1. easy, simple, facile [adjective/adverb] [‘ma-ku-luk’]

"Makkelijk" is the opposite of "moeilijk": "difficult, hard". You will also often hear the synonym "gemakkelijk". Even though they are used interchangeably, "gemakkelijk" is more often used for the level of effort it takes to do something, as opposed to for example the level of an exam (but then again, you can use "gemakkelijk" there too. Hmm.)

Note that you can also use "makkelijk" for a person, see the Examples.

Examples:
– "Dit was de makkelijkste toets Nederlands die ik ooit heb gemaakt!"
("This was the easiest Dutch test that I ever made!" Note that the comparative of "makkelijk" is "makkelijker" and the superlative is "makkelijkst".)

– "Jij hebt makkelijk praten, jij hebt geld zat."
("It’s easy enough for you to talk like that, you have plenty of money.")

– "Een leugentje hier en daar vindt hij niet zo’n probleem, hij is daar nogal gemakkelijk in."
("He doesn’t have a problem with lying, he’s quite easy-going about it." Lit: "A lie here and there he finds not such a problem, he’s quite easy in that".)

– "Marc kan het met iedereen goed vinden, hij is gewoon gemakkelijk in de omgang!"
("Marc gets along with everybody, he is just easy to get along with!" Note the expression "het goed met iemand kunnen vinden": to get on with somebody (well).)

Related words:
– "Moeilijk": difficult,
hard.
– "Simpel": simple;
simpel can also have a negative denotation: dumb.
– "Vergemakkelijken": to simplify,
to facilitate.

Extra:

A few years ago, the
Dutch Tax Authorities ("De belastingdienst") introduced the following slogan : "Leuker kunnen we het
niet maken, wel makkelijker", which translates to "We cannot make it more fun, but we
can make it easier" (to pay your taxes). Not everyone agreed 😉

2. comfortable [adjective] [‘ma-ku-luk’]

The synonym "gemakkelijk" can also have the meaning of "comfortable", see the Examples below.

Examples:
– "Ik denk dat ik even wat gemakkelijks aantrek."
("I think I’ll put on something comfortable.")

– "Maak het jezelf gemakkelijk, ik kom zo bij je."
("Make yourself comfortable, I’ll be right with you.")

This DWOTD was written by guest author Laura.

boss, manager, employer [noun] [de baas, de bazen] [‘baas‘]

In recent years the word “baas” has been mostly replaced by the more fashionable “manager”, but you can still hear it in small businesses and in the more production like environments. There are also a number of frequently used expressions with “baas”, some of which we listed below.

In the days leading up to the Dutch tradition of “Sinterklaas” on December 5th, the Albert Heijn supermarket is using the slogan “Sinterklaas is de baas”: “Sinterklaas is in charge / is the boss”, as part of the Sinterklaas theme and activities in the supermarket (such as “de schoen zetten” for children). Read last year’s DWOTD on “Pakjesavond” for more background information.

Examples:
– “Reeds na twee dagen werd de stagair door zijn baas weggebonjourd.”
(“Already after two days, the intern was sent packing by his boss.”)

– “Sinterklaas is de baas bij Albert Heijn!”
(“Sinterklaas is in charge at Albert Heijn!”)

– “Sinds ik een eigen zaak ben begonnen, ben ik blij eindelijk mijn eigen baas te zijn.”
(“Since I started my own business, I’m glad to finally be my own boss.”)

Expressions:
– “De baas spelen”: to act the boss, to boss someone.
– “De baas in huis zijn”: to be in charge at home, to be the boss at home.
– “Iemand de baas blijven”: to keep someone under control.
– “De baas zijn over”: to be in charge of.
– “De situatie de baas zijn”: to have the situation under control.

Related words:
– “Chef”: boss, manager, usually in production environments.
– “Leidinggevende”: line management, supervisor. Literally “lead/guidance giver”.
– “Bazig”: bossy.
– “Baasje”: little man/fellow, youngster, laddie. Used informally for very young boys.

mug, cup, beaker [noun] [de beker, de bekers] [‘bee-kur’]

"Beker" is most common in the translation of "mug". In case of "cup of coffee" people will use "kop" or even better "kopje". In sports we do use "beker" for the trophy that you’ll take home if you are lucky.

Mind that a plastic cup is always denoted by the diminutive "bekertje".

Examples:
– "Ik gebruik geen bekertjes, maar een gewone beker. Dat is beter voor het milieu."
("I do not use plastic cups, but a normal mug instead. That’s better for the environment.")

– "Vroeger nam ik altijd een beker mee naar school, want ik moest voldoende drinken van mijn moeder."
("I used to bring a mug to school, because my mother told me to drink enough." Here "van mijn moeder" is not "from/of my mom", but in combination with the verb "moeten" translates to "my mother wants me to…" or "my mother tells me / says…".)

– "Het wordt weer eens tijd dat Feyenoord de beker wint."
("It is about time for Feyenoord to win the cup again.")

Related words:
– "Kopje": cup (for coffee/tea).
– "Bekertje": plastic cup.
– "Bekeren": the act of competing for the national cup in football/soccer.

juice, fluid, sap [noun] [het sap, de sappen] [‘sap‘]

"Sap" in the translation of "fruit juice" is most common. Of course there are many different kinds of juice, see the Examples.

Examples:
– "In het weekend drink ik vers sap bij het ontbijt."
("In the weekends I have fresh juice with my breakfast." Literally: "… I drink fresh juice at the breakfast.")

– "Wat wil je drinken?" – "Doe maar een sapje."
("What would you like to drink?" – "I’ll have some juice." Of course "sapje" is informal.)

– "Wat voor sap wil je dan?" – "O, even denken… Sinaasappelsap alsjeblieft."
("(Then,) what kind of juice would you like?" – "Oh, let me think… Orange juice please." The word "sinaasappelsap" is easily misspelled, since it sounds like "sinasappelsap". An orange in Dutch is "sinaasappel" derived from "China’s appel" or "apple from China", China being one of the countries the orange originated.)

– "Ik vind perensap lekkerder dan appelsap."
("I think pear juice is tastier than apple juice.")

Related words:
– "Vruchtensap": fruit juice.
– "Sappig": juicy.

Example:
– "Sanders vader wist altijd wel een sappig verhaal te vertellen."
("Sander’s father was always able to tell a juicy story.")

– "Persen": to squeeze (fruit).

Example:
– "Hebt u ook vers geperst sinaasappelsap?"
("Do you also have freshly squeezed orange juice?")

to ask, to inquire [verb] [vraagde, gevraagd] [‘vraa-gun’]

The noun that goes with "vragen" is "vraag": question. Note that "to ask a question" in Dutch is not "een vraag vragen" but "een vraag stellen".

Examples:
– "Pardon meneer, mag ik u iets vragen?"
("Excuse me sir, can/may I ask you something?")

– "Er is gelegenheid tot het stellen van vragen."
("There is opportunity to ask questions.")

– "Wist je dat je Sander en Marc altijd een vraag kan stellen over de Nederlandse taal?"
("Did you know that you can always ask Sander and Marc a question about the Dutch language?")

– "Als je een vraag stelt aan de DWOTD, dan wordt deze op de blog beantwoord als weekendvraag."
("If you ask the DWOTD a question, it will be answered on the blog as the weekend question.")

– "Er zijn geen domme vragen, alleen domme antwoorden."
("There is no such thing as stupid questions, there are only stupid answers.")

Expressions:
– "Erom vragen": to ask/call for it.
– "Om moeilijkheden vragen": to ask for trouble.

Related words:
– "Een vraag stellen": to ask a question.
– "Informeren": to inquire.
– "Beantwoorden": to answer.