If you’ve read some of the other DutchDabbles articles, you may have come across mentions of the word nou. I’ve mentioned it enough to merit doing an entire post about it, because it’s highly versatile, and you’ll hear it being used a lot during average Dutch conversation. Let’s see why that is and what its main uses are.
What is nou?
Nou is pronounced almost exactly the same as the English word now, as in in the current moment, and for good reason: it literally means the same thing. These days, the official spelling of the translation of now into Dutch is nu, but nou is still mentioned in our dictionaries like that, although it’s considered very informal, and it’s almost never used in this context in written text.
In certain parts of The Netherlands, among others the part where I’m from, North Holland, in speech, some people still use the English pronunciation, even though we don’t write it like that anymore. Personally, I wouldn’t pronounce it like now in sentences like Ik ga nu naar huis (Eng: I’m going home now), because the emphasis is on the word nu, but I, and most Dutchies with me, will pronounce it like that in sentences like Ben je er nou al? (Eng: Are you there yet, literally: are you there now already?).
This should all make some sense to English speakers, as the use of the word nu in Dutch is very similar to the use of the word now in English. In fact, we even do a similar thing when we put it at the front of a sentence in order to change the topic or let the listener know we’re about to explain something a bit more, although the Dutch tend to use the word goed (Eng: good) instead most of the time.
You’ll definitely hear nou being used in this way, actually meaning now, but it’s also used on a variety of other occasions in which the meaning is a lot more ambiguous. In these cases, it’s called a tussenwerpsel or interjective (literal translation: something that’s thrown in between). Let’s go through some of them.
Nou en?
You’ll probably hear nou most when it’s used in the phrase nou en?. This literally means now and?, but it’s our substitute for the English so what?, as in: who cares, not my problem.
Like so what?, this is a very informal phrase, and you’re not going to be hearing it a lot in official environments. Kids use it a lot, though.
Nou ja! / Nou zeg!
Another phrase you’ll hear a lot, is nou ja!. This is an expression of disbelief, used when someone does something that’s considered very strange or even rude. When you’re trying to catch a train and someone runs in to bump you over, making you miss the train, you might mutter an angry nou ja! to yourself. A similar phrase meaning the same thing is Nou zeg!, which might have the same origin as the slightly outdated I say! in English, meaning roughly the same thing.
To make things even more difficult, nou ja can also be used to express a very specific form of doubt – I think it’s best explained as “polite doubt”. Imagine you’re at work, and your boss says something that’s not entirely one hundred percent true. In that case, you can start your answer with Nou ja…, before explaining what’s actually happening. It’s something like: More or less, but….
Nou…
Nou can also be used on its own to express hesitation, or even awkwardness about something you’re going to say afterwards. Nou, ik weet het niet (Eng: Nou, I don’t know) puts emphasis on the speaker not only being unknowing, but also hesitant about the implications of not knowing. I’ve mentioned this in the article about hoor, which you really may want to read if you’re wondering why people in the Netherlands sound so darn rude sometimes.
When forced to answer a question like Where were you last night?, a Dutch person may start with an elongated Nou…, just like an English speaker would use Well…. It’s a way of pausing the conversation to give yourself a bit more time to come up with an answer, or at least to figure out how you’re going to phrase it.
Nou dan!
Another use of nou occurs in a situation where the person who uses it has gotten a bit frustrated about the fact the two of you seemed to have reached a natural conclusion to a discussion, but you’re still trying to wiggle your way out of it: nou dan!. It means something like: See, that’s what I’m saying!. Such a conversation may go like this: Yes, I know it’s a dumb idea to try and climb that tree… – Nou dan! – …but I’m going to do it anyway.
Nou nou
Like many other Dutch interjectives, nou can also be repeated to alter its meaning. Nou nou can be used on two different occasions. The first is when the person who uses it isn’t overly impressed with something you said earlier: I ate seven cupcakes last night – Nou nou. It means impressive, but in a sarcastic manner.
The other nou nou is used when you do something that you shouldn’t be doing, for example: you’re on a gezellig afternoon at your grandparents and you use a rather foul word, in which case someone else may call you out on it with a rather angry Nou nou!. A single nou will also suffice in this case, but doubling up is also done a lot.
Nou, schiet op!
Nou can also be used in situations in which the speaker is getting a tad antsy about something that is taking too long. You’ll often hear parents say Nou, schiet op! (Nou, hurry up) or Nou, kom op (Nou, come on) when their child is lingering about on the playground. It’s easy to assume nou means “now” in this case, as there’s a sense of urgency, but really, it’s just another meaningless interjective here.
Nou en of!
One last use of the word nou in simple phrases can be found in Nou en of!. It’s a confirmation of something, and a solid one at that. It can, for example, be used in reply to a question like Did you have fun last night? – Nou en of!. It’s something like: heck yeah!
In this use, the en of part, which really doesn’t translate into English, can even be dropped altogether, often implying not only a confirmation, but also a bit of wonder: Wow, did you see that car almost hitting that tree? – Nou!
Sayings and expressions
Because nou is such an old, important, and widely used word, it has found its way into a lot of expressions and sayings, too. In these cases, it’s often still pronounced and written as nou, even in its most basic meaning of now.
Take Nou breekt mijn klomp, for example. This literally means Now my wooden shoe breaks. It’s used when something very unexpected happens – wooden shoes, the footwear of choice for Dutch farmers a long time ago, are sturdy things and don’t break all that easily.
Another one, funnily enough with a very similar meaning, is Krijg nou wat! This is also used to express disbelief about a certain event. It’s hard to translate this one into English, but literally, it’s Get something now. The wat or something part can be substituted by other words: Krijg nou tandjes! (small teeth) or, more colloquially, Krijg nou tieten! (tieten is slang for breasts – fairly similar to its English counterpart). It’s basically a way of saying: how on Earth did that just happen?
Long story short
Nou is a word that can either just be an informal form of the English word now, or can be thrown into a lot of sentences and phrases to express a certain feeling. In these last cases, it doesn’t mean anything on its own, but it still comes in quite handy, if you know how to use it.
You’ll hear it a lot in your average daily conversation, and it might be a good idea to try and remember the different instances in order to figure out what your conversation partner is thinking about. Is it difficult? A little bit. Is it worth it? Nou en of!
