Leer Nederlands terwijl ik mijn kat scheer
B1 Dutch listening practice · Dutch · Curated for intermediate learners
What does “voor geen meter” mean in Dutch?
Voor geen meter is Dutch for “not at all” — but with far more punch than a plain helemaal niet. It lands at the end of a sentence and slams the door on whatever came before: dat ging voor geen meter means “that didn’t work in the slightest.” Literally it’s “not for a single meter,” as if the thing couldn’t budge even one step forward.
It works for far more than broken gadgets. Dutch speakers reach for it to reject almost anything flatly: ik vertrouw hem voor geen meter (“I don’t trust him one bit”), die film boeide me voor geen meter (“that film didn’t grab me at all”). In the clip it’s the electric trimmer that gaat voor geen meter, which is exactly why she gives up and grabs an old pair of scissors. Reach for it whenever “not at all” feels too weak.