← Nederlands

S3 E14: Met het hoofd tegen de muur lopen

0:44 · 30 July 2026 · Download MP3 · Transcript
Detail from Netherlandish Proverbs by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Nederlandse Spreekwoorden, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1559.

Chapters

  1. 0:00 Brueghel proverb

Script

Brueghel proverb

Today's Brueghel proverb.

Met het hoofd tegen de muur lopen.
Met het hoofd tegen de muur lopen.Literally: to walk with one's head against the wall.

Meaning: to attempt the impossible, and to keep attempting it. English has the same picture in banging your head against a brick wall. Notice that the fixed phrase uses the plain article - het hoofd - where English insists on a possessive. When you step outside the fixed phrase, Dutch takes the possessive back.

Ik loop al maanden met mijn hoofd tegen de muur.I've been banging my head against the wall for months.
Fijne dag nog!
Anki cards for this episode

Download anki.tsv and import into Anki (File → Import). Tab-separated Front/Back/Tags.

← All episodes