lekker

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English

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Etymology

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From Afrikaans lekker, from Dutch lekker.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈlɛkə(ɹ)/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Adjective

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lekker (comparative more lekker, superlative most lekker)

  1. (South Africa) Tasty, nice, fun, great.
    • 2010, Cameron Blake, From Soldier to Civvy: Reflections on National Service:
      There were 2 000 rounds of ammo to fire between us four loadies. We sat there for hours and took our potshots. It was kiff; the R5 was a lekker thing.
  2. (South Africa) Good in a generic sense, worthy, functional.
    • 1998, Leon Schuster, Leon Schuster's lekker, thick South African joke book, page 164:
      The other men ask why he's crying, when he's got such a lekker car. The guy shakes his head and says, "I just saw my wife, and she was driving a skateboard."

Derived terms

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Afrikaans

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Etymology

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From Dutch lekker, from Middle Dutch lecker, derived from the verb lekken (lick). Akin to German lecker.

The noun is a backformation from Dutch lekkers, which is a mass noun derived from the partitive form (as in iets lekkers). In Afrikaans it was reinterpreted as a plural.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈlækər/, (Cape dialect) /ˈlɛkər/
  • Audio:(file)

Adjective

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lekker (attributive lekker or (emphatic or archaic) lekkere, comparative lekkerder, superlative lekkerste)

  1. having a nice taste, tasty, good, delicious
    Die kos het lekker gesmaak.
    The food tasted nice.
  2. good, fun, nice in a more generic sense
    Lekker tye.Fun times
  3. (informal) foxy, sexy
    Kyk na daai lekker ding
    Look at that foxy thing
  4. (chiefly in the negative) Healthy, well, in good health (not afflicted by illness).
    ’n Paar minute nadat die klas gekla het, het die dosent ook nie lekker begin voel nie.
    A few minutes after the class complained, the teacher also began to feel unwell.

Inflection

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • English: lekker

Adverb

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lekker

  1. good, nice, fun in a more generic sense.
    Ons het lekker gespeel.
    We played nicely. / We had a great time playing.
  2. good and hard or properly, badly
    Hy was lekker ingeloop.
    He was swindled badly. / He was properly swindled

Interjection

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lekker

  1. yum!, yummy!, delicious!
  2. goody! hah!, used sarcastically to show disapproval, disrespect or contempt
    Lekker! Jy wou mos!
    You just wanted to do that, huh?

Noun

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lekker (plural lekkers, diminutive lekkertjie)

  1. sweet, a piece of candy
  2. (uncountable) pleasure, enjoyment

Synonyms

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Dutch

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle Dutch lecker, derived from the verb lekken (lick) (Dutch likken). Cognate to German lecker, Afrikaans lekker, Middle Low German lecker, Norwegian lekker, Swedish läcker and Danish lækker. More at lick.

Adjective

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lekker (comparative lekkerder, superlative lekkerst)

  1. having a nice taste, tasty, delectable
    Het eten is weer lekker vandaag, mam!The dinner is tasty again today, mum!
  2. (Netherlands) good, nice, pleasant, satisfying in a more generic sense
    Lekker weer!Nice weather!
    Het badwater is lekker warm.The bathwater is pleasantly warm.
    Ik ga zo lekker zwemmen.I'm going for a nice swim.
  3. (colloquial) hot, sexy, physically attractive
    Hij is zo'n lekker ding!He's such a hottie!
    Hé, lekkere meid!Hey, sexy girl!
  4. (Netherlands, mainly with negative polarity) Healthy, well, in good health (not afflicted by illness)
    Een paar minuten nadat de klas klaagde, begon de docent zich ook niet lekker te voelen.
    A few minutes after the class complained, the teacher also began to feel unwell.
  5. (Netherlands, informal) sound of mind, sane
    Ben jij wel helemaal lekker, gore aap?
    Are you fucking out of your mind, you filthy ape?
    De nieuwe onderzoeksassistente is een genie, maar volgens mij is ze niet zo lekker in haar bovenkamer.
    The new research assistant is a genius, but I think she's not mentally well up there.
Usage notes
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  • This adjective, especially its adverbial use, often has an ironic meaning (particularly the sense nice, pleasant), e.g. lekker belangrijk or lekker boeiend for "not very important/interesting", or lekker type for "not a very pleasant person".
Declension
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Declension of lekker
uninflected lekker
inflected lekkere
comparative lekkerder
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial lekker lekkerder het lekkerst
het lekkerste
indefinite m./f. sing. lekkere lekkerdere lekkerste
n. sing. lekker lekkerder lekkerste
plural lekkere lekkerdere lekkerste
definite lekkere lekkerdere lekkerste
partitive lekkers lekkerders
Derived terms
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Descendants
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Etymology 2

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Adjective

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lekker

  1. comparative degree of lek

Etymology 3

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From lekken +‎ -er.

Noun

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lekker m (plural lekkers, diminutive lekkertje n)

  1. leaker
    Maar deze memo ... lekte uit. Of Apple inmiddels weet wie de lekker was?
    But this memo ... leaked out. Does Apple know by now who was the leaker?

Anagrams

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Norwegian Bokmål

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Verb

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lekker

  1. present of lekke