start, beginning [noun] [het begin, no plural]

"Begin" is used very frequently in Dutch. The related verb is
"beginnen" ("to start") and someone who is just starting at something
is called a "beginner" or, slightly more old-fashioned, a
"beginneling". Check out the Examples on how to begin!

Examples:
– "In het begin voelde ik me niet erg thuis in Nederland, maar na een tijdje begon ik het leuk te  vinden."
("In the beginning I didn’t feel very much at home in The Netherlands, but after a while I started to appreciate it".)

– "Het begin van de wedstrijd was ongelofelijk saai maar in de tweede helft scoorde Manchester United twee keer."
("The start of the match was incredibly boring but in the second half Manchester United scored twice.")

– " Ik heb je zoveel te vertellen na al die jaren, ik weet niet waar ik moet beginnen!" – "Begin maar bij het begin! "
("I have so much to tell you after all these years, I don’t know where to start!" – "Why don’t you start at the beginning!")

– "Ga je eind of begin december op vakantie? – Ik ga begin december; kerst vier ik liever thuis."
("Are
you going on a vacation in the end or in the beginning of December? –
I’m going early December; I prefer to celebrate Christmas at home.")

– "Volg je de talencursus Spaans voor beginners of voor gevorderden?"
("Are
you taking the beginner or advanced Spanish language course?" Lit.:
"Are you following the language course Spanish for beginners or
advanced students?")

– "Bedankt voor je hulp! Ik weet niet wat ik zonder jou had moeten beginnen!"
("Thanks for your help! I don’t know what I should have done without you!")

– "Iedere Amerikaanse zakenbank redden van faillisement? Nee, daar kunnen we echt niet aan beginnen!"
("Saving every US investment bank from bankruptcy? No, there’s no way we can do that!")

– "Er is niks met hem te beginnen, hij wil per se niet meer naar school gaan."
("He’s unmanageable, he insists he won’t go to school anymore.")

Expressions:
– "Alle begin is moeilijk."
("The first step is the hardest". Lit.: "All beginning is difficult".)

– "Een goed begin is het halve werk."
("The first blow is half the battle". Lit.: "A good start is half the work".)

Related words:
– Beginner: starter [noun] [de beginner, de beginners]
– Beginneling: beginner [noun] [de beginneling, de beginnelingen]
– Beginnen: to start [verb] [begon, begonnen]
– Gevorderd: advanced [adjective, adverb]

each other, one another [adverb]

"Elkaar" usually means "each other" or "one another". However, the meaning often depends on the preposition. Almost any preposition can be combined with "elkaar" (please see Examples). A related word, "mekaar", is used more often in spoken Dutch, and often refers to two people instead of a larger group. "Elkaar" can refer to both two people /things and a larger number of people / things. 

Examples:
– "Ze leken altijd zo gek op elkaar, maar toch zijn ze na een relatie van tien jaar uit elkaar gegaan."  – "Dat meen je niet! Ze passen zo goed bij elkaar!"
("They always seemed to be crazy about each other, but still they split up after a relationship that lasted ten years. – No way! They are such a great couple!")

– "We komen er wel uit met elkaar."
("We’ll sort it out together.")

– "De bergbeklimmer zakte in elkaar van vermoeidheid toen hij de top had bereikt."
("The mountain climber collapsed of fatigue when he had reached the peak.")

– "Ik snap er niks van: de puzzelstukjes passen maar niet in elkaar."
("I can’t make any sense of it: the parts of the puzzle don’t seem to fit [in each other].")

– "Laten we beginnen met naar elkaar te luisteren."
("Let’s start by listening to each other.")

– "De serveerster stapelde zoveel borden op elkaar dat ze in elkaar zakte onder het gewicht."
("The waitress stagged so many plates on top of each other that she collapsed under the weight.")

– "Laten we mekaar niet voor de gek houden."
("Let’s not fool each other." Lit: "Let’s not take each other for a fool".)

Related words:
– Mekaar: each other, one another [adverb].

"Mager" has three common translations related to body volume, quality or food.

1. slim, thin, skinny [adjective/adverb]

This is the most common translation of "mager": the opposite of "fat". We also say "dun" ("thin"), but "mager" is ‘thinner than thin’ and is more associated with not eating enough.

Examples:
– "Een collegaatje van mij is zo mager, we vragen ons af of ze wel goed eet!"
("A (female) colleague of mine is so thin, we wonder whether or not she eats properly!")

– "Veel sporten is goed voor de lijn, maar je moet niet te mager worden."
("Exercising often is good for the figure, but you shouln’t become too skinny.")

– "Kate Moss dun? Mager zal je bedoelen!"
("Kate Moss thin? You must mean skinny!")

Related words:
– Broodmager: scrawny [adjective].
– Dun: thin [adjective/adverb].
– Dik: fat [adjective/adverb].
– Afvallen: to lose weight [verb] [viel af, afgevallen].
– Aankomen: to gain weight [verb] [kwam aan, aangekomen].
– Dieet: diet [noun] [het dieet, de diëten].

2. feeble, weak, poor [adjective/adverb]

You can also use "mager" to indicate low quality or poor performance.

An interesting development in the Dutch language is that we sometimes create an informal version of an adjective by turning it into what I can best describe as a "plural diminutive". Which is weird for an adjective! 🙂 So in this case you could say that something is "magertjes". See the examples. You might also hear it applied in the first translation above. Other examples of this phenomenon are "zachtjes" (quietly) or "eventjes" (for a short while).

Examples:
– "Ik vond de bijdrage van Frank wat magertjes. Normaal gesproken levert hij betere kwaliteit!"
("I found Frank’s contribution quite poor. Usually he provides better quality!")

– "Wat een mager excuus, hij wist toch al lang dat hij dat weekend vrij moest houden in zijn agenda!"
("What a feeble excuse, surely he has known for a long time that he was supposed to block that weekend off in his calendar!" Note that Dutch people use the word "agenda" for a diary, organizer or (pocket) calendar. So don’t be sruprised when they go and "check their agenda". The Dutch like to use the English word "weekend" but we have a perfectly acceptable Dutch word for that which is "weekeinde".)

Related words:
– Matig: moderate, mediocre [adjective/adverb].
– Kwaliteit: quality [noun] [de kwaliteit, de kwaliteiten].

3. lean, meagre [adjective/adverb]

You might prefer "skimmed" milk over "semi-skimmed" milk. In the Netherlands you would then buy "magere melk" instead of "halfvolle melk". Note that "halfvol" literally means "half full". If a Dutch person ever asks you about "full milk", then probably he or she means "whole milk".

Regarding food you might hear "magere kost" ("lean fare") or "mager vlees" ("lean meat").