1. to appreciate, to value, to esteem, to rate
[verb]
[waar-de-ren, waar-deer-de, ge-waar-deerd]

Here "waarderen" is used when you want to express appreciation or value/esteem something or somebody. You can also use "waarderen" in case of monetary value, see translation 2 below. Read the Extra below on what the equivalent of American-English "I appreciate it" could be in Dutch.

Examples:
– "Ik waardeer het enorm dat je vandaag gekomen bent." 
("I very much appreciate you being here today." Lit.: "…  that you have come today.")

– "Ik kan een sigaar op zijn tijd wel waarderen." 
("I appreciate (smoking) a cigar every so now and then.")

– "Het spijt me, maar uw bijdrage aan deze discussie wordt niet gewaardeerd." 
("I’m sorry, but your contribution to this discussion is not appreciated.")

– "Helaas moeten we vandaag afscheid nemen van een bijzonder gewaardeerde collega." 
("Unfortunately, today we have to say goodbye to a highly esteemed colleague.")

– "Over het algemeen voel ik me op mijn werk ondergewaardeerd."
("In general I feel undervalued at work.")

Related words:
– Op prijs stellen: to appreciate [verb] [stel op prijs, op prijs gesteld].

Example:
– "Uw aanwezigheid wordt niet op prijs gesteld."
("Your presence is not appreciated.")

Extra:
Sometimes people ask us how to say "I appreciate it" in Dutch. You can use the verb "waarderen" but mind that its usage is quite formal, i.e. when you say "ik waardeer het" or "het wordt gewaardeerd dat…" then you are making a bit of a strong statement, but it is the thing to say when you seriously want to thank somebody. If you however want to informally say "I appreciate it" or when the circumstances do not mandate a formal or very strong statement of appreciation, it is better just to say thank you (see the DWOTD "Dankjewel"), or you can use one of the following phrases:

– "(Dat is) tof van je": that is nice of you [informal].
– "Dat is (bijzonder) aardig/vriendelijk van je/u": that is (really) nice of you.

2. to value, to estimate, to appraise, to rate, to mark
[verb]
[waar-de-ren, waar-deer-de, ge-waar-deerd]

Here "waarderen" is used in the context of monetary value, or when you want to rate the quality of something. There is a strong link with the noun "waarde": value.

Examples:
– "De film ‘Gran Torino’ wordt door de recensenten hoog gewaardeerd." 
("The film ‘Gran Torino’ is highly rated by the critics.")

– "Nederlandse huizen zijn over het algemeen overgewaardeerd en het wordt tijd dat de prijzen gaan dalen!" 
("In general Dutch houses are overvalued and it is about time that the prices will drop!")

Related words:
– Waarde: value [noun] [de waarde, de waarden]. Note that the word is used for both "monetary" and "moral" value.
– Prijs: price, cost [noun] [de prijs, de prijzen].
– Taxatie: assessment, appraisal (of an object) [noun] [de taxatie, de taxaties].

chaos, pandemonium
[noun]
[de hek-sen-ke-tel, de hek-sen-ke-tels]

"Heksenketel" is composed of "heks" and "ketel", which respectively translate to "witch" and
"cauldron/kettle". "Heksenketel" therefore literally translates to "witches’ cauldron". However…unless you’re reading a Harry Potter book, you will only hear "heksenketel" being used in its figurative meaning: a place or situation with (lots of) confusion and disorder: a chaos or pandemonium.

Examples:
– "Het was vanochtend een heksenketel op de Nederlandse wegen." 
("It was chaos on the Dutch roads this morning.")

– "Tijdens de Drie Dwaze Dagen is het altijd een heksenketel in de Bijenkorf." 
("During the Three Mad Days it’s always a pandemonium at the Bijenkorf department store.")

– "Na de wedstrijd Ajax-Feyenoord was het weer een enorme heksenketel rond het stadion." 
("After the Ajax-Feyenoord match it was a big chaos again around the stadium.")

Expressions:
– "Heksen": lit.: to perform witchcraft [verb] [hekste, gehekst]. Fig.: to do the impossible.

Example:
– "Je moet als de wiedeweerga je koffer in gaan pakken, anders halen we het vliegtuig niet" – "Rustig, rustig, ik kan niet heksen!"
("You have to pack your suitcase on the double, otherwise we’ll miss the plane" – "Slow down, slow down, I can’t do the impossible!")

Related words:
– Heks: witch [noun] [de heks, de heksen].
– Ketel: cauldron, kettle [noun] [de ketel, de ketels].
– Bezem: broom [noun] [de bezem, de bezems].

Example:
– "De bezem van Harry Potter is een Nimbus 2000…de snelste in zijn soort…"
("Harry Potter’s broom is a Nimbus 2000…the fastest of its kind…")

– Heksenjacht: witch hunt [noun] [de heksenjacht, de heksenjachten].
– Hekserij: witchcraft [noun] [de hekserij, <no plural>].

Extra:
The Harry Potter books are immensly popular in the Netherlands too. Except for Harry, Voldemort and Hagrid, the translated names of the characters (and other things) differ quite a lot from the original English names. Here’s a brief overview:
– Harry Potter : Harry Potter
– Ron Weasly : Ron Wemel
– Hermione Granger : Hermelien Griffel
– Hagrid : Hagrid.
– Albus Dumbledore : Albus Perkamentus
– Voldemort : Voldemort
– Severus Snape : Severus Sneep
– Draco Malfoy : Draco Malfidus
– Gryffindor : Griffoendor
– Slytherin : Zwadderich
For an extensive overview, check this link.

detail
[noun]
[het de-tail, de de-tails]

The only detail worth mentioning here is the pronunciation of the word "detail". Due to the "ai" sound, the "l" kind of turns into a "j". Listen to Marc giving it a try as soon as the audio is available 🙂

Examples:
– "Ach man, dat zijn toch allemaal details, waar maak je je druk om!" 
("Man, those are all just details, what are you so worried about!")

– "Sander is gek op al de details die oude Amsterdamse huizen hebben." 
("Sander really likes all the details that old Amsterdam houses have.")

– "Is Sarah in Oslo of in Lillehammer?" – "Wat maakt het uit, dat is slechts een detail!"
("Is Sarah in Oslo or in Lillehammer?" – "Whatever, that’s just a detail!")

– "Hij richt zich altijd op de technische details van een oplossing en nooit op het grotere plaatje." 
("He always focuses on the technical details of a solution and never on the bigger picture.")

– "Wie, Frank? Nee die geeft inderdaad niet om details, dat kun je wel zien aan zijn voorkomen." 
("Who, Frank? No, clearly he doesn’t care about details, you can tell from his appearance.")

Expressions:
– "In grote lijnen": on the whole, broadly speaking.
– "Oog hebben voor detail": to have an eye for detail.
– "High level": high level. One of the many English management expressions that have been incorporated into Dutch office jargon.

Related words:
– Gedetailleerd: detailed [adjective/adverb].
– Helicopterview: helicopter view [noun].
– Mierenneuken: to nitpick [verb] [mierenneukte, gemierenneukt].