exciting, thrilling, tense, suspenseful [adjective] [‘span-nunt’] 

"Spannend" is used for things or situations that cause excitement or suspense. Sometimes it used as a synonym for "naughty", see the examples.

Examples:
– "Voor kinderen is pakjesavond ontzettend spannend!"
("To children pakjesavond is extremely exciting!")

– "Vond je de film ook zo spannend?" – "Nee, ik vond hem saai."
("Did you also think the movie was full of suspense." – "No, I found it boring.")

– "Schat! Dat is een spannende outfit…"
("Honey! That is a naughty outfit…")

Expressions:
– "Dat spant erom / dat zal erom spannen": that is / is going to be a close call.
– "De spanning is te snijden": you can cut the air with a knife.

Related words:
– "Spanning": tension, excitement, suspense.
– "Spannen": to stretch, to strain.

goat [noun] [de geit, de geiten] [‘geit‘]

Unless
you are into animal farms, most likely you will not discuss "geiten"
much. However, there are a few things to say about the word "geit" 🙂

Examples:
– "Wat neem jij?" – "Hmm, ik denk de geitenkaassalade. Of misschien de eendenborst…"
("What are you having?" – "Uhm, I’m thinking the goat cheese salad. Or perhaps the duck breast…")

– "We zijn naar de kinderboerderij geweest. Daar waren heel veel lieve geitjes!"
("We
went to the children’s farm. There were many sweet kids!" Okay, maybe
this sentence is confusing now! 😉 Sometimes we say ‘babygeitje’ to
distinguish between just a small goat or its kid.)

Expressions:
–
"Vooruit met de geit!": this is a very common expression meaning "let’s
get moving/started". Literally it says "forward with the goat!"
– "Wat een geit zeg!": the word "geit" can be used for "giggly females" too.

Related words:
– "Bok": (male) goat, billy goat.
– "Blaten": to bleat.

stone, rock, brick, pebble [noun] [de steen, de stenen] [‘steen‘] 

"Steen" can be used for the material, or a specific kind of stone. See the Examples. Check out the Expressions for figurative use of "steen".

Examples:
– "Heb je het al gehoord? Bij de buren is er een steen door het raam gegooid!"
("Have
you heard the news? A stone was thrown through the neighbours’ window!"
Lit. "Have you already heard it? At the neigbours a stone was …")

– "Er is een kostbare edelsteen gestolen uit de etalage."
("A precious stone / gemstone was stolen from the shop window.")

– "Vandalen hebben op de begraafplaats grafstenen omgegooid."
("Vandals have knocked over gravestones at the cemetery.")

– "Gisteravond was ik mijn sleutel vergeten, maar toen heb ik een
steentje tegen het raam gegooid om mijn vriendin wakker te maken."
("Last night I had forgotten my keys, but (then) I threw a small stone against the window in order to wake up my girlfriend.")

– "Zij heeft zo veel ellende meegemaakt dat haar hart nu van steen is."
("She has been through so much misery that by now her heart is of stone.")

Expressions:
– "Steengoed!": very good, very capable.
– "Steen en been klagen": to complain bitterly/loudly.
– "Zijn/haar steentje bijdragen": to contribute to something.
– "Een huishouden van Jan Steen": when your household is a mess, or
badly organised, one may compare it to "Jan Steen’s household". Well
not really: Jan Steen is a Dutch painter from the 17th century who is
well-known for his paintings of chaotic household scenes from those
times. These were quite popular and hence the proverb originated. You can also use it figuratively, i.e. not specifically for a household.

Related words:
– "Stenigen": to stone, to lapidate.
– "Baksteen": brick.
– "Kei": cobble(-stone), boulder.
– "Kiezel" or "Kiezelsteen": pebble.
– "Tegel": tile.
– "Rots": rock, boulder.
– "Beton": concrete.

1. excellent, outstanding [adjective] [‘uit-stee-kunt’] 

Literally, “uitstekend” translates to “sticking out” (see 2). It is however frequently used in its figurative meaning: “outstanding” or “excellent”.

Examples:
– “Hoe gaat het?” – “Uitstekend, dank je!”
(“How are you?” – “Excellent, thank you!”)

– “Uitstekend Smithers, uitstekend…”
(“Excellent Smithers, excellent…”)

– “Rosalie heeft gisteren een uitstekende presentatie gehouden.”
(“Rosalie gave an outstanding presentation yesterday.” Note that in Dutch the verb “houden” (to hold/keep) is used, but you can also use “geven”.)

– “Te koop: Peugeot 306, 1999, in uitstekende staat.”
(“For sale: Peugeot 306, 1999, in excellent condition.”)

Related words:
– “Schitterend”: brilliant.
– “Voortreffelijk”: excellent, superb.
– “Prima”: terrific, excellent, great.

2. sticking out, protruding [adjective] [‘uit-stee-kunt’]

“Uitstekend” comes from the verb “uitsteken”: to stick/put out. For some reason, when using it in its literal context, the emphasis shifts from the second syllable (see 1.) to the first…

Examples:
– “Pas op voor dat uitstekende randje.”
(“Watch out for that (little) edge sticking out.” Note the emphasis on the first syllable. If you would say: “…uitstekende randje” this would translate to “…excellent little edge” 🙂 )

– “Het buitenaardse wezen had allerlei rare uitstekende knobbels op zijn hoofd.”
(“The extraterrestial/alien had all kinds of weird protruding knobs on its head.” Lit.: “The extraterrestrial being…”)

Expression:
– “Zijn nek uitsteken”: to stick one’s neck out.

Related words:
– “Uithangen”: to hang out, to put out.
– “Uitsteken”: to protrude, to stick/put out.

Example:
– “Op 30 april steekt iedereen de vlag uit, want die dag is het Koninginnedag!”
(“Everybody puts out the flag on April 30th, because that day it’s Queen’s Day!”)