiebestemming te gaan. You are not supposed to use company’s car to go to vacation place.
