Dutch - English Zebra Finch Jargon

Dutch - English Zebra Finch Jargon

I am constantly coming across words on the Dutch and Belgian Zebra Forums which are not found in any dictionary or translator. I decided to keep an ongoing list of these sometimes baffling Zebra Finch related terms.

This page is not at all intended to replace a standard Dutch - English Dictionary or Translator, but rather is meant to compliment it with jargon that is specific to Zebras and probably won't be easily found in dictionaries or translators. I've also included words which you will find on the Dutch and Belgian Forums in buttons or topic titles. Also translated are unfamiliar words that may be encountered in the NZC Zebra Standard. I also included some common words which I had trouble remembering, and was tired of looking up in a dictionary.

This page is an ongoing project. I do not guarantee everything here is 100% correct as I am still learning Dutch and for many of the Zebra specific words, translations CANNOT be found anywhere. So I must intuit them. ~Christine~

Aangeboden - Offered or For Sale (Birds for Sale). Also, asking or offering.

Aangeduid - Indicated.

Aangegeven - Indicated.

Aankoop - Purchase.

Aanschaf - Purchase.

Aanslag - Attack literally. Used with the White standard, meaning a white bird should not be attacked by gray or brown flecking or have stained plumage.

Aantwoord - Answer.

Aars - Arse. Ass.

Aarsbevedering - Arse plumage.

Aanwezig - Being Present.

Achtergrond - Background.

Afgetekend - Outline.

Afwijkende - Derogatory. Used in the White standard for BB Whites which may have exceess and unwanted pigmentation. Whites should alway be pure white.

Allemaal - All/Everyone.

Allemaal Kampioen - General Champion literally - equivalent to Grand Champion or Best In Show. Highest possible award.

Avatar - Small photo used by Forum participants in their profile.

Basistekening - Basic Markings.

Bedank - Thanks (less formal).

Beetje - A little bit.

Belangrijk - Important.

Belgie - Belgium.

Belgische - Belgian.

Bericht - Bulletin. On the Forum, it is referring to your message.

Bestraffen - To punish. In showing, it means to take away show points.

Bevedering - Plumage or feathers. Should be clean and carried tight and neatly without missing feathers.

Bijvoorbeeld - see b.v.

Blauwachtige - Bluish.

Bleekrug - Lightback (LB).

Blijft - Remains.

Bont/Bonte - Pied.

Bonten - Pieds. Not to be confused with Bonten (crested) Society Finches!!!

Bontpatroon - Pied Pattern.

Bontvorming - Pied Shaping literally. Pied markings. Pieds are to be 50% white. Also used in BB to refer to the chin white spot which is a show fault.

Borst - Breast. Some translators will screw this up and translate it as udder. Borst means breast.

Borststreep - Breast Stripe literally - Breast Bar.

Borsttekening - Breast Markings.

Borstveren - Breast Feathers.

Bovenschedel - Above the skull literally. Used to describe how BB cheek patches extend onto the top of the head.

Bovensnavel - Above the beak.

Bovenstaartdekveren - Above tail feathers - literally - Tail covert.

Breedte - Breadth or width.

Broeden - Brood.

Broek - Trousers literally - the tail bars.

Bruin/Bruine - Fawn.

Bruinagaat - Fawn Agate.

Bruinagaatjes - Fawn Agates - the plural form.

Bruinserie - Fawn Series. Refers to birds which have Fawn backgrounds.

Buikbestreping - Belly Stripping (see in OB & BB males)

b.v. (short for 'Bijvorbeeld') - e.g. This means 'for example' and is usually followed by a list of acceptable examples.

Conditie - Conditioning for showing.

Cremekleurig - Colorful cream.

Cremewit - Creamy white.

Dank u - Thank you - formal or polite form.

Darbij - Thereby.

Dek - Used for Vleugeldek or rugdek and means feathers on the wings or back.

Donkerbruin - Dark Brown.

Donkercreme - Dark Cream.

Donkergrijs - Dark Gray.

Doorlopend - Passing through.

Druppeltekening - Drop markings. This refers to the orange spots found on the breasts of OB and BB males.

Duidelijk - Clear, clearly.

Dwarsbanjes - Transverse bands (for example: tail bars)

Egaal - Even, evenly.

Egaal Mogelijk - As even as possible.

Eisen - Require.

Eumelanine - Eumelanin - black pigment.

Evenwicht - Balance.

Flanken - Flanks.

Flankkleur - Flank Color.

Flanktekening - Flank marking literally - Flank or Flanking.

Fout/Foute - Error literally. Show fault.

Fouten - Faults. Refers to show faults.

Ge... - The 'ge' syllable goes in front of a lot of verbs and means past tense (I think). It's best to try to find the root of the verb to be able to decipher what is being said. I have listed some 'ge...' words here that appear in the standard or on the Forums.

Geaccentueerd - Accentuated.

Geblockt - blocked or barred - used to describe zebra tail barring.

Gebruikersnaam - User Name or Log In Name.

Gebruikt - Uses or used.

Geelsnavel - Yellow Beaked.

Gehamerd - Hammered. This refers the the play of dark and light gray on the head feathers of zebra finches. If you look closely, you will see that the outer edges of the feathers are lighter than their interiors. This creates a hammered effect. Leave it to the Dutch to notice this, and specify it in their impeccable standards!
Geheel - Whole.

Gekleurde - Colored.

Gekoppeld - Coupled or Paired. Referring to a bonded pair of birds.

Gekuifd - Crested.

Gelegd - Laid - as in 'eggs are laid'.

Gelige - Yellowish, used to describe the back color of the fawn Agate Zebra.

Gepareld - Beaded. Refers to the markings on the chin of BB males.

Geluiden - Sounds. Zebra Finch song.

Geplaatst - Placed. On the Forum, it means your message has been posted.

Gereduceerd - Reduced.

Geslachten - Lines.

Gestraft - Punished or Penalized. Referring to poor markings in showing - loss of show points.

Gestreept - Lined - also Zebra of the horse sort. Many times 'zebra finch' is erroneously translated as 'gestreept vinken' or 'gestreepte finches'. This can cause some confusion as illustrated in Dimar's cartoon below.

??Gestreept Finches of Zebravinken??

Dimar's Graciously Shared Humor About the Difficulties with Online Language Translators.

Getekende - Signed literally. Means marked and refers usually to the Saddleback Pied which must have a white head and no flanks. A dark cap is acceptable, however.

Gevolg - Consequence or as the result of.

Gevonden - Found.

Gevraagd - Asking or Asked. Used for Birds wanted (birds you are looking for). Also expected and accepted colors combinations in a standard.

Gezien - Considered.

Gezoomd - A mutation not available in the US. Similar to a Grizzle and probably in the pied family of mutations.

Gezoomden - Plural of Gezoomd.

Goed - Good.

Geleidelijk - Gradual, Gradually.

Grijs/Grijze - Gray.

Grijsmasker - CFW in the Gray series.

Grijsserie - Gray Series. Zebras which have gray as their background color.

Groeten - to greet or Greetings. Used by some members as a salutation or sign off on the Forums.

Grote - Large.

Hallo - Hello.

Helder Blijft - Clearly remains.

Hierdoor - Because of this...

Hoewel - Although.

Hoi - Hi (informal).

Hoogte van der stuit (...), [uitvloeiend in de aarsbeverdering] - Altitude of the rump is (some color), [from fluent in the arse plumage]. Of course, this makes no sense when translated literally. What this is really referring to is the plumage on the sides of the rump, [and in diluted back colors, many times the sides of the rump are lighter and this light color flows evenly into the arse or vent plumage]. Only the Dutch specifically describe this portion of zebra plumage which is really and extension of the black from the tail coverts. All other standards completely ignore it - so if it is an unfamiliar concept to you, that means your standard probably ignores it. In NG, these rump sides are black. The color of rump side feathers change, depending upon the mutation, and may be lighter as the bird is more diluted. This is one of the major differences between the R CFW and Continental. The Continental has black feathers on the sides of the rump in both sexes, whereas the Regular has light gray or even white feathers in this location.

Houding - Attitude - deportment and presentation.

Huisvesting - Housing.

Ideaal - Ideal.

Iedereen - Everyone

Inloggen - Log in.

Ja - Yes.

Jammer - Pity or Unfortunate. Used typically when discussing show faults of a bird.

Jong - Young. Chicks.

Jongen - Young ones. Chicks.

Kampioen - Champion.

Kampioenen - Champions.

Kastenjebruine - Chestnut Brown - refers to the color of the typical male flanking. Should not be present in Saddleback pieds or Penguin males.

Klassieke - Classic.

Kenmerk - Characteristic.

Kenmerken - Characteristics.

Keuring - Testing literally - means judging during a show.

Kip - Hen. This is used for Chickens. In Zebras, the hen is called a 'pop'. Translators will call a hen as a 'kip' and a 'pop' as a 'headstock'. So it's important to know that all of this refers to a female bird.

Kleur - Color.

Kleurcontrast - Color Contrast.

Kleurcontrasten - Color Constrasts.

Kleurdiepte - Depth of Color.

Kleurig - Colorful.

Kleurlag - Color Blow, literally.

Kleurenverschil - Color Difference, plural.

Kleurregelmaat - Color Quality.

Kleurscheiding - Color Separation.

Kleurverschil - Color Difference.

Klik - Click

Kooi - Cage.

Kop - Head.

Kopkleur - Head Color.

Koppelje - Pair of birds - usually male/female and a breeding pair.

Kopsijde - Side of head.

Koraalrood - Coral Red - refers to the male's beak color.

Krantenpapier - Newspaper.

Kuif - Crest or crested mutation.

Kuiken - Chick, baby bird.

Kuikens - Chciks or baby birds.

Kwantitatieve - Quantitative.

Kweek - Breed.

Kweekkoppel - This will be translated as Cross-belt (whatever that is?) Think of it more as a cross between two birds or a breeding pair.

Kweker - Breeder

Kwekerslijst - Breeder's List.

Leden - Members.

Lengterichting - lengthwise. Used in the BB standard to refer to markings on the tail coverts. See also 'Lopende'.

Lichaamshelften - Body Halves. Used in pied standards as "symmetrische over beide lichaamshelften" meaning that the pied markings should be symmetrical on both sides of the body.

Licht - Light.

Lichtbruin - Light Brown.

Lichtgrijs - Light Gray.

Lichtgrize - Light Gray.

Lichter - Lighter.

Loopbeen - Leg.

Loodgrijs - Lead Gray.

Lopende - literally current (like in a river). Means 'running' as in the BB standard where it says 'met enkele in de lengterichting lopende dunne zwarte strepen' which means 'some thin black lines running lengthwise'.

Makkelijk - Easy.

Masker - CFW.

Man - Man. In Zebras, it refers to the cockbird.

Manetje - Male.

Manetjes - Males.

Mankenmarken - male markings. Used in reference to a hen with male or masculine markings (like a breast bar). This may translate as "to walk with a limp". LOL

Mannelijk - Male.

Mannen - Two or more males.

Maximale - Maximum.

Melanisatie - Melanization. Coloration.

Melding - Report or Notification.

Model - Type.

Moet - Must.

Mogelijk - Possible.

Mogelijkheid - Possiblity.

Mogen - Possible. Allowed. Used in the DS standard to say that lighter wing feathers are allowed.

Mooi/Mooie - Beautiful (very important word to know - this was my first Dutch word - LOL)

Mutatie - Mutation.

Mutatiecombinaties - Mutational Combinations.

Mutatievormen - Mutational Forms. Used for pied to state that no two pied birds are identical.

Naam - Name.

Nadrukkelijk - Express.

Nagenoeg - Virtually.

de Natuur - literally 'the Nature'. Always has the article with it. Never just Natuur.

Natuurbroed - Parent raised. Not fostered.

Nederland- The Netherlands. Most Americans erroneously call it as 'Holland'. Holland is actually only used in the names of two Dutch states, but the Dutch people are pretty used to American ignorance and take applying the name of two states to their entire county pretty much in stride. It would be like calling all of the US as California and Wyoming.

Nederlands/Netherlandse - Dutch or Dutch Language.

Nek - Neck.

Nestkastjes - Nest Boxes.

Nestplaats - Nesting places.

Nee - No.

Nekkleur - Neck Color.

Niet - Not.

Nieuw - New.

Nooit - Never.

o.a. - Among other things.

Omdat - Because.

Omrande - Rimmed.

Omregelmatig - Irregular. Used in the DS standard when discussing the tail barring.

Omschreven - Defined.

Omzoomd - Bordered.

Ogen - Eyes - see oog also.

Ondergrond - Background. Example: Zebra throat striping is black on a light gray background (Zebratekening is zwart op een lichtgrijze ondergrond.)

Onderlijf - Underside or Belly.

Ondersnavel - Underside of the Beak.

Onderstaartdekveren - Vent or Vent feathers.

Onderwerp - Subject.

Onderwerpen - Subjects.

Onderwerpenlijst - Subject list.

Ontbreekt - Lacking or missing.

Oog - Eye.

Ooghoogte - Eye altitude literally. I think this means 'behind the eye' or 'at the eye' or 'alongside the eye' or 'beside the eye'.

Oogstreep - Eye stripe literally - Tear mark. Some translators translate this as 'harvest band'.

Oranje - Orange. See also sinaasappel.

Oranjeborst (OB) - Orange Breast (OB).

Oranjeborsten - Plural of Orange Breast.

Oranjebruin/Orangebruine - Orange Brown.

Orangerood - Orange Red.

Overgaand - Proceeding.

Overlopend - Overflowing.

PB - short on the NZC & BZC Forums for Private Bericht - or Private Message/Post. These are messages that are sent to an individual and not to the entire forum.

Parel - Pearl.

Parelgrijs - Pearl gray.

Pastel - Dominant Silver (DS).

Pastellen - plural of Pastel - two or more DS birds.

Patronen - Pattern.

Persoonlijke - Personal.

Phaeomelanine - Phaeomelanin - orange pigment.

Plaatsen - Placing.

Plukken - To pick or plucks - feather picking.

Plukt - Plucks.

Pop - Hen - some translators will screw this up and call them 'headstock'.

Popje - Hen. Translators will not pick this up.

Poppen - Hens - some translators will screw this up and call them 'headstocks'.

Poten - to plant literally - Perching stance. Used in the standard.

Profiel - Profile. Details about you as a Forum member.

Punten - Points.

Reactie - Response.

Reductie - Reduction.

Regelmatige - Regular.

Ringen - Bands. To band.

Rode - Red.

Rood - Red.

Roodbruin - Red Brown.

Roodoog - Red eyed - Continental CFW

Roomkleurig - Coloful Cream.

Ronde - Round.

Rug - Back.

Scheiding - Separation.

Scherp - Sharp.

Schreef - Wrote.

Sinaasappel - Orange. Translators will give this instead of 'oranje'. Sinaasappel really refers to citrus and it's juice, not really the color orange.

Smetteloos - Immaculate. Used with the White standard, meaning no colored flecking or other color imperfections are allowed on the feathers.

Snavel - Beak or Bill. Many times translated as 'nozzle'.

Snavelimplant - Beak Implant. Where the beak ends and the feathers start. Point of beak on forehead. Used in the saddleback pied standard to discuss how a dark cap is acceptable.

SnavelKleur - Beak or Bill color.

Snavelstreep - Beak Stripe literally - Beak Mark - the black line that runs next to the beak, it's thicker in BB birds.

Soepel - Smooth.

Staart - Tail.

Staarttekening - Tail markings literally - tail barring.

Standaard - Standard.

Stap - Step

Stippen - Dotted. The spots on the chestnut flanking.

Streepjes - Hyphens - Short stripes or bars.

Strepen - Lines.

Stuit - Rump.

Symmetrisch - Symetrical.

TC-NZC - Technische Commissie van Nederlandse Zebravinken Club - Technical Committee of the Dutch Zebra Finch Club. These are the individuals who decide and write standards.

Tenen - Toes.

Tekenings - Markings.

Tekeningseisen - Marking requirements.

Tekeningsfout - Markings Fault - show fault.

Tekeningspatronen - Marking Patterns.

Tekeningssonderdelen - Marking Components.

Tentoonstellingen - Shows.

Teugelzone - Lores. The area between the tear mark and the beak mark. In Gray Zebras, it is white. In BF Zebras, this should be black. In BF OB BB zebras, this should be orange. Sometimes birds which have a lot of phaeomelanin and the BB mutations can have orange triangles of phaeomelanin pigment in this area and appear as faux or fake Black Face Zebras, particularly the males.

Timorzebravinken - Timor Zebra Finches.

Toch - Nevertheless.

Toename - Increase.

Traansteep - Eye Line - Tear Mark.

TT - Abbreviation for Tentoonstellingen which are shows or exhibitions.

Tussen - Between.

Tweekleurig - Two toned or colored. Bicolored.

Typisch - Typical.

Uiting - Expression.

Uitloggen - Log out.

Uitgangspunt - Main Point.

Vanaf - From.

Veder - Feather.

Vederstructuur - Feather Structure.

Veel - Much.

Veertjes - Feathers.

Verandering - Changes.

Verder/verdere - Further.

Verlies - Loss. 'verlies van borstveren' - Loss of breast feathers.

Verschil - Difference.

Verveld - Feather Field literally. Background plumage.

Veervelden - Feather Fields literally. Used in the pied standard. It refers to the white portions of the pied bird. These white patches should be without any color whatsoever.

Verdun - Dilute.

Verdund - Diluted.

Vermeng - Mix.

Vermengd - Mixed.

Veroorzaakt - Causes.

Vervoer - Transport.

Verwondingen - Wounds.

Verzorging - Care or Husbandry.

Vlaanderen - Flanders. Same as Belgium.

Vleugel - Wing.

Vleugeldek - Upper Wing & back.

Vleugeldekveren - Wing Bounces literally - the Upper wing & back feathers.

Vleugelpennen - Wing Scribbles literally - Wing Feathers/Wing Primaries.

Vleugeltekening - Wing markings - usually seen in Black Breasted males.

Vloeit - Flows.

Voeding - Feeding/Fodder.

Vogel - Bird.

Voorbeeld - Preview. Used on the Forums to proofread your message before posting it.

Voorkomende - Attentive.

Vraag - Question.

Vragen - Questions.

V.S. - United States. In Dutch, the USA is actually De Verenigde Staten van Amerika. So U.S. becomes V.S.

Waarneembaar - Perceptible, discernable.

Wang - Cheek, also short for the Gray Cheeked. Mutation.

Wangen - Cheeks.

Wangvlek - Cheek patch.

Watchwoord - Password.

Wassen - Washes. It's common to wash show birds, particularly whites. Special soaps are used so that the white feathers are not stained or soiled for show.

Wit - White.

Witborst - White Breast which is known in English speaking circles as Penguin.

Witkop - Blank Head literally. White head. Used in conjunction with the Saddleback pied standard - meaning that saddleback pieds must not have any color than white on their heads. A dark cap is allowed.

Witte - White.

Woonplaats - Literally Living Place. It's the city where you live.

Zacht - Gentle or delicate.

Zebratekening - Zebra markings literally - Throat striping.

Zebravink - Zebra Finch.

Zebravinken - Zebra Finches.

Zichtbaar - Visible.

Ziekt - Sick or ill.

Ziekten - Illness or Sickness, Diseases.

Zilvergloed - Silvery.

Zilvergrijs - Silver Gray.

Zoaken - Search or to look.

Zoals - As.

Zonder - Without.

Zonder Tekening - Without markings.

Zuiver - Pure.

Zwart/Zwarte - Black.

Zwaar - Heavily. Used as 'zwaar worden gestraft' meaning 'is punished heavily'. Referring to faults in showing.

Zwartoog - Black Eyed - Regular CFW.

Zwartborst (ZB) - Black Breast (BB).

Zwartbruin - Black Brown.

Zwartwang (ZW) - Black Cheek (BC).

Zwartwangen - Black Cheeks - plural.

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