Twee bier
Dutch gestures
Sure, I am Always Talkin’ Food, but I teach NT2 (Dutch as a second language) on the side. Mainly to young foreigners who came to Amsterdam for or with love. For privacy reasons the names in these columns are fictitious.
Gestures are always a rewarding subject in class. Probably because they do not involve tongue-twisting pronunciation or inconsistent conjugation rules. Most of them are quickly picked up, even if they’re strictly confined to a certain region or language.
Do my students by any chance know some typical Dutch gestures?
Spread open hands are immediately waved back and forth along one cheek: ‘Lekker!’ (Tasty!)
Elsa taps her forehead: ‘Gek.’ (Crazy)
Jordan rubs his palms together at a 45-degree angle in front of his chest: ‘Zin in.’ (Looking forward)
All correct.
Then Neil licks his index finger, turns it towards us and raises it in the air. ‘Isn’t that also a Dutch gesture?’ the Canadian asks hesitantly. He has often seen it used by his Dutch colleagues at work.
The other students look at Neil with a puzzled expression - to say the least.
‘I think it means: I’m making a rough estimate’, Neil adds.
Ah, the gesture that was originally used by sailors to determine the direction and strength of the wind. A rather crude method that did not yield highly accurate results. Hence: a rough estimate.
Neil has picked it up well. I stick my thumb up in the air approvingly - thanks to Facebook the most commonly used hand signal worldwide.
'Isn't it called nattevingerwerk (wet finger work)?' Neil again.
Followed by more puzzled looks.
'Indeed, Neil. Koppie, koppie! (Very clever!)' I make half-circles around my temple with my index finger to accompany my remark, then quickly add: ‘Beware that in certain countries the gesture I now make means you are crazy instead of smart.’
Yasmine knows yet another gesture. A hand signal that will come in handy when we continue the lesson in the bar across the street.
She raises two fingers in the air in the shape of a V, with her palm facing us.
No puzzled looks now.
Food lingo
Tasty - Lekker
Two beers - Twee bier(tjes)
Worst + Bier(tjes)
The Amsterdam ‘Wallen’ (red light district) is basically a neighborhood to avoid, due to the hordes of intoxicated tourists who flock the streets. And it is certainly no loss if you don’t visit most of the district’s bars and diners, for they cater mainly to these tourists.
But there are exceptions. Like Daniel’s Currywurst, a rare place where you can find the ‘original Currywurst’ from Hamburg, which means de worst (sausage) comes with a natural skin of pig intestines. Obviously, the veggie variant doesn’t have this skin. Ofcourse you can order frietjes (French fries; Pommes in German) with your Wurst. And if they are a bit overenthusiastically salted by Daniel from Hamburg: no sweat. There’s a very handy gesture to solve that problem right there and then with beers from local brewery De Prael.
Daniel’s Currywurst, Lange Niezel 27 Amsterdam. Open: Thursday-Monday 12:00 noon-10:00 PM.