1. sticky, clammy, soggy [adjective] [‘klef‘]

Today’s weather is an example of "klef": very warm, moist and damp (at least for Dutch standards…:-) ). In this context, the synonymous "klam" is also used a lot.

Examples:
– "Wat een klef weer vandaag! Ik zweet als een otter…"
("Such clammy weather today! I’m sweating like a pig…" Lit.: "…like an otter…")

– "Dit kleffe weer leidt waarschijnlijk tot een onweer later vanmiddag."
("This sticky weather will probably lead to a thunderstorm later this afternoon.")

Related words:
– "Klam": clammy, moist, damp.
– "Vochtig": damp, humid.
– "Plakkerig": sticky.

2. sticky, gooey [adjective] [‘klef‘] 

Food can also be "klef". See the Examples.

Examples:

– "Deze boterham is helemaal klef geworden door het klamme weer."
("This sandwich has turned completely gooey because of the clammy weather.")

– "Ik ga even een snack uit de muur trekken." – "Bah, kleffe hap man.."
("I’m gonna quickly grab a snack from the vending machine." – "Yech, gooey stuff man…" Lit.: "…gooey bite…")

3. clinging (to one another) [adjective] [‘klef‘] 

And even people can be "klef", when they’re constantly clinging to each other, giving each other hugs and kisses while holding hands all the time… In this context, the activity of being "klef" is called "kleffen".

Examples:

– "Frank en zijn vriendin waren op het feestje verschrikkelijk klef."
("Frank and his girlfriend were constantly clinging to each other at the party.")

– "Kijk Myra en Jan…ze zijn enorm aan het kleffen!"
("Look at Myra and Jan… they’re really clinging to each other.")

Related words:
– "Verliefd": in love.

1. plaster, band-aid [noun] [de pleister, de pleisters] [‘plei-ster’]

Een “pleister” is what you put on small wounds to stop them from bleeding. When the wound is larger, or after surgery, the wounds are protected by bandages, which are translated by “verband” (singular). A second meaning of “pleister” is explained below.

Examples:
– “Heb je een pleister voor me? Ik heb mijn vinger net gesneden aan de rand van die envelop.”
(“Do you have a plaster for me? I’ve just cut my finger on the edge of that envelope”.)

– “De pleisters lieten los toen ze nat waren geworden.”
(“The plasters came off after they’d become wet.”)

– “Haar hoofd was in verband gewikkeld na de plastische chirurgie.”
(“Her head was packed in bandages after the plastic surgery.”)

Expressions:
– “Een pleister op de wonde zijn”: to be a consolation.

Example:
– “Turkije zal niet in de finale van het EK spelen. Dat ze zo ver zijn gekomen, is een pleister op de wonde.”
(“Turkey will not play in the final of the European Football Championship. It’s a consolation that they’ve made it this far”. Lit.: “That they’ve made it this far, is a consolation”.)

Related words:
– Verband [noun] [het verband, de verbanden]: the bandage.

2. plaster, stucco [noun] [het pleister(werk), no plural] [‘plei-ster‘]

Another meaning of “pleister” or “pleisterwerk’ is stucco.

Example:
– “Als het pleisterwerk goed is gedroogd, kunnen we de muren gaan verven.”
(“Once the stucco has dried well, we can start painting the walls.”)

1. past, over, gone, finished, done with [adjective] [‘foor-bij‘] 

“Voorbij” is a versatile word, you can use it in different contexts.

In this first context, a certain feeling of melancholy is inevitable. Check out this video of Dutch icon André Hazes (check out the lyrics here), regretting the break-up with his (ex-) girlfriend…

Examples:
– “Na Oranje, is het EK nu ook voorbij voor de Turken…balen!”

(“After the Netherlands, the European soccer championship tournament is now also finished for Turkey…bummer!” Lit.: “…for the Turks…”)

– “Een x-aantal jaren zijn nu voorbij, maar er is eigenlijk niks veranderd…”
(“Several years have passed now, but nothing has changed really…” Lit.: “Several years are past now…”)

– “Heb je nog een afspraakje gehad met Linda?” – “Nee jongen, dat is voorbij, ik heb een blauwtje gelopen.”
(“Now did you have that date with Linda?” – “No dude, that’s over, she turned me down.”)

Expressions:
– “Voorbije tijden”: bygone times.

Related words:
– “Over”: over.
– “Aflopen” [verb] [liep af, afgelopen]: to (come to an) end, to finish.
– “Einde” [noun] [het einde, de eindes]: end.

2. past, by, beyond [adverb] [‘foor-bij‘] 

You can use “voorbij” as an adverb to indicate that something/someone has passed a certain (physical) location or certain point in time.

Examples:
– “Kunt u mij vertellen waar het postkantoor is?” – “O, daar bent u net voorbij.”
(“Can you tell where the post office is?” – “Oh, you’ve just passed it.”)

– “Heeft ze weer zo’n bui?” – “Ach, dat gaat wel weer voorbij…”
(“Is she having one of her moods again?” – “Ah well, it’ll blow over…”

Related words:
– “Verder” [adjective/adverb]: further, farther.
– “Achter”  [preposition]: behind.
– “Terug” [adverb]: back.

3. beyond, past [preposition] [‘foor-bij‘] 

Examples:
– “De raket ging voorbij het doel.”
(“The missile went past the target.”)

– “Frank, doe niet zo betweterig, dat soort onderzoek doen we niet want dat is voorbij de scope van dit project!”
(“Frank, don’t be such a pedantic, we will not perform that kind of research because it’s beyond the scope of this project!”)

to fill in/out/up, to enter, to complete [verb] [vulde in, ingevuld] [‘in-vul-lun’]

The
verb "vullen" translates to "to fill". You can choose from a number of
prepositions to specify the kind of "vullen" you would like to do:
"aan-", "op-", or "in-". In the case of "in" and "op" it’s easy to
guess. Look up "aanvullen" in the dictionary and "complete" this
explanation yourself 😉

Examples:
– "Heb jij je belastingformulier al ingevuld?"

("Have you filled in / filled out / completed your tax form yet?")

– "Vul hier uw naam in."
("Enter / fill in / fill out your name here.")

– "Het aanmeldformulier invullen met blokletters alstublieft."
("Fill out the registration/application form in print please.")

– "Stuur de bon ingevuld terug en maak kans op een prijs!"
("Return the completed coupon and have a chance to win a prize!")

– "Ik wil graag een klachtenformulier invullen, kan dat?" – "Nee, dat kan niet. Wilt u daarover een klacht indienen?"
("I
would like to fill in/out a comment/complaint form, is that possible?"
– "No, that is not possible. Would you like to file a complaint about
that?")

– "Ik wil eerst een algemene beschrijving van het projectplan. De details vullen we later in."
("I want a general description of the project plan first. We’ll fill in the details later.")

Expressions:
– "Vul maar in": and so on/forth, and all that jazz.
– "Een geheel eigen invulling": a highly personal interpretation.

Related words:
– "Registreren": to register.
– "Invuloefening": an "easy exercise" that requires no further thinking.
– "Invulling geven aan": to substantiate, to flesh out, to effectuate.

Example:
– "Mensen! Hoe gaan we concreet invulling geven aan de visie van ons bedrijf??"
("People! How are we going to actually substantiate the vision of our company??")

 changing room, changeroom, locker room, dressing room [noun] [de kleedkamer, de kleedkamers] [‘kleed-kaa-mur’]

The
word "kleedkamer" is used for any type of changing room. However, there
are some subtleties. In general a "kleedkamer" is meant for a group of
people, usually in sports. But a theatre also has "kleedkamers" even
though there might be only one performer. If you go to a clothing store
and want to try something on, you will ask where to find the "paskamer"
or "het pashokje". But if you go to the swimming pool, you can usually
choose between the "kleedkamer" and a "kleedhokje": a one person
changing cubicle.
Note that "kleed" is derived from "kleden" (to dress) and "pas" from "passen" (to fit, to try on).

In football, there is the common expression "een speler naar de
kleedkamer sturen": to send a player to the changing room, i.e. "to
send a player off". And that’s how I got to this word in the first
place 🙂

Instead of "kleedkamer" you may also hear "kleedruimte".

Examples:
–"De speler werd naar de kleedkamer gestuurd vanwege commentaar op de scheidsrechter."
("The player was sent off because of criticising the referee." Lit. "… of criticism on the referee.")

– "Als ik naar het zwembad ga laat ik mijn kleren nooit achter in de kleedkamer, want dan worden ze gestolen."
("When I go to the swimming pool, I never leave my clothes behind in the changing room, because then they will be stolen.")

– "Het lukte de twee tienermeisjes om na afloop van het concert van Ricky Martin, de kleedkamer van de zanger te bereiken."
("After the concert by Ricky Martin, the two teenage girls
succeeded in reaching the artist’s dressing room." A "zanger" is
actually a "singer", but "to sing" is "zingen".)

Related words:
– "Aankleden": to put clothes on.
– "Verkleden": to change (one’s clothing).
– "Kleren": clothes, clothing.
– "Douchen": to shower.
– "De handdoek": towel.
– "Het kluisje": locker (lit. small safe).