sea
[noun]
[de zee, de zee-ën]

Half of the surface of the Netherlands – literally: the "low lands" – is below sea level: "zeeniveau". The sea is everywhere in Dutch history. In 1953, a large part of the province of Zeeland was flooded, killing over 1800 people. After this tragedy, the Deltawerken were constructed.

Note the plural of "zee": "zeeën". If a syllable ending on an -e or -ie is stressed, the plural gets an extra "e". Since "zee" has only one syllable, the plural gets an extra " e".

Examples:
– "De woeste zee sloeg tegen de rotsen." 
("The savage sea beat against the rocks.")

– "Heb je zin om naar zee te gaan? Het is zo’n lekker weer!" 
("Do you feel like going to the sea? The weather is so nice!")

– "De zee bij Capri is prachtig groenblauw." 
("The sea near Capri is beautifully green-blue.")

– "Dit huis heeft echt een zee van ruimte binnen." 
("This house is really spacious inside.")

Expressions:
– "Water naar de zee dragen": to carry coals to Newcastle, to perform a useless activity.
– "Zo rijk als de zee diep is": filthy rich. Lit.: as rich as the sea is deep.
– "Een echte schipper bevaart ook de Rode Zee": <informal> a real man always makes love to his woman, even when she’s having her period. Lit.: a real skipper also sails the Red Sea.
– "Met iemand in zee gaan": to do business with someone, to cooperate with someone. Lit.: to go into sea with someone.
– "Recht door zee": honest, straight forward. Lit.: straight through sea.

Related words:
– Water: water [noun] [water, de wateren].
– Watersnood: flood, inundation [noun] [de watersnood, de watersnoden].
– Overstroming: flooding [noun] [de overstroming, de overstromingen].
– Zeewater: sea water [noun] [het zeewater, <no plural>].
– Oceaan: ocean [noun] [de oceaan, de oceanen].
– Golf: wave [noun] [de golf, de golven].

Extra:
The Normaal Amsterdam Peil (lit.: Normal Amsterdam Level, usually abbreviated to NAP) is the reference to which altitude measurements in the Netherlands are related. For ease of use, the NAP is alligned with the average sea level, but in fact it’s higher.

miraculously, by a miracle, for a wonder 
[Dutch phrase of the week]

The Dutch word "wonder" translates to the english "wonder" or "miracle". The expression literally translates to "wonder above wonder": by a miracle / for a wonder.

Examples:
– "Wonder boven wonder zijn er geen mensen gewond geraakt bij die kettingbotsing." 
("Miraculously, no people got hurt in that multiple car collision.")

– "Wonder boven wonder heeft de oude man de hevige brand overleefd." 
("By a miracle, the old man survived the intense fire.")

– "De vrouw heeft bij haar val uit een raam vanaf de tweede verdieping wonder boven wonder niks gebroken." 
("Miraculously, the woman didn’t break anything when she fell from a window on the second floor.")

Expressions:
– "De wonderen zijn de wereld nog niet uit": wonders (will) never cease.

Related words:
– Wonder: wonder, miracle [noun] [het wonder, de wonderen].
– Verrassing: surprise [noun] [de verrassing, de verrassingen].
– Verbazing: astonishment [noun] [de verbazing, <no plural>].

Extra:
Check out the lyrics of a famous Dutch children’s song called "Ik zag twee beren broodjes smeren" (lit.: I saw two bears making sandwiches).

Ik zag twee beren broodjes smeren

Oh, het was een wonder

‘t Was een wonder, boven wonder,

dat die beren smeren konden

Hi hi hi, ha ha ha

Ik stond erbij en ik keek er naar

drop(let), drip
[noun]
[de drup-pel, de drup-pels]

A “druppel” is a drop of any liquid. A quite famous expression with “druppel” is “de druppel die de emmer doet overlopen” (“the last drop makes the cup run over”), see Dat doet de deur dicht for more synonymous expressions.

Examples:
– “De bladeren lagen ‘s ochtends vol met druppels dauw.” 
(“The leaves were full of dewdrops in the morning.”)

– “De zweetdruppels liepen in straaltjes over haar hoofd.”
(“The drops of sweat trickled down her face.”)

– “Hij is verkouden; hij heeft een druppel aan zijn neus.”
(“He has a cold; he has a drip on his nose.”)

– “De stemmers druppelden het stemlokaal binnen.”
(“The voters came into the polling station one by one.” Please note that this imples that the station was not crowded.)

– “Ik heb oogdruppels die ik twee keer per dag in mijn ogen druppel.”
(“I have eyedrops that I put in my eyes twice a day.”)

Expressions:
– “De druppel die de emmer doet overlopen”: the last straw.
– “Op elkaar lijken als twee druppels water”: to be like as two peas in a pod. Lit.: “To resemble each other as two drops of water”.

Example:
– “Niet alle tweelingen lijken als twee druppels water op elkaar.”
(“Not all twins are like as two peas in a pod.”)

– “Een druppel op een gloeiende plaat”: (just) a drop in the ocean.

Related words:
– Druppelen: to drip, to drizzle [verb] [druppelde, gedruppeld] [regular weak verb].
– Druppen: to trickle, dribble, spit [verb] [drupte, gedrupt] [regular weak verb].