"We hebben een gezellig gesprek gevoerd over frikandellen."

Translation: We had a gezellig conversation about frikandellen.

[DutchRafa]

Again, why these tips, if in the end they're rejected?! Isn't it ridiculous to accept 'gezellig conversation' and reject 'cozy conversation' ?!... Which one is 'less English'...? :-(

[saulto]

'gezellig conversation' is not English at all

[Ooglyfication]

4 years later it's still up there.

[prwh]

I would think that "a nice conversation" or "a pleasant conversation" would be viable English translations.

[xMerrie]

My English teacher taught me that 'cozy' means something like: a nice livingroom, with a fireplace and a nice atmosphere (or something like that). However, the Dutch word 'gezellig' means so much more than that. There is no English word for it.

Here is a nice explanation about 'gezellig'. :)

[DutchRafa]

well, according to Merriam Webster, cozy conversation would be perfectly acceptable;
but my point here was about WHAT Duo does accept for English translations, not about the richness of this Dutch term (which btw I understand very well).
I'd accept Duo would avoid the term gezelligheid in the course altogether for being not-translatable... Here, however, Duo is giving hints on its translation, like for all other translatable terms, but then rejects your translation when you use the hints. That feels just misleading.

[xMerrie]

Ah, I get your point. That's really frustrating, I guess. I hope you reported it. :)

[Dmikon]

Seems like the link is outdated. Here is where the article now: https://stuffdutchpeoplelike.com/2015/09/23/gezelligheid-gezellig/

[Mor_V]

If you wanted to say in english "talked over frikandellen" like you "talk over a cup of coffee", what word would you use to replace "over"->"about"?

[JohanvandenBerg]

In Dutch you would say 'onder het genot van een kopje koffie', or more simply 'met een kopje koffie erbij'

[AndrewWils468717]

You can't say a 'gezellig conversation' That is not a translation Duolingo!
You might be able to throw an English word into a Dutch conversation and it be totally acceptable, but it does not work the opposite way around.

[brjaga]

Should "a warm conversation" have been accepted, or am I misunderstanding the meaning of "gezellig"?

[prwh]

As a native English speaker with more than 30 years residence in Amsterdam, this sounds pretty good to me, and I will add it to my translator's toolkit of various ways to translate the supposedly untranslatable word "gezellig," depending on context. Hopefully DL will agree. I might however point out to beginners the difference between "a warm conversation" and "a heated conversation"!

[brjaga]

To me, "warm", especially in the context of a conversation, means friendly, whereas "heated" is the opposite! Ah, the joys of English.

[daveydavidson]

why am I supposed to use "gezellig" in a translation

[Tina_in_Bristol]

You do not have to - other translations, such as "cosy" are accepted.

However, it is rather famously a word for which there is no exact English translation, so if you want to capture it perfectly, an acceptable solution is to leave it as it is.

[daveydavidson]

but I have to translate "cup of comfort" which in 45 years I have still never heard someone say out loud

[dalyjchris]

The conversation may be gezellig, but the frikandellen not so much :P

[saulto]

you can have a chat over a cup of coffee about an altogether different topic than just the coffee. Likewise you should be able to have a chat over a frikandel about something else. I chose not to change the word over to about however Duolingo counted it wrong. I reported it

[Db243]

my answer: `"we have a cozy conversation about frikandellen" but the translation says hebben = had? when the hints say nothing about past tense? Have, having? not had. I am curious if there is another rule for translation dutch saying that says ignore what you have learned?

[brjaga]

In this sentence "hebben" is an auxiliary verb and "gevoerd" is the main verb. Together, "hebben gevoerd" means "have had" (in the context of a conversation). So an appropriate translation into English would either be simple past or present perfect, not present tense.

[Tina_in_Bristol]

I didn't try it, but would "chat" have been OK instead of "conversation"? It goes more naturally with "cosy/cozy". In fact, I would almost say: "a cosy chat" is something of a set expression in English, but: "a cosy conversation" is definitely not.

However, "a cosy chat" can also have a sarcastic or euphemistic meaning. If your boss says: "We need to have a cosy chat", he's almost certainly not meaning he wants to praise your work. He means: "We need to go somewhere private, so we can discuss what you did wrong!"

Similarly, to comment on others "having a cosy chat" could imply you think they are plotting something. It might be particularly true of people who are not naturally perceived as friends: "Look at those two, having a cosy chat! What are they up to?"

Or am I in paranoid mode tonight? ;)

[Estel785882]

I used "cozy chat" and it was accepted.

[Tina_in_Bristol]

Good to know - thanks.

[MeiaSala]

Reported again 2/11 2019

[Jim120781]

The Duolingo translation is just not English. Why is "pleasant" not accepted? It's even suggested by DL as a translation!

[AndrewWils468717]

Just translate gezellig as nice, it really is that easy. The Dutch consider gezellig as not translatable......rubbish!!!!