The Dutch translation of “birthday” and “anniversary” is mostly the same: “verjaardag”. Sometimes “jubileum” is used as a translation for “anniversary”, see the examples in 1. and 2.

The Dutch have developed the strange habit of also congratulating family members and friends of the birthday boy/girl. We don’t know why 🙂 So do not be surprised if this happens to you. However, it seems this is changing a bit as an increasing number of people realize it is in fact strange and stop doing it.

The day on which you were born is “geboortedag”, but usually you will see “geboortedatum” (“date of birth”) when filling out forms etc.

1. birthday [noun] [de verjaardag, de verjaardagen] [‘ver-jaar-dag’]

Examples:
– “Vandaag viert koningin Beatrix haar zeventigste verjaardag.”
(“Today, Queen Beatrix celebrates her seventieth birthday.”)

– “Koninginnedag is niet de echte verjaardag van Beatrix…want zij is jarig op 31 januari…”
(“Queen’s Day is not Beatrix’ real birthday…because her birthday is on January 31st…” Beatrix honors her mother Juliana who had her birthday on April 30. Obviously the weather is also a lot better in April 🙂 )

Expression:
– “Abraham/Sara zien”: literally “to see Abraham/Sarah” this is said
when one reaches 50 – Abraham for the male and Sarah for the female.
You will see this on birthday cards or on decorated office doors.

Example:
– “Hij heeft Abraham gezien.”
(“He turned 50.”)

Related words:
– “Jarig“: No literal translation. “Jarig” is the adjective that indicates the state of one having one’s birthday.
– “Geboortedag”: day of birth, sometimes also “anniversary”.
– “Vieren“: to celebrate.
– “Feest“: party.
– “Viering”: celebration.

2. anniversary [noun] [de verjaardag, de verjaardagen] [‘ver-jaar-dag’]

Examples:
– “In 2003 vierde Cuba de vijftigste verjaardag van de Revolutie.”
(“In 2003 Cuba celebrated the Revolution’s fiftieth anniversary.”)

– “Vorig jaar heeft Lizy haar 25-jarige werkjubileum gevierd.”
(“Last year Lizy celebrated her 25th work anniversary.”)

Related word:
– “Jubileum”: jubilee, anniversary.

1. to celebrate [verb] [vierde, gevierd] [‘vie-run’]

Examples:
– “Sander viert vandaag zijn 32e verjaardag. Hiep hiep hoera!!!
(“Sander celebrates his 32nd birthday today. Hip, hip, hurray!!!”)

– “Wat?! Is Sander vandaag jarig??? Dat moet gevierd worden!”
(“What?! Is it Sander’s birthday today??? That calls for a celebration!” Lit.: “…That must be celebrated!”)

– “Iedere zondag om tien uur en om half twaalf wordt in de Sint Servaas Basiliek de heilige mis gevierd.”
(“Holy Mass is celebrated in the Basilica of Saint Servatius every Sunday at ten o’clock and at half past eleven.”)

Related words:
– “Feest“: party.
– “Jarig“: No literal translation. “Jarig” is the adjective that indicates the state of one having one’s birthday.

2. four [numeral] [‘vie-run’]

Examples:
– “Hoe laat hebben jullie afgesproken? – Rond vieren.”
(“What time have you agreed to meet? – Around four.”)

– “Met hoeveel personen zijn jullie? – Met z’n vieren.”
(“How many people are you? – Four.”)

3. fours [<plural> noun] [de vier, de vieren] [‘vie-run’]

Example:
– “Dat is juist, mijn telefoonnummer eindigt op twee vieren.”
(“That is correct, my phone number ends in two fours.”)

4. to pay out, to veer out, to ease, to slacken [verb] [vierde, gevierd] [‘vie-run’]

Example:
– “Mannen, er is een storm op komst, we moeten het zeil vieren!”
(“Men, there’s a storm coming, we must ease the sail!”)

1. relaxed, easy, cool [adjective] [‘ont-span-nun’]

Instead of “ontspannen” the Dutch often use “relaxed” and “cool” too. Mind that the English words – when used in Dutch – are declined according to the Dutch rules, see the last example.

Examples:
– “Marc, je ziet er ontspannen uit, hoe was je vakantie?”
(“Marc, you look relaxed, how was your holiday?”)

– “Na een bezoek aan de sauna voel ik me altijd heerlijk ontspannen.”
(“After a visit to the sauna I always feel wonderfully relaxed.”)

– “Ik ben ontspannen zoals op een zondagochtend…”
(“I’m easy like Sunday mornin’…”)

– “Ken je Pascal? Hij is een relaxte gast!”
(“Do you know Pascal? He’s a cool dude!”‘)

Related words:
– “Slap”: slack, soft, weak.
– “Rustig”: calm, steady.
– “Strak”: tight.
– “Stress”: stress.
– “Gestrest”: stressed (out).

2. to relax, to unwind, to chill [verb] [ontspande, ontspannen] [‘ont-span-nun’]

As a verb, “ontspannen” can be used in the transitive form as well as the reflexive form (“zich ontspannen”). See the Examples for both cases.

Examples:
– “Schat, ik ga even lekker ontspannen met een biertje op de bank.”
(“Honey, I’m gonna chill for a moment with a beer on the couch.” Lit.: “…chill nicely for a moment…”)

– “Kunt u proberen uw buikspieren te ontspannen?”
(“Can you try to relax your abdominal muscles?”)

– “Frank kan zich niet ontspannen in het weekend. Hij is een totale workaholic.”
(“Frank can’t relax during weekends. He is a total workaholic.”)

Related words:
– “Relaxen”: (verb) tot relax.
– “Rusten”: (verb) to rest.
– “Stressen”: (verb) to stress out, to work under stress(es).