fly [noun] [de vlieg, de vliegen] [‘vlieg‘]

"Vlieg" is in general used for any kind of fly. Specify your fly by looking at the Examples.
The related verb is "vliegen", used for any kind of flying, active or passive, apart from "to kite" which is "vliegeren" in Dutch. (Guess what "kite" translates to.) See also 180. Vlucht.

Examples:
– "De vlieg vliegt door de lucht."
("The fly flies through the air.")

– "Ober, er zit een vlieg in mijn soep."
("Waiter, there is a fly in my soup.")

An old series of bad Dutch jokes exists of which each joke starts
out with this sentence. For that reason, this is a well-known Dutch
sentence (but the jokes are really bad).

– "Laatst was ik aan het hardlopen en toen kreeg ik allemaal vliegen in mijn gezicht."
("I was running the other day and I got all these flies in my face.")

Expressions:
– "Twee vliegen in één klap slaan": to kill two birds with one stone. Lit.: "to hit to flies in one smash".
– "Je vangt meer vliegen met honing dan met azijn": honey catches more flies than vinegar.
– "Als vliegen op een hoop stront": this informal expression translates to "like flies on a heap of shit" and is used to describe the popularity of something.

Example:
– "De jongens verzamelden zich rond de voetbalspeler als vliegen op een hoop stront."
("The boys gathered around the football/soccer player like flies on a heap of shit.")

Related words:
– "Bromvlieg": bluebottle, blowfly.
– "Fruitvlieg": fruit fly.
– "Strontvlieg": informal specification of "bromvlieg" in the case it is checking out "stront".
– "Eendagsvlieg": mayfly. Often used figuratively for one day wonders or short-lived succes.
– "Spaanse vlieg": Spanish fly.
– "Made": maggot.

1. bee [noun] [de bij, de bijen] [‘bij‘]

Today we continue with another member of the insect community: "de bij": the bee.

Examples:
– "Ik ben vanochtend door een bij gestoken."
("I have been stung by a bee this morning.")

– "Niet elke bijensoort produceert honing."
("Not every bee species produces honey.")

– "Bijen worden gehouden in een bijenkorf."
("Bees are kept in a beehive.")

Expressions:
– "De bloemetjes en de bijtjes": the birds and the bees. Lit.: the flowers and the bees.

Related words:
– "Bijenkorf": beehive.
– "Imker": bee-keeper.
– "Honing": honey.
– "Wesp": wasp.
– "Hommel": bumblebee.
– "Zoemen": to buzz.

Extra:
One of Holland’s most known department stores is De Bijenkorf. Mark that its logo has the shape of a honeycomb.

2. at, with, by, (near/close/next) to [preposition] [‘bij‘]

Depending on context, "bij" – as a preposition – can be translated in many different ways. (The dictionary gives 22 (!!!) possible translations…) We’ve tried to cover the most common usage

Examples:
– "Frank was vanochtend niet bij de vergadering."
("Frank wasn’t at the meeting this morning.")

– "Schatje, ik wil alleen maar bij je zijn."
("Baby, I just want to be with you.")

– "Mag ik uw rijbewijs zien, alstublieft? – Sorry, dat heb ik nu niet bij me."
("Can I see your driver’s license, please? – I’m sorry, I don’t have it with me now.")

– "Postzegels kun je bij het postkantoor krijgen."
("You can get stamps at the post office.")

– "Waar werkt Jan tegenwoordig? – Hij zit bij de politie."
("Where does Jan work nowadays? – He’s with the police.")

– "Blijf bij mij!"
("Stay with me!")

– "Blijf dicht bij mij!"
("Stay close to me!")

– "Heb je al plannen voor vanavond? – Ja, ik ga bij Sander eten."
("Do you already have plans for tonight? – Yes, I’m going to have dinner at Sander’s.")

mosquito [noun] [de mug, de muggen] [‘mug‘]

Like "lieveheersbeestje", "mug" is also an example of a "beestje": a (little) bug.

Examples:
– "Ik kon vannacht niet slapen door een mug."
("I couldn’t sleep last night because of a mosquito.")

– "Ik ben deze week drie keer door een mug gestoken."
("This week, I have been stung/bitten by a mosquito three times.")

– "Die muggenbult is van een week geleden, maar hij jeukt nog steeds!"
("That mosquito bite is from a week ago, but it’s still itching!")

Expressions:
– "Van een mug een olifant maken": to make a mountain (out) of a molehill, to exaggerate. Lit.: "to make an elephant out of a mosquito".

Related words:
– "Muggenzifter": nit-pick.
– "Muggenziften": to nitpick.

Example:
– "Frank zat weer te muggenziften tijdens de vergadering vanochtend."
("Frank was nitpicking again during the meeting this morning.")

– "Muggenbeet": mosquito bite.
– "Beestje": (little) bug.
– "Insekt": insect.
– "Zoemen": to buzz.

phone [noun] [de telefoon, de telefoons] [‘tee-lu-foon’]

"Telefoon" is both used for fixed and mobile phones unless unclear from context.

Examples:
– "De telefoon gaat! Neem jij even op?"
("The phone is ringing! Will you answer it?" Lit.: "The phone goes! Will you pick it up?")

– "Ja sorry, ik was gisteren niet bereikbaar want ik was mijn telefoon vergeten mee te nemen."
("Yeah I’m sorry, you couldn’t reach me yesterday because I forgot to bring my phone." Lit.: "…, I could not be reached yesterday because I forgot to take along my phone.")

– "Hoe lang heb jij al een mobiele telefoon?" – "O, al sinds 1998!"
("For how long have you had a mobile phone?" – "Oh, since 1998!" The word "al" usually translates to already, and in this case is used to emphasize.)

– "Het is in Nederland alleen toegestaan hands-free te bellen tijdens het rijden."
("In the Netherlands it is only allowed to phone hands-free while driving.")

– "Ik kan even niet chatten want ik ben aan de telefoon."
("I can’t chat right now, because I’m on the phone." This is not a contradiction, in Dutch "chatten" always means to chat on-line through for example MSN Messenger. You will also hear the verb "MSN-en".)

– "Heb je je moeder al gebeld?" – "Ja, maar het is telkens in gesprek."
("Have you already called your mother?" – "Yes, but the line is busy all the time.")

– "Waar is Isabelle?" – "Ach, ze zit de hele dag al aan de telefoon!"
("Where is Isabelle?" – "Ah well, she has been on the phone all day long now!")

– "Ik kom er zo aan, ik moet nog even een telefoontje plegen."
("I’ll be there shortly, I quickly have to make a phone call.")

Expressions:
– "Verkeerd verbonden": literally "incorrectly connected" this used to be said, and sometimes is still said when you have dialed a wrong number (which is obviously not your fault).
– "Een nummer draaien": literally "to rotate a number", derived from rotating the dial disk on old phones.
– "De hoorn erop gooien": to slam the phone/receiver down. Sometimes also implicitly "hem erop gooien" ("slam it down"). Lit.: "To throw the horn on it". This expression is disappearing a bit since we don’t really have anything to slam down anymore these days.

Related words:
– "Bellen": to call, to ring.
– "Opbellen": to ring (up), to call.
– "Telefoonnummer": phone number.
– "Telefoonboek": phone book.
– "Telefooncel": phone booth.
– "Mobiele telefoon": mobile/cell phone.
– "Mobieltje": mobile/cell [noun, informal].
– "06": cell [noun, informal] [‘nul-zes’].

Example:- "Ik ben weg, bel me straks maar op m’n 06!"
("I’m off, just call me on my cell later!")

– "Aftappen": to tap (a phone).

Extra:
Look up phone numbers on-line at www.telefoongids.nl or www.goudengids.nl .