juice, fluid, sap [noun] [het sap, de sappen] [‘sap‘]

"Sap" in the translation of "fruit juice" is most common. Of course there are many different kinds of juice, see the Examples.

Examples:
– "In het weekend drink ik vers sap bij het ontbijt."
("In the weekends I have fresh juice with my breakfast." Literally: "… I drink fresh juice at the breakfast.")

– "Wat wil je drinken?" – "Doe maar een sapje."
("What would you like to drink?" – "I’ll have some juice." Of course "sapje" is informal.)

– "Wat voor sap wil je dan?" – "O, even denken… Sinaasappelsap alsjeblieft."
("(Then,) what kind of juice would you like?" – "Oh, let me think… Orange juice please." The word "sinaasappelsap" is easily misspelled, since it sounds like "sinasappelsap". An orange in Dutch is "sinaasappel" derived from "China’s appel" or "apple from China", China being one of the countries the orange originated.)

– "Ik vind perensap lekkerder dan appelsap."
("I think pear juice is tastier than apple juice.")

Related words:
– "Vruchtensap": fruit juice.
– "Sappig": juicy.

Example:
– "Sanders vader wist altijd wel een sappig verhaal te vertellen."
("Sander’s father was always able to tell a juicy story.")

– "Persen": to squeeze (fruit).

Example:
– "Hebt u ook vers geperst sinaasappelsap?"
("Do you also have freshly squeezed orange juice?")

to ask, to inquire [verb] [vraagde, gevraagd] [‘vraa-gun’]

The noun that goes with "vragen" is "vraag": question. Note that "to ask a question" in Dutch is not "een vraag vragen" but "een vraag stellen".

Examples:
– "Pardon meneer, mag ik u iets vragen?"
("Excuse me sir, can/may I ask you something?")

– "Er is gelegenheid tot het stellen van vragen."
("There is opportunity to ask questions.")

– "Wist je dat je Sander en Marc altijd een vraag kan stellen over de Nederlandse taal?"
("Did you know that you can always ask Sander and Marc a question about the Dutch language?")

– "Als je een vraag stelt aan de DWOTD, dan wordt deze op de blog beantwoord als weekendvraag."
("If you ask the DWOTD a question, it will be answered on the blog as the weekend question.")

– "Er zijn geen domme vragen, alleen domme antwoorden."
("There is no such thing as stupid questions, there are only stupid answers.")

Expressions:
– "Erom vragen": to ask/call for it.
– "Om moeilijkheden vragen": to ask for trouble.

Related words:
– "Een vraag stellen": to ask a question.
– "Informeren": to inquire.
– "Beantwoorden": to answer.

moustache/mustache [noun] [de snor, de snorren] [‘snor‘]

This morning in the popular Dutch radio show “Evers staat op” (Evers rises/gets up) hosted by the DJ Edwin Evers, one joked about the Dutch football/soccer team not being very convincing and that maybe they should start growing moustaches. Why? Well, in 1988 the Dutch won the European football/soccer championship and obviously this was because 8 out of the 11 players had a moustache!

Examples:
– “Persoonlijk vind ik een snor geen gezicht. Ik ben blij dat mijn vriend er geen heeft!”
(“Personally I think that a moustache is hideous. I’m happy that my boyfriend doesn’t have one!” Literally: “… think a moustache is no sight.”)

– “Moet je niet eens tegen je vader zeggen dat een snor echt niet meer kan in deze tijd?”
(“Shouldn’t you tell your father that a moustache is really old-fashioned?” Literally: “… that a moustache really is not possible anymore in this age?”)

Expressions:
– “Dat zit wel snor!”: That’s fine / all right. You can use this for example when you want to say that things will be all right or that you will be fine.

Example:
– “Sander, zal je dit jaar alle deadlines halen?” – “O, dat zit wel snor, maak je geen zorgen!”
(“Sander, will you meet all deadlines this year?” – “Oh, that will be fine, don’t worry!”)

– “Zijn snor drukken”: to shirk/make oneself scarce, to weasel out.

Example:
– “Er was vanochtend een belangrijke vergadering, maar wederom had Frank zijn snor gedrukt.”
(“There was an important meeting this morning, but once again Frank weaseled out.”)

Related words:
– “Baard“: beard.
– “Snorharen”: whiskers.
– “Hitlersnorretje”: used to describe the typical small moustache, like the one Adolf Hitler used to have.
– “Bromsnor”: synonym for a policeman. See Extra below.

– “Snorfiets“: this looks like a “bromfiets” (moped) but its maximum speed is lower (30 km/h), a helmet is not required and one has to stay on the bike path. An orange marking on the front wheel mud guard is mandatory and is used by the police for recognition, as opposed to a yellow marking for a “bromfiets”. Here, “snor” is derived from the verb “snorren”: to whirr/buzz/zoom, making less sound than “brommen”: to drone/hum.

While we are on the topic, another version is the motorized bicycle, aimed at senior people who might need some help at times. This is usually referred to as a “spartamet“, similar to a popular brand name. A “spartamet”, too, has to show the orange marking.

Extra:
“Swiebertje” is the name of a classic Dutch tv-series that ran from the end of the 50s till mid-70s. It showed the adventures of a tramp called “Swiebertje”. One of the main characters was the rural policeman/constable called “Bromsnor”. He had a moustache and the verb “brommen” is an informal synonym for “to grumble”. Due to the popularity of the series the word “bromsnor” became an informal synonym for a policeman. It is not used a lot though, but you might hear it!