# hit on



## 123xyz

Hello everyone,

Could someone tell me how to say "hit on" in Dutch, as in "make romantic advances"? So far, I have only found "het hof maken", which is not the same thing.

Example context:

Mary left the party because all the boys were hitting on her.

Thank you in advance.


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## Red Arrow

Misschien niet perfect, maar dit is het eerste dat in me opkwam: ''een poging wagen''

Marie verliet het feestje (de fuif) omdat alle jongens een poging bij haar wouden wagen.
Marie verliet het feestje (de fuif) want alle jongen wouden een poging bij haar wagen.

Er is ook het woord ''flirten'', of ''versieren'', maar da's zo'n beetje hetzelfde als ''het hof maken''. (wel minder serieus)


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## 123xyz

Thank you for the reply. I think that "een poging wagen" is all right. As for "flirten", I think it's somewhat different from "hit on", since it implies some cooperation as well as playfulness, whereas "hit on" suggests that one person is pursuing the other, possibly in a slightly aggressive fashion (these are just nuances, but still). Meanwhile, I didn't know that "versieren" means anything except "decorate" - how interesting.


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## Red Arrow

123xyz said:


> Thank you for the reply. I think that "een poging wagen" is all right. As for "flirten", I think it's somewhat different from "hit on", since it implies some cooperation as well as playfulness, whereas "hit on" suggests that one person is pursuing the other, possibly in a slightly aggressive fashion (these are just nuances, but still). Meanwhile, I didn't know that "versieren" means anything except "decorate" - how interesting.


Mannen doen niets liever dan vrouwen versieren


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## Hans Molenslag

_Omdat alle jongens haar lastigvielen_, is what I'd probably say. _Iemand lastigvallen_ has a wider meaning than _to hit on someone_, but in a context like this, any native speaker would know what is meant.


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## Red Arrow

Hans M. said:


> _Omdat alle jongens haar lastigvielen_, is what I'd probably say. _Iemand lastigvallen_ has a wider meaning than _to hit on someone_, but in a context like this, any native speaker would know what is meant.


I think that sentence was just an example. You can't use _iemand lastigvallen_ in other sentences.


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## ThomasK

Interessant hoe wij dit ene woord niet zomaar direct kunnen vertalen, met alle nuances of connotaties erbij... Of komt er toch nog een... wit konijn?


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## Brownpaperbag

_proberen te versieren_ looks like a decent translation to me. _Hit on_ is informal and so is _versieren_.


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## ThomasK

Just wondering, BPB: isn't hitting on more agressive? (You are the native speaker, I am just asking!)


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## Brownpaperbag

No it isn't, it means _flirting with someone_. The Dutch translation_ lastig vallen _strikes me as too aggressive.


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## ThomasK

You're right then. Thanks a lot for this extra explanation!


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## Hans Molenslag

Brownpaperbag said:


> The Dutch translation_ lastig vallen _strikes me as too aggressive.


Well, it depends. In a context as the one that was given as an example, it would be perfectly idiomatic Dutch.


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## 123xyz

> No it isn't, it means _flirting with someone_.



It does mean "flirting", but it implies some sort of domination (albeit not aggression, though aggression isn't actually excluded) within the activity. If a guy is hitting on a girl and she is cooperating, both of them can be flirting, but the girl wouldn't be hitting on the guy. The relationship between them wouldn't be equal bilaterally. If, in turn, we just say that they're flirting with each other, there is no indication as to who's guiding the process.


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## bibibiben

I think Hans M.'s translation would work well here. Or you could try this:

Mary verliet het feest omdat de jongens haar niet met rust lieten.

Or maybe:

Mary verliet het feest omdat ze alle jongens van het lijf moest houden.

_Versieren_ doesn't really work here, because it doesn't emphasize the annoying male dominance enough.


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