to worry, to brood, to ponder [verb] [piekerde, gepiekerd] [‘pie-ku-run’]

The verb "piekeren" has no direct relation to "piek", which appeared not so long ago on DWOTD.nl. "Piekeren" is used for intensive thinking about something without reaching an outcome. Usually a lot of worrying is involved. "Piekeren" is not a direct translation of "to worry" though, see the Related words.

Since "piekeren" is a continuous activity, it is often used with a typical Dutch construction for continuous activities: [subject]  + [conjugation of verbs suchs as "lopen" / "zitten" / "staan" / "hangen"]  + [te] + [infinitive]. See the Examples.

Examples:
– "Ik loop al de hele dag te piekeren over wat Frank me vanochtend vertelde."
("I’ve been worrying all day about what Frank told me this morning.")

– "Waar zit je toch over te piekeren, schat?"
("What’s on you mind now, darling?" Lit.: "What are you worrying about now, darling?")

– "Daar moet ik eens goed over piekeren."
("I’ve got to give it some serious thought." Lit.: "I’ve got to ponder it a while.")

– "Ilsa heeft zich de hele week suf gepiekerd over wat ze in haar bruiloftspeech zal zeggen."
("All week, Ilsa has been worrying herself sick about what she will say in her wedding speech.")

Expression:
– "Ik pieker er niet over!": "I wouldn’t even dream/think of doing it!"

Related words:
– "Zorgen": [noun, plural] worries.
– "Zich zorgen maken": to worry. Lit.: to make oneself worries.
– "Denken": to think.
– "Nadenken": to think, to reflect (on).

New Year(‘s Day) reception [noun] [de nieuwjaarsbijeenkomst, de nieuwjaarsbijeenkomsten] [‘niew-jaars-bij-een-komst’]

Not the usual Dutch Phrase Of The Week to start off the new year, but a word that will be heard in many Dutch offices and workplaces today: "Nieuwjaarsbijeenkomst".

Composed of "nieuwjaar" and "bijeenkomst" – resp. translating to "New Year" and "meeting/gathering" – the translation of "nieuwjaarsbijeenkomst" is quite straightforward.

Examples:
– "Hoe laat is de nieuwjaarsbijeenkomst vandaag?"
("What time is the New Year meeting today?")

– "Ga je ook naar de nieuwjaarsbijeenkomst? – Nee, ik heb echt geen zin om naar die saaie speech van onze directeur te luisteren…")
("Are you going to the New Year meeting too? – No, I really don’t feel like listening to that boring speech of our CEO…")

Expression:
– "Een goed begin is het halve werk": well begun is half done / the first blow is half the battle. Literally: "A good start is half the work".

Related words:
– "Nieuwjaar": New Year(‘s Day).
– "Bijeenkomst": gathering, meeting.

freezing point [noun] [het vriespunt] [‘vries-punt’]

The last word of 2007 is inspired by the weather. “Vriespunt” is composed of “vries” and “punt” that translate to “freeze” and “point” respectively. “Vries” is derived from the verb “vriezen”: “to freeze”. If you tune in to the Dutch weather forecasts the coming days, you might hear this word.

Examples:
– “Vandaag krijgen we temperaturen onder/rond het vriespunt.”
(“Today, we can expect temperatures below/around the freezing (point)”).

– “Als de temperatuur onder het vriespunt blijft, krijgen we misschien een witte kerst!”
(“If temperatures remain below the freezing point, we might be in for a white Christmas!”)

Expressions:
These are actually with the verb “vriezen”, but they are good to know! 🙂

– “Het vriest dat het kraakt”: there’s a sharp frost. Lit.: “It freezes that it cracks”.

– “Het kan vriezen en het kan dooien”: the outcome can be either way, or: everything is possible. Lit.: “It can freeze and it can thaw”.

Related words:
– “Vriezen”: to freeze.

Example:
– “Het gaat vriezen vannacht, pas op voor gladheid op de wegen”.
(“It’s going to freeze/We’re in for a frost tonight, mind icy patches on the roads.”)

– “IJs”: ice.