marble [noun] [de knikker, de knikkers]

Unless you are still a child (that doesn’t like computer games) you will probably not shoot or play marbles anymore. There are however a few good expressions with "knikker" or the verb "knikkeren", see below.

Mind the pronunciation: in ‘kn’ the ‘k’ is always pronounced.

 Examples:
– "Ik ben gisteren bijna gevallen omdat er een knikker op de vloer lag in de keuken."
("Yesterday I almost fell because there was a marble on the floor in the kitchen.")

– "Knikkers? Nee volgens mij verkopen we die niet, is dat de naam van een Nintendo-spel?"
("Marbles? No I don’t think we sell those, is that the name of a Nintendo game?")

– "De namen die kinderen aan knikkers geven, verschillen per regio."
("The names that children give to marbles differ per region.”)

Expressions:
– "Er is stront aan de knikker": we’re in trouble, there is trouble, the shit hits the fan etc. Lit.: "there is shit/crap on the marble", but my guess is that "knikker" might have a different meaning here.
– "Zo kaal als een knikker": literally "as bald as a marble", this says you are really bald.
– "Het gaat om het spel, niet om de knikkers": it’s not winning that counts, but taking part. Lit.: "It’s about the game, not about the marbles." There are several variations to this expression.
– "Ik heb nog met hem geknikkerd": I know him from when we were young, lit.: "I used to play marbles with him".
– "Iemand eruit knikkeren": to chuck somebody out. Usually out of a group activity, a team, job position etc.

Example:
– "Na de slechte prestatie van het afgelopen jaar is de manager eruit geknikkerd."
("Due to the bad performance of the past year the manager was chucked out.")

Related words:
– Knikkeren: to play/shoot marbles [verb] [knikkerde, geknikkerd].
– Knikkerspel: game of marbles [noun] [het spel, de spelen].
– Potje: game [noun] [het potje, de potjes]. Also "pot", this is an informal synonym for "spel".

Example:
– "Zullen we nog een potje knikkeren?"
("Shall we play another game of marbles?")

– Knikkerzak: marbles pouch/bag [noun] [de zak, de zakken].

to be on fire, to burn [verb] [fikte, gefikt]

"Fikken" is the informal synonym for "branden" ("to burn") in its translation of "to be on fire". Both "brand" and "fik" mean "fire" (as in "a fire"), but again "fik" would be informal. The noun for the phenomenon "fire" is "vuur". A related verb is "affikken": to burn down/out. They say that Dutch and German are similar, but in this case it is far from true (inside joke for our German readers).

There are a few expressions with the noun "fik" and not the verb, but I have included them below anyway.

Examples:
– "Zo, dat fikt goed!" 
("My, that burns well!")

– "Marcs auto is gisteren bijna afgefikt." 
("Marc’s car almost burnt down yesterday.")

– "De ene houtsoort fikt beter dan de andere." 
("The one type of wood burns better than the other.")

Expressions:
– "De fik erin!": burn it (down)!
– "Een fikkie stoken": to start a controlled fire, to set something on fire. This is not your arsonist type of fire but usually kids setting a few things (twigs, garbage etc.) on fire.

Example:
– "Laten we een fikkie gaan stoken!" – "Nee man, dat is veel te gevaarlijk!"
("Let’s set something on fire!" – "No man, that is way too dangerous!")

– "In de fik staan": to be on fire. Usually for things, not persons. The formal alternative is "in brand staan".

Related words:
– Branden: [verb] [brandde, gebrand].
– Brand/fik: fire [noun] [de brand/fik, de branden/fikken].
– Vuur: fire [noun] [het vuur, de vuren].
– Lucifer: match [noun] [de lucifer, de lucifers]. You can also use "Lucifer" for Lucifer the devil.
– Afbranden/fikken: to burn down/out [verb] [brandde/fikte af, afgebrand/fikt].

The word "sportief" is used in three common translations. The link with the noun "sport" is obvious.

1. sporty, sports [adverb/adjective]

Here "sportief" is used to describe appearance or character.

Examples:
– "Ik heb afgelopen zaterdag een proefrit gemaakt in een Toyota Prius, maar ik denk dat ik toch voor een sportievere auto ga." 
("I test-drove the Toyota Prius last Saturday, but I think that I prefer / will go for a more sporty car.")

– "Leuk jasje heb je aan, sportief hoor!" 
("Nice jacket! Sporty/casual!")

Related word:
– Sport: sport [noun] [de sport, de sporten]. Also used in the translation of "sports" (the category).

2. sports-loving, fond of sports [adverb/adjective]

Here you can use "sportief" to say that somebody likes to sport or exercise, or that the person is in fact quite fit.

Examples:
– "Madelon gaat een paar keer per week fitnessen. Ze is best wel sportief!" 
("Madelon goes to fitness training a few times a week. She likes to exercise / she is quite fit!")

3. sportsmanlike, sporting [adverb/adjective]

The expression "sportief zijn" is commonly used in the context of
this translation. It translates as "to be a good sport (about
something)". Along the same lines you can also say "dat is (niet) sportief (van jou)" (something like "that’s (not) sportsmanlike (of you)").

Examples:
– "Marc is heel sportief, want hij geeft doorgaans direct zijn fouten toe." 
("Marc is a good sport, because he usually admits his mistakes straight away.")

– "Het gedrag van de supporters was niet bepaald sportief te noemen…" 
("The behaviour of the supporters wasn’t quite sportsmanlike…" Lit. : "… couldn’t really be called sporting".)

– "Ik zal dit keer de rekening betalen." – "Tof, dat is sportief van je." 
("I will pick up / pay the bill this time." – "Cool. You are being a good sport.")

Expression:
– "Iets sportief opvatten": to take something well/with grace.

Related word:
– Eerlijk: fair [adjective/adverb].