What does “rekenen op” mean in Dutch?
Ochtendroutine van een vermoeide wiskundeleerkracht
B1 Dutch listening practice · Flemish Dutch · Curated for intermediate learners
This Flemish comedy sketch about a maths teacher hides a clever pun. He wakes up next to “iemand waarop ik altijd ga kunnen rekenen. Mijn rekenmachine,” “someone I can always count on. My calculator.” The verb rekenen means “to calculate,” but rekenen op means “to count on, to rely on”, exactly the double meaning English has with “count on.”
The whole word family branches from there: rekenmachine (calculator), rekening (the bill, or a bank account), and wiskunde, the Dutch word for maths (literally “the science of what is certain”). This is Belgian Dutch (Flemish), so you’ll also catch a softer, southern accent. Learn rekenen op and you get the joke and a very useful verb.
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Quick glosses for vocabulary that goes beyond this video’s B1 level.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-NL 2014 (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.
- ▸In Flemish and Dutch classrooms during maths
- ▸Saying you trust someone: “Ik reken op jou”
- ▸Asking for the bill: “de rekening, alstublieft”
- ▸In Flemish comedy and sketch shows
- ▸Encouraging someone: “Reken maar!” (“You bet!”)