op eigen benen staan
Meaning: To be independent and self-sufficient; to support oneself without relying on others.
Language: Dutch
Literally: to stand on one’s own legs
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: The image is of standing upright on one’s own legs, without leaning on anyone else for support.
More idioms — Body & Senses
- voet bij stuk houden — To stand firm and refuse to give in to pressure or threats.
- uit de hand lopen — to become uncontrolled or chaotic.
- tussen de oren — in one's mind or thoughts.
- een uur in de wind stinken — To smell extremely bad.
- under kniven — Undergoing surgery, or under intense pressure to perform.
- fjällen falla från någons ögon — To suddenly understand something that was previously hidden or obscured.
More Dutch idioms
- een tandje bijsteken — To intensify one's effort or increase the pace of activity; to move up a gear.
- van lotje getikt — To be crazy or eccentric; to be not quite sane.
- buiten de boot vallen — To be left out or excluded from a group or activity.
- ga toch fietsen — A rude dismissal telling someone to go away.
- in de wind slaan — To deliberately ignore or disregard something.
- niet veel soeps — Unimpressive or mediocre; not worth much.
From our untranslatable words
- Komorebi — The dappled light that filters through leaves and scatters across the ground.
- Schadenfreude — The guilty little pleasure of taking satisfaction in someone else's misfortune.
- Wabi-sabi — Finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and the worn or incomplete.