Breakdown of Het hotel was noch spotgoedkoop, noch peperduur.
zijn
to be
het hotel
the hotel
noch
neither / nor
spotgoedkoop
dirt-cheap
Questions & Answers about Het hotel was noch spotgoedkoop, noch peperduur.
How do elative compounds like spotgoedkoop and peperduur work in Dutch?
An elative compound intensifies an adjective by attaching a noun or another adjective to its front. Instead of saying heel goedkoop (very cheap), Dutch uses evocative prefixes to express an extreme degree, similar to "dirt-cheap" or "paper-thin" in English.
What does spot mean literally in spotgoedkoop?
Spot translates to "mockery" or "ridicule". If something is spotgoedkoop, the price is so low that it is almost a joke. You will also see this prefix in words like spotmakkelijk (ridiculously easy).
Where does the prefix peper- in peperduur come from?
It literally comes from peper (pepper). During the 17th century, spices like black pepper were incredibly valuable and expensive in the Netherlands. This historical context gave rise to the word peperduur for anything exorbitantly priced.
Is noch ... noch commonly used in daily conversation?
It is the direct translation of "neither ... nor", but noch ... noch is quite formal and mostly used in writing. In everyday spoken Dutch, people usually rephrase it. For example, you would be much more likely to hear: Het hotel was niet spotgoedkoop, maar ook niet peperduur.