1. drawer [noun] [de la, de la’s / de lades] [‘la‘]

"La" is short for "lade": drawer. Its plural can be both "la’s" and "lades".

Examples:
– "Weet jij waar de nietjes zijn? – Ze liggen in de bovenste la."
("Do you know where the staples are? – They’re in the top drawer." Although "nietje" is a diminutive, you will hardly encounter the noun "niet" except in "nietmachine/apparaat": stapler.)

– "Hebben jullie ook een clean-desk-policy? – Ja, alle
vertrouwelijke documenten moeten worden bewaard in afgesloten kasten of
laden."
("Do you also have a clean-desk policy? – Yes, all confidential document must be stored in locked cabinets or drawers.")

Expressions:
– "Iets in een la laten verdwijnen": to put
something under a big pile of paper. (Lit.: to make something disappear
in a drawer).
– "Geld in het laatje brengen": to generate income, to earn money. Literally "to bring money in the drawer", where cash register drawer is implied.

Related words:
– "Lade": drawer.
– "Ladeblok": drawer unit.
– "Ladekast": chest of drawers.
– "Bureau": desk.

2. la <musical note> [noun] [de la, de la’s] [‘la‘]

Examples:
– "Do – re – mi – fa – sol – la – si – do!"
("Do – re – mi – fa – sol – la – ti – do!" Note that the "si" is not a typo!)

Related words:
– "Toonladder": scale.
– "Noot": note, key.

1. foolish, crazy, daft [adjective/adverb] [‘dwaas‘]

Yesterday the “drie dwaze dagen” started at the “Bijenkorf” department store in the Netherlands. During these “three crazy days” the standard collection is replaced with special sales items, sometimes going away with huge discounts. For each day there is a separate booklet with sales items. (In 2015 the Bijenkorf abandoned the “drie dwaze dagen” as it no longer fits in their vision of exclusive luxury.)

It can indeed get crazy during the “drie dwaze dagen”, when people queue up in front of the stores at 8 in the morning, then rushing to be the first to reach the objects of their desire.

“Dwaas” can also be a noun, see translation 2 below. A more common word for foolish or crazy is “gek”, see 111. Gek. In the “drie dwaze dagen” it is obviously chosen for the purpose of alliteration.

Examples:
– “Gisteren zijn de drie dwaze dagen van start gegaan bij de Bijenkorf, met veel interessante aanbiedingen.”
(“Yesterday the “drie dwaze dagen” started at the Bijenkorf, with many interesting offers.” The expression “van start gaan” can by replaced by the simpler “starten” if you like.)

– “De dwaze actie van de verdediger werd door de scheidsrechter met een penalty bestraft.”
(“The foolish move by the defender was punished by the referee with a penalty kick.” In Dutch football/soccer jargon you will both encounter “penalty” and “strafschop” – the literal translation of penalty kick. The less brilliant will pronounce “penalty” the Dutch way, with the emphasis on the second syllable.)

 Related words:
– “Bijenkorf”: beehive.
– “Gek”: crazy, mad.
– “Gestoord”: mentally disturbed, insane.

2. fool, idiot [noun] [de dwaas, de dwazen] [‘dwaas‘]

Examples:
– “Luister B.A., we moeten het vliegtuig in!” – “Nee Murdock, dwaas, ik ga zeker weten niet vliegen!”
(“Listen B.A., we have to get onto the plane!” – “No Murdock you fool, no way I’m going to fly!)

– “Hé dwaas, kun je niet uitkijken ofzo!”
(“Hey fool, why don’t you watch out!” Literally: “… can you not watch out or something!”)

 Related words:
– “Gek”: fool [noun].
– “Gestoorde”: mentally deranged [noun].

deviation, defect, aberration, anomaly [noun] [de afwijking, de afwijkingen] [‘af-wij-king’]

Examples:
– "Dokter House heeft een afwijking geconstateerd in de lever. U moet onder het mes…"
("Doctor House has diagnosed an aberration in the liver. You need surgery…" Lit.: You need to go under the knife…")

– "Door een minuscule afwijking in het kompas, kwam het schip in vijandige wateren terecht."
("Due to a minuscule devation in the compass, the ship ended up in hostile waters.")

– "Door een aangeboren afwijking aan zijn spieren, zit hij de rest van zijn leven in een rolstoel."
("Due to a congenital defect to his muscles, he will be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.")

– "Kapitein, de sensors registreren een afwijking in het tijd-ruimte continuüm."
("Captain, the sensors are picking up an anomaly in the time-space continuum.")

– "Heb jij een afwijking of zo?! Doe normaal gast!"
("Are you mental(ly deranged) or something?! Act normal dude!")

– "De intercity van Den Haag naar Utrecht stopt vandaag in afwijking ook te Gouda-Overwelle."
("In deviation from the schedule, the intercity train from The Hague to Utrecht will also stop at Gouda-Overwelle.")

dream [noun] [de droom, de dromen] [‘droom‘]

Just like in English the Dutch word "droom" is used both literally and figuratively. The related verb is "dromen".

Examples:
– "Gelukkig was het maar een droom!"
("Luckily it was just a dream!")

– "Mijn droom is om – later als ik groot ben – beroemd te worden."
("It’s my dream to become famous when I’m a grown-up." Literally: "My dream is to – later when I am tall – become famous.")

– "Ik heb vannacht een onwijs bizarre droom gehad!"
("I had a truly bizarre dream last night!" The word "onwijs" is a bit informal.)

Expressions:
– "Dromen zijn bedrog": dreams are lies. Literally: dreams are deception. Check out the song "Dromen zijn bedrog" by the popular Dutch singer Marco Borsato.

– "… van mijn dromen": … of my dreams. For example: meisje, man, huis, baan (girl, man, house, job).

– "Iemand uit de droom helpen": to disillusion someone, to open someone’s eyes. Literally: "to help someone out of the dream."

Related words:
– "Dromen": to dream.
– "Nachtmerrie": nightmare.
– "Remslaap": REM sleep.
– "Natte droom": wet dream.
– "Klaasvaak": Dutch name for the character that helps you fall asleep. We haven’t seen him in quite a while 🙂 What is the English equivalent?
– "Dagdromen": to daydream.
– "Fantasie": fantasy.

to mumble, to mutter [verb] [mompelde, gemompeld] [‘mom-pu-lun’]

Examples:
– "Je moet niet zo mompelen, maar duidelijk praten!"
("Don’t mumble like that, speak up clearly!" Lit.: "You must not mumble like that, but talk clearly!")

– "Kon jij Frank verstaan? Hij zat echt onverstaanbaar te mompelen tijdens de vergadering…"
("Could you hear what Frank was saying? He was mumbling really unintelligibly during the meeting…")

– " ‘Ik heb hier helemaal geen zin in’, mompelde Hermelien zachtjes, toen ze de kamer van professor Sneep binnenstapte."
(" ‘I really don’t want to do this’, muttered Hermione quietly, when she entered professor Snape’s room.")

Related words:
– "Articuleren": to articulate.
– "Binnensmonds spreken": to speak inarticulately (lit. "to speak within/inside the mouth").