# Kanjer in English



## oceanside

What does Kanjer translate to in English? I think (I hope) it is a term of endearment -is it a common term?
Thanks!


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## Suehil

A 'kanjer' is either something enormous or something that is 'great' in the sense of 'fantastic'


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## Babbel79

Hi Oceanside,

I will try to explain "kanjer", or what we mean by it in Dutch. It merely depends on the sentence in which the word is used.

1. most of the time kanjer is used as "great friend", for example; _Bedankt voor al je hulp, je bent een kanjer._
Thanks for your help, you're a great friend.

2. as noticed above by SueHill, kanjer can also be used to define something as big or huge. For example: _Ik heb een vis gevangen, kijk eens wat een kanjer_. 
Look at the huge/big fish I catched. (or literally: I've catched a fish, look at the size of it)

Maybe you can write down the sentence in which _kanjer_ is used, so I can explain what is ment.

Greetings!


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## oceanside

Hello!
The word Kanjer was used as the greeting in a letter from a romantic interest. The letters from this man either start "Lieve Lori" or "Hello Kanjer" and end "Ik hou van je" with English and Dutch intermixed throughout.

Most of the Dutch he uses in the letters I can figure out. It seems he is using Kanjer as a term of endearment, I am just trying to figure out if Kanjer is appropriate for me to use also or if it would only refer to a female or perhaps it isn't normally a term of endearment at all. 

I don't know any Dutch terms of endearment to use - they are not readily available in the "learn Dutch" books I have purchased. 

Thank you for your help!


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## Suehil

Here it just means something like 'fantastic person'.


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## sh4d0wz

I just want to add this to answer one of your questions,
you can also use the word "Kanjer" to refer to a male person.

But if used in the sentence: "Hello Kanjer" the word is more of a nickname and not a normally used term, so if you would reply with the same word it wouldn't be very original 

[edit]
BTW, would you explain to me, the meaning of endearment?


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## Babbel79

Well if it is a romantic interest it might be more than "just" a fantastic person. In normal friendship Kanjer is used to describe somebody as more than a normal friend. In romantic interest you indeed are a special person.

I don't use the word kanjer very often, it's more of an informal word. I myselfe doubt when a guy says 'hoi kanjer', if he means more than just good friend. But as the letters end with I love you, I can imagine there is more 

Anyway, I think it is clear


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## oceanside

sh4d0wz said:


> BTW, would you explain to me, the meaning of endearment?


 
Hi!
A term of endearment is an expression of affection. In English common terms of endearment are: Honey, Sweetheart, My love, My dear, Sugar, Baby.

That is the frustration of learning Dutch for me right now. The use of romantic language is not easily found in dictionaries and mistakes are easy to make. The use of slang can sometimes be very romantic and sometimes very crude.

Also, it is hard to find a way to learn the different ways of saying something. For example: In Spanish if I say "te quiero" (I love you) I am referring to passionate desire. If I say "te amo" (I love you) I am referring to partnership/spiritual or deep closeness.

In English there are several ways to say "make love" - each having very different implications (some crude). Is it the same in Dutch? 

Does anyone know of a romantic Dutch translation dictionary or phrase book?


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## HKK

There's a number of threads about words like honey or sweetheart. You might want to check these. If you want words to use more than a few times, there's schat(je), zoetje, liefste, etc. You can also be more creative and use words for delicacies, pies, sweets... just like in English. Direct translations of English terms of endearment may or may not sound a little strange, but if you use the diminutive they'll always be nice



> In English there are several ways to say "make love" - each having very different implications (some crude). Is it the same in Dutch?


Absolutely. I think that counts for every language.


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## Frank06

Hi,


HKK said:


> There's a number of threads about words like honey or sweetheart. You might want to check these.


 
For example: I love you, Ik hou van jou, I love you (bis), ...

Groetjes,

Frank


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