to leave [verb] [peerde, gepeerd] [‘pee-run’]

The verb ‘peren’ can only be used informally. It is always used in combination with the personal pronoun ‘hem’, which translates to ‘him’ or ‘it’. Often it is used when somebody has unexpectedly left.

Examples:
– "Jongens, ik peer hem, goed weekend!"
("Guys, I’m out of here, have a nice weekend!")

– "Ik heb Kelly geprobeerd te vinden, maar nu blijkt dat ze hem is gepeerd!"
("I have tried to find Kelly, but now it turns out that she has already left!")

Related words:
– "Peer": pear (the fruit).
– "Peer": dude, bloke, usually only used in the example: "Hij is een geschikte/toffe peer.": he is a good/cool guy/bloke.
– "Smeren": literally ‘to spread/grease’, this can be used in the same way as ‘peren’.

1. small, little, minor, short [adjective]

Examples:
– "Een Mini is een kleine auto."
("A Mini is a small car.")

– "Hij is vrij klein voor zijn leeftijd."
("He is quite little for his age.")

– "Hebt u deze schoenen ook in een kleinere maat?"
("Are these shoes available in a smaller size?" Lit.: "Do you have these shoes also in …")

– "Op wat kleine details na, ziet het document er goed uit!"
("Apart from a few minor details, the document looks good!")

– "Het is een klein stukje rijden."
("It is a short distance to drive." Lit.: "… a short part …")

2. minor (musical scale) [adjective]

Example:
– "Dat stuk is geschreven in D klein."
("That piece is written in D minor.")

Expressions:
– "Kleine boodschap.": the opposite of ‘grote boodschap’, this is when you only have to pee 😉 Literally: ‘small message/delivery’.

– "Klein van geest.": lit. "small of mind" this translates to ‘narrow-minded’.

– "Klein maar fijn.": lit. "small but good" this is used when you want to say that something does not need to be big to ‘do the job’ (no sexual innuendos implied here…)

– "Kleine meisjes worden groot.": young girls grow up.

– "(In het) klein beginnen:": to start out small.

– "Een kleine eter.": a small/poor eater.

– "De wereld is klein!": it is a small world!

– "Die het kleine niet eert, is het grote niet weert.": lit. ‘if you do not honour the small, you are not worth the big’, this is used to say that you should be happy with having little if you are to deserve having a lot.

– "Een ongeluk zit in een klein hoekje.": accidents will happen (lit. ‘an accident sits in a small corner.’)

1. big, large, tall, great, major [adjective]

[Note on pronunciation: in this case the phonetic script would be identical to ‘groot’ so we have not included it.]

Examples:
– "Dat is een grote kerel."
("That’s a big/tall guy.")

– "Wat ben jij groot geworden!"
("How you’ve grown!" Literally: "What have you become tall!")

– "Helemaal alleen in de grote stad."
("All alone in the big city.")

– "Deze winkel heeft alleen grote maten."
("This shop only has large sizes.")

– "Wilt u uw cola klein, medium, groot of extra-groot?"
("Would you like your coke to be small, medium, large or extra-large?")

– "Dat is een grote militaire operatie."
("That is a major military operation.")

2. in size [adjective]

Examples:
– "Deze kamer is 20 vierkante meter groot."
("This room is 20 square meters in size.")

– "Deze kamer is twee keer zo groot als die andere."
("This room is twice as big as / twice the size of the other one.")

3. major (musical scale) [adjective]

Example:
– "Dat stuk is geschreven in D groot."
("That piece is written in D major.")

Expressions:
– "Grote mensen.": tall/big people. This is how small kids refer to adults.

– "Hoe een klein land groot kan zijn.": lit. ‘how a small country
can be big’, this is often said when the Dutch can celebrate notable
achievements, for example in international sport events.

Related words:
– "Groots": grand.

Example:
– "De organisatie belooft een groots evenement voor groot en klein."
("The organization promises a grand happening for adults and children." Lit.: "… for big and small.")

– "Groot": grand, great. See also ‘Dutch grammar: declining of adjectives‘.

Example:
– "André Hazes was een groot artiest."
("André Hazes was a great artist.")