to be frightened, to be shocked, to be scared [verb] [schrok, geschrokken] [‘schrik-kun’] 

The Dutch verb "schrikken" is intransitive (cannot have a direct object) and is translated as "to be frightened". Another Dutch verb with the same meaning and resembling the English construction with "to be" is "bang zijn". The former verb refers to a short, unexpected event, whereas the latter verb refers to a continued state of being. The girl in the picture is scared ("bang") possibly since something gave her a fright ("ze is geschrokken van iets").

Examples:
– "Waarom sluip je zo naar me toe? Je laat me schrikken!"
("Why do you sneak up to me like that? You’re giving me a fright!")

– "Ik ben bang voor spinnen."
("I’m afraid of spiders.")

– "Opeens zat er een muis voor me op de keukentafel, ik schrok me rot/kapot/dood."
("All of a sudden, there was a mouse in front of me on the kitchen table, I was scared stiff/I was scared to death/it frightened the life out of me.")

– "Schrik je ook altijd zo van de wekker ‘s ochtends?"
("Does the alarm clock also always give you a fright in the morning?")

– "De menigte schrok van de geweerschoten".
("The gunshots gave the crowd a fright.")

– "Hij schrok wakker toen zijn telefoon ging."
("He woke with a start when his phone rang.")

– "Het was wel even schrikken toen we hoorden dat oma naar het ziekenhuis moest maar gelukkig was haar gezondheid beter dan we verwachtten."
("It gave us something of a shock when we heard that grandma had to be admitted to hospital, but fortunately her health turned out to be better than expected.")

Expressions:
– "Ik wist niet dat je achter me stond, ik schrok me een hoedje."
("I didn’t know you were standing behind me, I was scared out of my wits.")

– "Toen ik bekomen was van de eerste schrik, heb ik de politie gebeld."
("As soon as I had recovered from the initial shock, I called the police.")

– "Je moet gekookte eieren laten schrikken anders zijn ze moeilijk te pellen."
("You should plunge boileds egg into cold water otherwise it’s difficult to peel them.")

Extra:
Don’t confuse ‘schrikken’ with another Dutch verb: ‘schrokken’, which means to gobble/to cram/to gulp/to wolf. An example of the use of this verb is given below:
– "Zit niet zo te schrokken."
("Stop making a pig of yourself.")

The verb ‘schrokken’ is not as often used as schrikken, and only when referring to food, so when you hear or read ‘wij schrokken’, it will probably be the past tense of ‘schrikken’ instead of the present tense of ‘schrokken’.

Related words:
– "Afschrikken": to deter, to scare off.
– "Opschrikken": to startle, to jump.
– "Bang zijn": to be frightened.
– "Schrik": terror, shock, fright.
– "Angst": fear.

fire [noun] [de brand, de branden]  

You might have heard this word on the Dutch news the day before yesterday, when the building of the Faculty of Architecture of Delft University burnt down (see picture). “Brand” is used to describe the unwanted event of a fire. The word “vuur” is used more generally for a fire, either unwanted or wanted, and is also used in a figurative sense. For example, the fire in a fireplace is called “vuur” but cannot be called “brand” (unless it gets out of hand). The verb “branden” means to burn and can also be used in a figurative sense (see “Examples”).

Examples:
– “Door de harde wind verspreidde de brand zich snel naar de linkervleugel van het gebouw.”
(“Because of the heavy wind the fire spread fast to the left-wing of the building.”)

– “De brand kon pas na twee dagen worden geblust.”
(“The fire was extinguished only after two days.”)

– “Brand! Bel 112!”
(“Fire! Call 112”. 112 is the telephone number you can call in the Netherlands in case of an emergency.)

– “Nadat het vuur twee dagen had gewoed, kon de brandweer het sein ‘Brand meester’ geven”.
(“After the fire had been going on for two days, the fire brigade was able to control it”. Lit.: “After the fire had been going on for two days, the fire brigade was able to give the sign ‘Fire mastered’. “To give Sein ‘Brand meester”’ is an expression used by fire extinguishers when the fire is under control.)

– “Zij brandde van verlangen om hem weer te zien.”
(“She burnt with desire to see him again”. This is an example of the verb “branden” used in a figurative sense.)

– “We gingen rond het kampvuur zitten en zongen liedjes tot middernacht.”
(“We gathered around the campfire and sang songs until midnight.”)

– “De vuurzee verwoestte het hele dorp.”
(“The fire (Lit.: “sea of fire”) destroyed the entire village.”)

Related words:
– “Blussen”: to extinguish.
– “Branden”: to burn.
– “Brandweer”: the fire department, fire brigade.
– “Vlam”: flame.
– “Lucifers”: matches.
– “Brandblusser”: fire extinguisher.

"Enig" is a versatile word… It has about three different
translations. There are too many different subtle ways of using "enig"
to cover entirely in this DWOTD, but we’ll give it a try anyway 🙂

1. only (one/thing), sole, single [adjective] [‘ee-nig’]

Examples:

– "Het enige dat helpt is rust, veel rust."
("The only thing that helps is rest, a lot of rest.")

– "Prinses Fiona is de enige erfgenaam van de troon van Ver Ver Weg."
("Princess Fiona is the sole heir to the throne of Far Far Away.")

– "Je bent niet de enige met gemengde gevoelens…"
("You’re not the only one with mixed emotions…")

Expressions:
– "De enige echte": the one and only. Lit.: "the only real one".

Related words:
– "Alleen": alone.
– "Alleenstaand": single.

2. wonderful, lovely, marvelous [adjective] [‘ee-nig’]

The use of "enig" as the translation for wonderful is a bit
hoyty-toyty (check out the audio…) To stress the arty-fartiness you may sometimes see
phonetic variations such as "eeenig" 🙂 Of course this is incorrect
spelling…

Examples:

– "Lieverd, wat een eeenig jurkje."
("Darling, what a wonderful little dress.")

– "Zeg amice, wat vind je van dit schilderij?" – "Enig, in één woord enig!"
("Say, my dear friend, what do you think of this painting?" – "Marvelous, in one word marvelous!")

– "Schatje, wil je met me in het reuzenrad?" – "Dat lijkt me enig!"
("Sweetie, do you want to go on the Ferris wheel with me?" – "I would love to!")

Related words:
– "Leuk": nice, fun.
– "Mooi": beautiful.
– "Prachtig": magnificent.

3. some, any [indefinite pronoun/cardinal number] [‘ee-nig’]

The use of "enig" in this context is slightly formal.

Examples:

– "We hebben enige tegenslagen gehad, daarom is het project vertraagd."
("We’ve had some set-backs, therefore the project has been delayed.")

– "Frank is zonder enige twijfel een mierenneuker…"
("Frank is a nitpicker, without any doubt…")

– "Volgens mij kun je wel enige hulp gebruiken…" – "Nee dank je, ik volg gewoon de gebruiksaanwijzing!"
("I think you can use some help…" – "No thank you, I’m just following the manual!’)

game [noun] [het spelletje, de spelletjes] [‘spe-lu-tju’] 

A “spel” is a game, but “spellen” is “to spell”. “Spelen” is “to play (a game)”, “spelling” is “spelling”, but “speling” is “margin” or “leeway”. And a “spell” in Dutch, well that’s something completely different. Tired of this silly “woordspelletje”? Then let’s move on to the examples!

(But do mind that the diminutive “spelletje” is mostly used for recreational games whereas “spel” is the more general word for “game”.)

Examples:
– “Hebben jullie zin om een spelletje te doen?”
(“Do you feel like playing a game?”)

-“Nou, hou je van me of speel je soms een spelletje (met me)?” 
(“Well, do you love me, or are you playing a game (with me)?” Note that “soms” translates to “sometimes” but when used as in this example it takes on the meaning of “potentially/possibly”.)

– “Ken je Lingo? Leuk spelletje hè?!
(“Do you know Lingo? Fun game, isn’t it?” As of 2014 the game Lingo is no longer on Dutch television.)

Expressions:
– “Een gevaarlijk spelletje spelen”: to play a dangerous game.
– “Het spel is uit”: game over.
– “Het spel meespelen”: to play along (with somebody).
– “Iets op het spel zetten”: to risk losing something.

Related words:
– “Gezelschappspel”: party game, round game. “Gezelschap” translates to “company” (around you).
– “Bordspel(letje)”: board game.
– “Woordspel(letje)”: word game.
– “Kaartspel(letje)”: card game.
– “Woordspeling”: pun (note: only one ‘l’ !)
– “Seksspelletje”: sex/bed game.
– “Computerspelletje”: computer game.
– “Buitenspel”: off-side (football/soccer).
– “Spelen”: to play.