What does “de Bibi” mean in Dutch families?
Een gezin vormen met drie ouders en een nieuwe taal
B2 Dutch listening practice · Dutch from the Netherlands · Picked for people who know more
Dutch family law still assumes a child has two parents on paper. But in this clip a polyamorous trio (a man, his girlfriend, and his long-term boyfriend) face exactly that wall while expecting a baby. After years of searching for language, the girlfriend says: “Als ik heel diep voel, voel ik dat ik nu nog geen moeder wil zijn. Maar dat ik de Bibi wil zijn voor het kind.”
De Bibi is a coinage. Not “moeder,” not “tante,” not the legalese meeouder of the pending Dutch meerouderschapswet. The trio invented a word for the role they actually wanted, and the kid will grow up with een mama, een papa en een Bibi.
How common are the words?
How common are the words in this B2 Dutch listening practice video?
How common in written Dutch
How common in spoken Dutch
Harder words in this video
These words are harder than B2. Here is what they mean.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-NL 2014 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.
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- ▸In VPRO Tegenlicht, BNNVARA and Human documentaries on modern parenthood
- ▸At Roze Zaterdag and Amsterdam Pride panels on legal recognition for non-nuclear families