word
[noun]
[het woord, de woor-den]

A “woord” is a word. It doesn’t get easier than that 🙂

Estimations on the total number of words in the Dutch language vary a lot: from one million words (not counting declinations and conjugations) up to 60 million (including declinations and conjugations). Some even say that the number of all possible Dutch words is virtually infinite, since new compositions or derivations can be endlessly created from “original” words…

Examples:
– “Deze zin heeft vijf woorden.” 
(“This sentence has five words.”)

– “Dat zijn harde woorden.” 
(“Those are harsh words.”)

– “De tortelduifjes hadden alleen maar lieve woordjes voor elkaar.” 
(“The lovebirds only had sweet little words for each other.”)

– “Vrouwe, ik geef u mijn woord. Ik zal niet falen.” 
(“My Lady, I give you my word. I shall not fail.”)

– “Wat een onzin! Zoveel woorden die nergens op slaan.” 
(“What nonsense! So many words that make no sense.”)

Expressions:
– “Geen woord meer!”: not another word!
– “Zijn woord breken”: to break one’s word.
– “Het woord doen/voeren”: to do the talking/to act as spokesman.
– “Het woord is aan jou/u”: the floor is yours.
– “Woorden hebben met iemand”: to have words with someone.
– “Het hoogste woord hebben”: to talk loudest/to dominate the conversation    .
– “Zijn woord houden”: to keep one’s word.
– “Zijn woord breken”: to break one’s word.

Related words:
– Zin: sentence [noun] [de zin, de zinnen].
– Letter: letter [noun] [the letter, the letters].

Example:
– “Het woord ‘bouwvakkersdecolleté’ heeft 20 letters.”
(“The word ‘bouwvakkersdecolleté’ has 20 letters.”)

– Woordenboek: dictionary [noun] [het woordenboek, de woordenboeken].
– Spellen: to spell [verb] [spellen, spelde, gespeld].

Extra:
Like in many other countries, Lingo is the popular “word-guessing” game show that runs on Dutch TV since 1989 (but stopped in 2014). It has run so long that they had to go from 5-letter words to 6-letter words…

Liberation Day
[noun]
[de be-vrij-dings-dag, de be-vrij-dings-da-gen]

Wondering why the Dutch national flag has been put out everywhere today? It’s Liberation Day: the day that the Netherlands were freed from German occupation: May 5th, 1945. It was the end of World War II in the Netherlands.On May 5th, there are festivities everywhere, and there are a number of so called "bevrijdingsfestivals", which are usually free open air concerts where Dutch pop/rock artists perform in front of large audiences.

Liberation Day is preceded by "Dodenherdenking" (Remembrance of the Dead), every year on May 4th. Not only the fallen soldiers and victims of the Second World War are remembered, but the Dutch lives lost in every war and peace mission the Netherlands were involved in. During "Dodenherdenking", the flags are flown at half-mast.

Examples:
– "Vandaag is het Bevrijdingsdag! Heb je de vlag al uitgehangen?" 
("Today is Liberation Day! Have you put out the flag already?")

– "Vanwege Bevrijdingsdag, zijn er vandaag overal bevrijdingsfestivals." 
("Because of Liberation Day, there are liberation festivals everywhere today.")

Related words:
– Vrij: free [adjective].
– Bevrijden: to free, to liberate [verb] [bevrijdde, bevrijd].
– Bevrijding: liberation [noun] [de bevrijding, de bevrijdingen].
– Dag: day [noun] [de dag, de dagen].

Extra:
There’s always a bit confusion whether "Bevrijdingsdag" is an official holiday or not. Well…it is an official holiday, but not everyone has a day off. The Dutch government has decided that employers and employees should come to an arrangement themselves, which effectively means that people working for the government, public organizaions etc. get a day off, and people working for commercial organization usually don’t get a day off…

1. to vomit, to throw up, to be sick
[verb]
[o-ver-ge-ven, gaf o-ver, o-ver-ge-ge-ven]

When the food you’ve eaten tries to leave your body via your mouth, you can use the word "overgeven" (after having wiped your mouth with a tissue of course 😉 ).

Synonymous to "overgeven" is "braken", or the more informal "kotsen", see the Related words.

Examples:
– "Ik ben misselijk, ik denk dat ik moet overgeven…" 
("I’m (feeling) nauseous…I think I’m going to be sick…")

– "Als je overgeeft, is de kater daarna minder erg." 
("If you throw up, the hangover is less severe afterwards.")

Expressions:
– "Over je nek gaan": to vomit, to be sick. Lit.: to go over one’s neck.

Related words:
– Braken: to vomit, to throw up, to be sick [verb] [braakte, gebraakt].
– Kotsen: to puke [verb] [kotste, gekotst].
– Misselijk: sick, nauseous [adjective].

2. to hand over, to pass
[verb]
[o-ver-ge-ven, gaf o-ver, o-ver-ge-ge-ven]

If an object is transferred from one person to another, you can use "overgeven", literally: to give over. A frequently used synonym is "doorgeven": to pass on.

Examples:
– "De sprinter gaf het stokje over aan zijn teamgenoot." 
("The sprinter handed over the stick to his teammate.")

– "Kun je de pindakaas overgeven, alsjeblieft?" 
("Can you hand over the peanut butter, please?")

Related words:
– Geven: to give [verb] [geven, gaf, gegeven].
– Over: over [adverb/preposition].
– Doorgeven: to pass on [verb] [doorgeven, gaf door, doorgegeven].

Example:
– "De liefde voor het vak wordt van generatie op generatie doorgegeven."
("The love for the trade is passed on from generation to generation.")

3. to surrender (oneself), to give (oneself) up
[reflexive verb]
[zich o-ver-ge-ven, gaf zich o-ver, heeft zich o-ver-ge-ge-ven]

In the context of surrendering oneself, the verb becomes reflexive: "zich overgeven".

Examples:
– "Handen omhoog!" – "Niet schieten! Ik geef me over!" 
("Hands up!" – "Don’t shoot! I surrender!")

– "Na een lange onderhandeling hebben de piraten zich aan de marine overgegeven." 
("After a long negotiation, the pirates surrendered to the navy.")

Expressions:
– "Zich gewonnen geven": to give up, to surrender.

Related words:
– Winnen: to win [verb] [winnen, won, gewonnen].
– Verliezen: to lose [verb] [verliezen, verloor, verloren].

Example:
– "Waar ben je bang voor, wat heb je te verliezen?"
("What are you afraid of, what have you got to lose?")

– Opgeven: to give up [verb] [opgeven, gaf op, opgegeven].

4. to indulge in, to surrender oneself to
[reflexive verb]
[zich o-ver-ge-ven, gaf zich o-ver, heeft zich o-ver-ge-ge-ven]

In the context of surrendering oneself to something, the verb is also reflexive, with the preposition "aan" added to it: "zich overgeven aan".

Examples:
– "Kate gaf zich over aan haar chocolade verslaving. Na een uur moest ze overgeven…" 
("Kate surrendered herself to her chocolate addiction. After an hour she had to vomit…")

– "Frank geeft zich altijd over aan zijn melancholische buien."
("Frank always indulges in his melancholy moods.")

Related words:
– Toegeven: to admit [verb] [toegeven, gaf toe toegegeven].

to paint, to dye
[verb]
[ver-ven, verf-de, ge-verfd]

The Dutch don´t distinguish between giving your door a colour (to paint), or your hair (to dye). "Verven" can be used for the both of them. Note that the stem ends with an "f", which changes into a "v" in the infinitive and present plural.

The related noun is "verf": paint. Its plural is "verven".

Examples:
– "Ik heb vandaag de voordeur groen geverfd." 
("I’ve painted the front door green today.")

– "Weet jij of Frank zijn haar verft?" 
("Do you know if Frank dyes his hair?")

– "Kijk! Die man heeft zijn auto paars geverfd, met roze strepen….beetje vreemd…" 
("Look! That man has painted his car purple, with pink stripes…a bit strange…")

Expressions:
– "Uit de verf komen": to stand out clearly, to get properly off the ground.

Example:
– "Johns presentatie kwam niet uit de verf."
("John’s presentation didn’t get properly off the ground.")

– "Een verfje nodig hebben": to be in need of a lick of paint.
– "Een rare/vreemde kwast": a strange fellow. Lit.: a strange brush.

Related words:
– Verf: paint [noun] [de verf, de verven].
– (Verf)kwast: (paint)brush [noun] [de (verf)kwast, de (verf)kwasten].
– Verflaag: coat of paint [noun] [de verflaag, de verflagen].
– Kleur: colour [noun] [de kleur, de kleuren].