Dutch proverbs

• Beter één vogel in de hand dan tien in de lucht
  • Literal Translation: "Better one bird in the hand than ten in the sky"
  • 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 than the odor of ten!"

= a pun on "Lucht", meaning sky and odour

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

• 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"
  • English: "To keep an eye on something"

• Het deksel op de neus krijgen
  • Literal Translation: "To get the lid on the nose"
  • Meaning: "When being too greedy one should expect to be punished"

• Iemands rechterhand zijn
  • Literal Translation: "Being someones right hand."
  • Meaning: "Being indiposable to someone."
  • English equivalent: "Be someone's right hand man"

• In het land der blinden is éénoog koning."
  • Literal translation: "In the land of the blind, one-eye is king."
  • Meaning: "Where none can do something, the one who has even a little knowledge has the power"
  • English equivalent: "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king"

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

• Met de handen in het haar zitten.
  • Literal Translation: "Sitting with the hands in the hair."
  • Meaning: "Not knowing how to solve a problem."

• Met de hoed in de hand komt men door het ganse land.
  • Literal Translation: "With the hat in the hand one gets through all the land."
  • Meaning: "A little politeness gets you very far."
  • English equivalent: "Honey attracts more flies than vinegar."

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

• Natte vingerwerk/Met de natte vinger
  • Literal Translation: "Wet fingerwork/With the wet finger"
  • Meaning: "Guesswork/performed on intuition"

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

• Spijkers op laag water zoeken.
  • Literal translation: "Looking for nails at low tide."
  • Meaning: Being pedantic about small details.
  • English Equivalent: "Nitpicking."

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

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

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

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

• Wat baten kaars en bril, als de uil niet zien wil.
  • Literal Translation: "What good serve candle and glasses, if the owl does not want to see."
  • Meaning: "No need to try to convince or help someone to do something if he doesn't want to do it.
  • English equivalent: "You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink"

• Wie zijn neus schendt, schendt zijn aangezicht."
  • Literal translation: "He who hurts his nose, hurts his face."
  • Meaning: Accusing a close relative will usually damage your own reputation as well.
  • English equivalent: "To cut off one's nose to spite one's face."

• 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."
  • English equivalent: Resist tooth and nail

• Zij zijn twee handen op één buik.
  • Literal Translation: "They are two hands on one belly."
  • Meaning: "They do everything together."

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