How to Space in Dutch

Would you like to talk about space, planets, the stars and the universe in Dutch? Here are some words that can help.

Ruimte

The Dutch word for space is ruimte. Ruim by itself means spacious, and it might also have a relation with room. If your T-shirt is big enough, you can say: Mijn T-shirt zit ruim.

You may also have seen the word “opruriming” if you like shopping. With een opruiming, you space things up, you create space, and in English, you can call it a clearance sale.

Here is a funny thing in Dutch: you can hear the English word “space” as well, but if you say “Ik (I) space,” then you probably have used some drugs. If you say “ik ruim,” it means you throw things away. Often, it means taking massive action. If you say “ik ruim mijn huis,” it often means you make it empty. That is why you often also see: Ik ruim mijn huis op, which means you are organising things at home.

Ruimte is space, and it can be any kind of space, including an office you can rent. Persoonlijke ruimte is personal space, and it is important to have enough persoonlijke ruimte for Dutch people. If other people are standing too close, it drives them crazy.

De ruimte is also that vast space around our planet that Dutch people love to call het heelal. This is a combination of heel (whole) and al (all), so it means the whole all. It is a more Germanic term for “universe.” While you could see the universe as one verse, the word heelal suggests that this is everything.

Ruimteschip

Now that you know that ruimte means space, it is easy to guess what ruimteschip means. This is a spaceship, of course. Don’t you think that it is funny that in many languages you can use a ship both for water and for space?

It is obvious that Dutch people have a strong relationship with the sea; they love to sail, and this might be why they also like to apply the same idea to exploring space. While in English you might talk about space travel, Dutch people love to call it ruimtevaart, literally “space sailing.” Another word for spacecraft is ruimtevaartuig, literally a space-sailing instrument or vehicle.

Then you also have de atmosfeer, and Dutch people also use that word to describe any ambience. De sfeer is a shorter version. For example, werksfeer is the working environment, that vibe that you feel when you work among your colleagues. Are they friendly? Do you laugh now and then? Hopefully you also enjoy een goede werksfeer whenever you work. Then we have a more German word for atmosfeer: dampkring. It is a circle of damp, and it can make the air a little foggy. De Dampkring is also the name of a popular coffeeshop in Amsterdam. You can smoke and space at the same time.

Buitenaards

De aarde is earth, of course, and planeet aarde is planet earth. Buiten is outside, and buitenaards means outside of earth. The English word is extraterrestrial. Buitenaards leven is extraterrestrial life, and there seems to be a lot to discover and enjoy: Sterren (stars) and de Melkweg (Milky Way).

Last but not least, there is a funny name that Dutch people give to our planet. Have you ever heard of klootzak? This is what Dutch people call you if you are a man and they don’t like you. It is literally a ball sack; “kloot” is an old-fashioned word for “ball”.

Aardkloot is an informal word that Dutch people use to describe our planet. The fact that it is also associated with klootzak makes this word quite special. Klootzak is negative, of course, and aardkloot lowers the meaning of aarde. Now it is just like any ball, floating somewhere in that endless space. Sometimes Dutch people ask themselves: Wat doe ik op deze aardkloot? and then it could mean: What the f*** am I doing on this planet? It sounds funny, yet it has an existential vibe. What am I supposed to do here?

How does your language look at space, and do you have a funny word for our planet Earth as well?

When you are ready to take the next step, check out Dutch Brainwash. This masterclass is a tried-and-true program that can revolutionize your Dutch.

Albert Both

Talencoach / Dutch Flow Now