Met pensioen, maar hij mist zijn vrachtwagen
A2 Dutch listening practice · Dutch from the Netherlands · Curated for beginners
What does “met pensioen” mean in Dutch?
A wife reassures her restless husband: «je bent pas 10 dagen met pensioen» (“you’ve only been retired ten days”). To be met pensioen (literally “with pension”) is to be retired; “met pensioen gaan” is “to retire.”
The comedy is that he’s pining, not for another woman, but for his vrachtwagen (truck) and the open snelweg. Dutch marks life’s stages with these neat met- phrases: met pensioen (retired), met verlof (on leave), met vakantie (on holiday). Useful the moment you talk about work, time off, or hanging up the keys for good.
Vocabulary frequency
How common is the vocabulary in this A2 Dutch listening practice listening practice?
General Dutch frequency
Spoken Dutch frequency
Words above this video’s level
Quick glosses for vocabulary that goes beyond this video’s A2 level.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-NL 2014 (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.
- ▸In Dutch talk about retirement and pensions (AOW).
- ▸Alongside met verlof (on leave) and met vakantie (on holiday).
- ▸In Dutch sitcoms about restless retirees.
- ▸In Dutch workplace and HR conversations.