Sense of urgency in Dutch

Learning Dutch Forum - Ask a Tutor
1

In English we say, “I gotta run to the bathroom” or “I need to run to the store” or “We’re going to make a little run to the store. Need anything?” None of which actually involves running, it just means to take a short, quick trip and expresses a sense of urgency, but also conveys that you’ll be back soon.

In Dutch I know you use ‘even’ to express “for a minute” along with ‘moeten’ to express urgency:

Ik moet even naar de wc.
Ik moet even naar de winkel.

As opposed to ‘gaan’ :

Ik ga even koffie zetten.
I’m gonna go make some coffee for a minute (and I’ll be right back).

And as opposed to ‘zo’ to mean “in a minute” (without the understanding of being right back):

Ik ga zo eten.
I’m gonna go eat here in a minute.

And I think ‘gauw’ adds the feeling of: let’s do something together “real soon.”

We moeten gauw weer eens met zijn allen chillen, man.
Let’s all hang out again real soon, man.

We moeten gauw weer eens bellen met elkaar.
Let’s talk again real soon. (on the phone)

Or a friendly “come on inside.”

Kom gauw binnen!
Come on in! (Don’t stand on the doorstep)

But I guess my question is, do you use other words to express this sense of urgency, namely when referring to “running” somewhere for a little while, with the understanding that you’ll return soon?

I’m also wondering about “heel even.” Like in the morning when someone says, “Wakker worden. Tijd om op te staan,” and there comes the reply, “Alsjeblieft, nog héél even.” Is that saying, “Please, just a little while longer” (let me sleep a little while longer)?

2

You could use words like “snel”, “lopen”, “direct”, “meteen”, “vlug” etc. For example:

“Ik loop snel even naar de winkel.”
I"ll quickly run to the store.

“Ik kom direct/meteen terug.”
I’ll return immediately. (I think “direct” is more used in Flanders vs “meteen” in the Netherlands)

“Ik ga dit snel even afwerken.”
I’ll quickly finish this.

“Vlug even deze planten afdekken.”
[I’ll] quickly cover these plants.

And to answer your second question: yes. “Alsjeblieft, nog heel even.” does indeed mean “Please, just a little while longer.”.

3

Thanks, PJ, this is just what I was looking for! Is it then common to say … ? :

We lopen snel even naar de winkel.
We’re gonna run to the store real quick.

By the way, I have come across “Ik kom direct!” in Amsterdams. I take this to mean:
“I’ll be right there!” (when you’re busy with something and talking in person, from another room, for example), or
“I’ll be right over!” (at the end of a phone conversation)

Also:

Ik ben zo terug.
I’ll be right back. I’ll be back in a minute.
(I don’t really see the difference between this and 'Ik kom direct terug / Ik kom meteen terug.")

“Ik ga dit snel even afwerken.” I would interpret this as:
Let me finish up real quick.

I don’t quite grasp the context of when you would say:
“Vlug even deze planten afdekken.”
[I’ll] quickly cover these plants.

4

No worries.

And yes, I do believe it’s quite common to use phrases like “We lopen snel even naar de winkel.”. I do say “I do believe”, because in Flanders, our dialects reign supreme, so we’d say something like “we goan zjère ne ki noa de wienkle.”, but it’s the same thing.

You’re also correct about the meaning of “Ik kom direct!”.

The difference between “Ik kom direct/meteen terug.” and “Ik ben zo terug.” is the matter of urgency. The first phrase says, “I’ll be back IMMEDIATELY.” versus “I’ll be back IN A MINUTE.”.

As per the context regarding the plants:
Sometimes people have plants outside that don’t do well against the cold and then they cover them up for winter, to not let them die. Maybe another example to use “vlug”:

“Vlug even naar het toilet en dan ben ik klaar om te vertrekken.”
[I’ll] quickly go to the toilet and then I’ll be ready to leave.

5

Oh, I see. zjère, zièère, etc. = snel.
I also see where snel can mean mooi or knap.

Well, dialect is out of the question for me. All I could ever attempt is some semblance of standard Dutch.

To express more urgency than “I’ll be right back / I’ll be back in a minute” in English, we sometimes use the negative: “I won’t be a second.”

6

Indeed, hehe, here in Flanders, “snel” does indeed mean pretty.

But our dialect can be rather tricky, even though standard Dutch is deriven from the Brabantian dialect, spoken around Antwerp and Brussels in the 1500s. What’s even harder about learning the Flemish dialect, is that it’s not recognised as a language (nor minority language) and that it doesn’t have any official written form. So the bit of Flemish I wrote, isn’t any official spelling. I guess it’s a language you have to be born in.

Now, we could also use a negative form in Dutch. For example:
“Het zal niet lang duren.”
It won’t take long.
Although that’s about it.

7

I also understand ‘het zal’ to be like a promise, since the Dutch generally prefer to use present tense to indicate future, as opposed to ‘zullen.’
Het zal niet lang duren.
(I promise) it won’t take long.

And in what context would you say “Het zou niet lang meer duren,” or is this more a narrative device (as opposed to everyday spoken Dutch) like “op een dag”?

Het zou niet lang meer duren…
It wouldn’t be long (before)…

…

In English, quick (snel) can also mean clever or smart (NL: slim).

But smart (NL: slim) can also mean good-looking (mooi, knap).

I’ve also seen knap (good-looking; smart) used in Dutch to mean: met een goed verstand/slim (intelligent; smart).

So it seems all of these words are related somehow.

8

“Het zou niet lang meer duren…” is indeed more narrative, but could still be used like: “Hij zei dat het niet lang meer zou duren.”. (He said it wouldn’t take long.)

Concerning quick/smart/attractive/… being related words, this would make a lot of sense, considering intelligence is an attractive trait on its own and would often elevate a person’s status in life, etc.

Furthermore, Dutch and English are related due to how peoples migrated. The Germanic wave and Latin wave both met each other in Flanders and then crossed the Channel to England. After that, invasions by Vikings added more Germanic words, while William of Normandy brought forth the Latin influences. And of course with the bustling trade centers of Flanders during the Middle Ages and migration to England for industrial purposes, English and Dutch do share some similar vocabulary and grammar. (sorry, I like history!)

9

Geen sorry.

I actually studied the history of the English language in college. It was most importantly the Norman invasion in the 11th century that infused French into the Anglo Saxon language and (thankfully) changed the English language forever.

And then also if you look at the languages that were legally stipulated (namely, by Acts that were passed in the US in the late 18th and early 19th century) to be included in merchant marine documents during the Age of Sail:

“Vessels bound round Cape Horn or the Cape of Good Hope should have sea-letters. These contain a description of the cargo, &c., and are written in four languages—English, French, Dutch and Spanish … rendered necessary or expedient by reason of treaties with foreign powers.”
— The Seaman’s Friend: A Treatise on Practical Seamanship (revised edition, 1879) by Richard Henry Dana, Jr., Part III, Chapter I, Documents

you get a good glimpse into the primary influences on language and culture in the New World that remain today: English, French, Spanish, as well as Portuguese, and to a lesser degree (and lost on a lot of people) — Dutch!

10

Sometimes you don’t think of these expressions until you actually use them.

I’ll be right back. = Ik ben zo terug.

This morning I found myself saying:

(stronger)
I’ll be right straight back.
I think this would be the equivalent of:
Ik kom meteen terug. / Ik kom direct terug.

This expression (I’ll be right straight back) more strongly expresses:
Just stay right here. Don’t move. I’ll be back immediately.

11

I think “I’ll be right straight back.” is a mere redundency. It’d be like saying “Ik kom direct meteen terug.”, as “Ik kom meteen/direct terug.” already means “I’ll be right back.”