to bow, to bend
[verb]
[bui-gen, boog, ge-bo-gen]

"Buigen" can be translated with "to bow" or "to bend". The related noun is "buiging": bow.

Examples:
– "De priester boog zijn hoofd toen hij de paus zag." 
("The priest bowed his head when he saw the pope.")

– "Dit metaal buigt niet." 
("This metal doesn’t bend.")

– "De weg buigt over 100 meter naar links." 
("The road takes a bend to the left in 100 meters.")

– "Buig uw hoofd in schaamte, ongelovige!" 
("Bow your head in shame, infidel!")

Expressions:
– "Buigen of barsten": Bend or break, to give in or get into trouble.
– "Buigen als een knipmes": to take a rigid and deep bow. Lit.: to bow like a jack knife.

Example:
– "De chinese kok boog als een knipmes toen wij hem bedankten voor het klaargemaakte eten."
("The Chinese cook took a deep bow when we thanked him for the prepared food.")

Related words:
– Bocht: bend, curve [noun] [de bocht, de bochten].
– Buiging: bow [noun] [de buiging, de buigingen].

Example:
– "De ober maakte een lichte buiging toen hij de eerste gang had geserveerd."
("The waiter made a small bow after having served the first course.")

– Knielen: to kneel [verb] [knielen, knielde, geknield].
– Barsten: to burst, to crack [verb] [barsten, barstte, gebarsten].
– Breken: to break [verb] [breken, brak, gebroken].

to meet
[verb]
[ont-moe-ten, ont-moet-te, ont-moet]

"Ontmoeten" is typically used for the moment of encountering one
another. In a formal context it can also imply meeting for a longer
time, for example between heads of state. You can use "ontmoeten" for
both planned and unexpected meetings. The activity of "getting
together (to socialize)" is "afspreken". Instead of "ontmoeten" you can
sometimes also use "treffen", or "tegenkomen", see the Related words.

You may hear "ontmoeten" being used figuratively, e.g. "weerstand ontmoeten" ("to meet with opposition").

Examples:
– "Weet jij waar Peter en Holis elkaar (voor het eerst) hebben ontmoet?" 
("Do you know where Peter and Holis met for the fist time?")

– "Waar hebben jullie elkaar ontmoet?" 
("Where did you
(guys) first meet?" Without context this is likely to refer to a first
encounter, but can also mean "where did you meet?" although it would be more common to use "tegenkomen" or "afspreken" in that case.)

– "Dat is dan afgesproken; we ontmoeten elkaar op het station." 
("That’s a deal / Agreed; we will see/meet each other at the station.")

– "Simon ontmoette Erica op een feestje. Hij was direct wild van haar, maar Erica zag hem niet zitten." 
("Simon
met Erica at a party. He was crazy about her immediately, but Erica did
not like him." Lit.: "but did not see him sit." You can also
translate "niet zien zitten" with "to not be up for it", "to not have
faith in it", etc.)

– "Er was kritiek op Balkenende toen hij de dalai lama niet wilde ontmoeten."
("Balkenende was criticized when he did not want to meet with the dalai lama.")

Expressions:
– "Wie
goed doet, goed ontmoet": not always true, but this expression says
that in order to be treated well (or encounter no harm) one has to be a
good person ("do as you would be done by"). Despite its archaic
character this is a common expression!

Related words:
– Ontmoeting: encounter [noun] [de ontmoeting, de ontmoetingen].
– Treffen: to meet (up) [verb] [trof, getroffen]. Typically used when you have agreed to meet.

Example:
– "Waar treffen wij elkaar morgen?" – "Even denken, op de hoek van Keizersgracht en Reestraat?"
("Where do we meet tomorrow?" – "Let me think, on the corner of Keizersgracht and Reestraat?")

– Afspreken: to fix a date/time, to make an appointment [verb] [sprak af, afgesproken].
– Tegenkomen: to meet/encounter [verb] [kwam tegen, tegengekomen].

Example:
– "Ik ben Kit nog tegengekomen in de stad." – "O leuk, hebben jullie even kunnen bijpraten?"
("I
ran/bumped into Kit (when I was) downtown / in the city centre". –
"That’s nice, did you get the chance to catch up a little?")

1. doll
[noun]
[de pop, de pop-pen]

"Pop" means "doll". Of course we all know the world’s most famous doll, Barbie. Many Dutch girls have had their own "barbiepop" ("Barbie doll"). See Examples for more on dolls. Some men also refer to their girlfriend or women in general as "pop" or its diminutive "poppetje". If a girl looks fragile and dressed up, some people could refer to her as a "poppetje". It could be used in both a positive and a negative meaning.

Examples:
– "Heb je die poppen bij Madame Tussauds in Amsterdam wel eens bekeken?"- "Oh, de wassen beelden bedoel je? Nee, nog niet." 
("Have you ever seen those dolls at Madame Tussauds in Amsterdam? -"Oh, you mean the wax sculptures? No not yet.")

– "De bewaker van Paleis Noordeinde stond kaarsrecht en knipperde zelfs niet met zijn ogen; hij leek net een pop." 
("The guard of Noordeinde Palace stood upright and didn’t even blink his eyes; he looked just like a doll.")

– "Mijn buurvrouw spaart porseleinen poppen." 
("My neighbour collects porcelain dolls." Please note that Dutch distinguishes between female and male neighbours, "buurvrouw" and "buurman", respectively.)

– "Zij is echt een poppetje: elke dag worden haar nagels en haar gedaan." 
("She is really a doll; every day she gets her nails and hair done.")

– "Tijdens het kinderfeestje werd poppenkast gespeeld met echte poppenkastpoppen." 
("During the children’s party a charade was performed with real puppet theatre dolls.")

– "Deze politieke beweging stelt echt helemaal niets voor; het is een grote poppenkast." 
("This political movement amounts to nothing at all; it’s one big charade.")

Related words:
– Poppenkast: puppet theatre [noun] [de poppenkast, de poppenkasten].

2. pop
[noun]
[de pop, <no plural]

"Pop" can also refer to the music genre "pop". "Popmuziek" is "pop music", a "popgroep" is a band playing pop music. "Nederpop" is popmusic with Dutch lyrics, derived from the name of our country "Nederland" ("Netherlands"; "neder" is oldfashioned Dutch for "low"). Check out the Extra of DWOTD "Dak" for a typical 1950’s "Nederpopsong". Dutch hasn’t invented its own words for music genres and just copies the English words (jazz, soul, R&B, rock, metal).

Examples:
– "Houd je van Nederpop?"-"Ja hoor, ik luister naar alles: De Dijk, Blof, Doe Maar." 
("Do you like Dutch pop music? "Sure, I listen to everything: De Dijk, Bløf, Doe Maar.")

– "Gaat je voorkeur uit naar pop, jazz of bossanova?" 
("Do you prefer pop, jazz, or bossanova?")

Related words:
– Popgroep: band playing pop [noun] [de popgroep, de popgroepen].
– Popmuziek: pop music [noun] [de popmuziek, <no plural>].

Extra:
During the Pentecost weekend and on First Pentecost day ("Pinksterweekend" and "Pinkstermaandag"), Dutch popfestival Pinkpop will be held for the fourtiest time in Landgraaf. The logo of the festival combines "pop" in its two meanings: "doll" and "pop".

1. to deliver
[verb]
[be-zor-gen, be-zorg-de, be-zorgd]

Having goods delivered to your house in the Netherlands can be a painful exercise. They of course always come when you are not at home and eventually you will have to go and collect it yourself at the post office. Which will then be closed 🙂 Two weeks ago I ordered a printer on the Internet, and yes it has been delivered – three times already – … at the wrong address.

Examples:
– “Er is voor jou een pakje bezorgd. Je kunt het komen ophalen tussen 9 en 10 uur.” 
(“A package was delivered for you. You can (come and) collect it between 9 and 10 AM.”)

– “Kunt u het bij mij thuis laten bezorgen?”
(“Can you deliver it at my house?” Lit. “have it delivered…”)

– “De postbode bezorgt elke dag van de week behalve zondag.”
(“The mail man delivers each day of the week apart from Sundays.”)

– “Wij hebben geprobeerd een pakje bij u te bezorgen, maar u was niet thuis. U kunt het pakje ophalen op het postkantoor.”
(“We have tried to deliver a package at your house (literally: “with you”), but you were not at home. You can collect the package at the post office.”)

Related words:
– Bezorging: delivery [noun] [de bezorging, <no plural>].
– Bezorgkosten: delivery charge/fee [noun] [de kosten].
– Post: mail [noun] [de post, <no plural>].
– Pakje: parcel, package [noun] [het pakje, de pakjes].

2. to give, to provide with
[verb]
[be-zor-gen, be-zorg-de, be-zorgd]

“Bezorgen” is also used figuratively. The translation given does not cover it properly, best to check out the examples below.

Examples:
– “Haar vriend werkt bij een bank en hij heeft mij daar onlangs een baan bezorgd.” 
(“Her boyfriend works at a bank and he recently got me a job there.”)

– “Hij haalt nooit zijn deadlines en dat heeft hem een slechte reputatie bezorgd.”
(“He never meets his deadlines and that has earned him a bad reputation.”)

– “Waarom lees je je e-mail niet goed? Nu moet ik het weer uitleggen en dat bezorgt mij extra werk. Je wordt bedankt!”
(“Why don’t you properly read your e-mail? Now I have to explain it again and that causes a lot of extra work for me. Well thanks a lot!”)

Expressions:
– “Iemand grijze haren bezorgen”: to give someone grey hair, to make somebody worry heavily.

Example:
– “Met dit roekeloze gedrag bezorgt hij mij echt grijze haren.”
(“His reckless behaviour really makes me worry.” Lit.: “With this reckless behaviour he really turns me grey.”)

(little) cup
[noun]
[het kop-je, de kop-jes]

“Kopje” – literally “little cup” – is the diminutive of “kop”, but this is often lost in translation.

“Kop” also translates to “head”, therefore “kopje” would also translate to “little head”, but this is only used in a couple of expression, listed under Extra 2.

Examples:
– “Wilt u een kopje koffie, meneer?” 
(“Would you like a cup of coffee, sir?”)

– “Ik drink mijn thee liever niet uit een plastic bekertje, maar uit een echt kopje.”
(“I’d rather not drink my tea from a plastic cup, but from a real cup.”)

– “Kopje koffie, glazenwasser?”
(“Cup of coffee, Mr. Window-cleaner?” Famous line from a popular Dutch TV series “Pisa” in the 80s)

Related words:
– Beker: mug [noun] [de beker, de bekers].
– Koffie: coffee [noun] [de koffie, <no plural>].
– Thee: tea [noun] [de thee, <no plural>].
– Lepeltje: (little) spoon [noun] [het lepeltje, de lepeltjes].
– Roeren: to stir [verb] [roeren, roerde, geroerd].

Extra:
In the eighties, VOF de Kunst was a popular Dutch band. They had two big hits: “Suzanne” and “Eén kopje koffie“. Check out the clips on YouTube…and you maybe able to sing along whenever they play them in a bar 😉

Extra 2:
– “Kopje duikelen”: to turn somersaults.
– “Kopje onder gaan”: to get a ducking.
– “Kopjes geven”: a cat rubbing its head against someone/something.