advantage, benefit, profit [noun] [het voordeel, de voordelen] [‘voor-deel’]

As a special request, today’s DWOTD is "voordeel". "Voordeel" always has a positive meaning, either having an advantage or buying something for a good price. In the latter case, the adjective/adverb "voordelig" is used (see Examples). "Voordeel" can also be combined with several verbs, either "zijn" (to be) or "hebben" (to have). The Examples will show you how to use them. The opposite of "voordeel" is "nadeel".

Examples:
– "Hij deed zijn voordeel met de lage huizenprijzen in de jaren tachtig en is nu miljonair."
("He took advantage of the low house prices in the eigthies and is a millionaire now.")

– "Heb je de voor- en nadelen goed bekeken voordat je die belangrijke beslissing nam?"
("Did you take a proper look at the pros and cons before you took that important decision?")

– "Je zou denken dat Hillary’s situatie in haar voordeel werkt omdat zij meer ervaring heeft, maar dat blijkt niet waar te zijn."
("You would think that Hillary’s situation would be to her advantage since she is more experienced but that doesn’t seem to be true.")

– "Wat is de stand?" -"3-0 in het voordeel van Nederland/3-0 voor Nederland!".
("What’s the score? – "3-0 for Holland!")

– "Deze auto is voordelig (in het gebruik) omdat hij op gas rijdt."
("This car is economical (in use) since it drives on gas.")

Expressions:
World famous soccer player and coach Johan Cruijff is known for his selfinvented hands-on expressions to guide his followers through everyday life. One of his most well-known expressions is: "Elk nadeel heb zijn voordeel" (note the conjugation of the verb "hebben" in Amsterdam spelling) or, in proper Dutch: "Elk nadeel heeft zijn voordeel", translated as "Every disadvantage has its advantage". Johan looks at the bright side of life 😉

Other expressions include:

– "Ik kwam haar na jaren weer tegen en we hebben uren op het terras zitten kletsen; ze is echt in haar voordeel veranderd!"
("I bumped into her after years not having seen her and we spent hours chatting in an outdoor café; she’s really changed for the better!")

– "Ondanks zijn slechte prestaties heb ik hem het voordeel van de twijfel gegeven en zijn contract met nog een jaar verlengd."
("In spite of his lousy performance I gave him the benefit of the doubt and prolonged his contract with another year.")

Extra:
In commercials or in stores you might come across words such as "Megavoordeel!" which is translated to something like "huge sale!"

Related words:
– "Nadeel": disadvantage.
– "Nadelig": adverse, detrimental.
– "Voordelig": advantageous, economical, favourable.

ghost, phantom [noun] [het spook, de spoken] [‘spook‘] 

A
common Dutch expression is "spoken bestaan niet": ghosts do not exist.
It is used when there should really be a rational explanation for a strange phenomenon. Other than in this expression, you may come across a "spook" or "spoken" in fairy tales, cartoons or the Dutch translation of Harry Potter. However, if you
are driving on Dutch motor/highways and there is a warning for a
"spookrijder" on the radio, then pay attention as somebody might be driving on the
wrong side of the road (and hopefully it’s not you).

Examples:
-"Mamma, ik zie een spook voor het raam!" – "Nee joh gekkie, spoken bestaan niet!" 
("Mom, I see a ghost in front of the window!" – "No you silly goose / dummy, ghosts do not exist!" Note that "gekkie" is the informal diminutive of "gek". It is friendlier than "gek" – the noun for madman or lunatic or fool etc. – and usually used in the meaning of "dummy".)

– "Wat is eigenlijk het verschil tussen een spook en een geest?"
("Now what is actually the difference between a ghost and a spirit?")

– "Ik keek vroeger naar Scooby-Doo, maar het spook bleek dan
altijd nep te zijn. Meestal was het gewoon de burgemeester ofzo!"
("I used to watch Scooby-Doo, but the ghost always appeared to be fake. Usually it was just the mayor or something!")

Expressions:
– "Overal spoken zien": to see ghosts everywhere, to be paranoid.
– "Spoken bestaan niet": ghosts do not exist; used when there should really be a rational explanation for a strange phenomenon.
– "Door het huis spoken": to prowl about in the house late at night.

Related words:
– "Spoken": to haunt (by ghosts).
– "Spookhuis": haunted house.
– "Spookverhaal": ghost story.
– "Spookrijder": motorist driving against the traffic on motor/highways.
– "Spookachtig": ghostly, spooky.
– "Geest": spirit.

1. to dim [verb] [dimde, gedimd] [‘dim-mun’]

The literal translation "dimmen" is not very exciting: to dim… However, in Dutch, "dimmen" is not only used to describe lowering the intensity of light(s), but also to describe lowering the intensity of certain (human) behaviour, see 2.

Examples:
– "Lezen bij gedimd licht is slecht voor je ogen."
("Reading with dimmed light is bad for the eyes.")

– "Frank, kun jij het licht dimmen, zodat we de presentatie beter kunnen zien?"
("Frank, can you dim the lights so we can have a better view of the presentation?")

– "Liefie, wil jij het licht even dimmen?" – "Vanavond niet schat, ik heb hoofdpijn."
("Sweetie, could you just dim the lights?" – "Not tonight honey, I’ve got a headache.")

Related words:
– "Dimmer": dimmer(-switch).
– "Donker": dark, gloomy.
– "Verduisteren": to darken, to obscure, to embezzle.

2. to cool it [verb] [dimde, gedimd] [‘dim-mun’]

In this context, "dimmen" is used to describe lowering the intensity of certain (human) behaviour, hence the translation: "to cool it".

You may see the following phrase a lot: "Effe dimmen!" ("Cool it!"). "Effe" is informal spoken language for the Dutch word "even", written phonetically. "Even" is used a lot in Dutch! It translates to "for a moment" or "just", but cannot always be translated like that literally. Sometimes "even" is omitted in the translation, as is the case in the first example.

Examples:
– "Effe dimmen, makker! Dit is niet leuk meer."
("Cool it, pal! This is not funny anymore.")

– "Die gast moet nu dimmen, anders sla ik hem op zijn bek!"
("That dude should cool it right now, or I’ll punch him in the face!")

– "Die topmannen moeten gewoon effe dimmen met die bonussen." – "Ik weet niet of ik dat met je eens ben."
("These captains of industry should just cool it on the bonuses." – "I don’t know if I agree with you on that.")

Related words:
– "Kalmeren": to calm (down).
– "Rustig": calm, peaceful, quiet.
– "Ontspannen": to relax.

to travel [verb] [reisde, gereisd] [‘rei-zun’]

You will also encounter the word "reizen" as the plural of the noun
"reis": trip, journey or travel. Instead of "reizen" the Dutch will
also say "op reis zijn" and "op reis gaan": "to be on a trip / the go" and "to go on a trip".

A word that sounds the same but has a completely different meaning is "rijzen": to rise (up), to arise. To distinguish between the ‘ij’ and ‘ei’, that sound the same, the Dutch often speak of the ‘lange ij‘ and the ‘korte ei’, depending on the presence of the "long" ‘j’. Grammatically speaking however, there is no such thing as a ‘korte ei’, as ‘ei’ is a vowel combination and not a letter.

Examples:
– "Moet jij vaak reizen voor het werk?"
("Do you have to travel for work often?" We also commonly say "moet jij vaak op reis voor het werk?")

– "Veel mensen in Nederland reizen elke dag op en neer tussen woon -en werkplaats."
("A
lot of people in the Netherlands commute to work every day." Note the
expression "op en neer reizen": "to commute / travel up and down".)

– "Sinds Frank een consultant is, reist hij heel de wereld rond."
("Ever since Frank became a consultant, he travels all around the world.")

– "Mijn oma heeft niet veel gereisd toen zij jong was. Maar ja, het
is tegenwoordig veel makkelijker om te reizen dan vroeger, toch?"
("My
grandmother has not travelled much when she was young. But hey,
nowadays it is a lot easier to travel than in the old days, isn’t it?")

Related words:
– "Op reis zijn": to be on the road / the go, to be in the act of travelling.

Example:
– "Ik heb Laura al een tijd niet gezien!" – "Dat kan kloppen, zij is op reis!"
("I haven’t seen Laura for quite some time!" – "That may be the case, she’s travelling!"

– "Op reis gaan: to go on a trip.
– "Reiziger": traveller.
– "Reizen met de/het …": to travel by … .
– "Reizen per …": to travel by … .
– "Wereldreis": trip around the world.
– "Forensen": to commute (also see second example above).
– "Pendelen": to commute, to shuttle.
– "Reis": trip, journey, travel.

Example:
"Goede reis!"
("Have a good trip!")

– "Reisgids": travel guide.
– "Reislustig": fond of travelling, keen on travelling.
– "Vakantie": holiday.
– "Ticket": plane ticket.