1. wood(s), forest [noun] [het bos, de bossen] [‘bos‘]

The Netherlands do not have many big woods or forests anymore. Still, there are some woods left, sometimes even in cities, like the “Haagse Bos” and the “Scheveningse Bosjes” in the Hague. “Bosje” literally translates to “little forest”, but usually “bush” will be a better translation, see the Examples.

Examples:
– “Laten we een wandeling in het bos gaan maken!”
(“Let’s go for a walk in the woods!” Lit.: “Let’s go make a walk…”)

– “Hans en Grietje waren verdwaald in het grote bos.”
(“Hansel and Gretel were lost in the big forest.”)

– “Overdag zijn de Scheveningse Bosjes erg mooi, maar ‘s avonds moet je er niet komen.”
(“During the day, the Scheveningse Bosjes are really nice, but don’t go there at night.” Lit.: “…but at night you must not come there.”)

– “De kleine Nina had zich voor haar ouders verstopt in een bosje.”
(“Little Nina hid herself from her parents in a (little) bush.”)

Expressions:
– “Door de bomen het bos niet meer zien”: to not see the wood for the trees anymore. Lit.: not see the forest through the trees anymore.
– “Iemand het bos in sturen”: to send someone off with a tall story. Lit.: to send someone into the woods.

Related words:
– “Bebost gebied”: a wooded area.
– “Boswandeling“: literally a walk/stroll through the forest, this is also a name for a specific alcoholic drink. It is a mix of Pisang Ambon, Pinacolada, Orange juice, Malibu and a bit of banana liquer.

2. bundle, bunch [noun] [de bos, de bossen] [‘bos‘]

In this context, “bos” is used to describe a collection of objects. You will mostly see “bos” applied to a collection of flowers: a bouquet. Mind that in this case “bos” has the article “de”.

Examples:
– “O wat een mooie bos bloemen! – Ach, je wordt maar één keer 32, schat!
(“Oh what a nice bouquet! – Well, you turn 32 only once in your life, honey!”)

– “Ik ben mijn sleutelbos verloren, nu kan ik mijn huis en mijn auto niet in…”
(“I’ve lost my bunch of keys, now I can’t go into my house or my car…”)

– “Hij heeft een mooie bos haar op zijn hoofd.”
(“He’s got a great head of hair.”)

Expression:
– “Een flinke bos hout voor de deur hebben”: informal expression to say that a woman is bosomy / chesty. Lit.: “to have quite a bundle of wood in front of the door.”

1. farmer, peasant [noun] [de boer, de boeren] [‘boer‘]

The most straightforward translation of "boer" would be "farmer" or "peasant". However, "boer" is also frequently used to denote a rude person, but this only applies to males; see the Examples. A female farmer is called a "boerin" in Dutch.

In the game of cards, "boer" is used for the jack.

In South-Africa the word "Boer" has a broader meaning, but it is derived from the Dutch settlers (who apparantly brought farming to the area). Read more at wikipedia.

Examples:
– "Het aantal boeren in Nederland is sterk gedaald de laatste 25 jaar."
("The number of farmers in the Netherlands has decreased significantly in the past 25 years.")

– "Zijn er tegenwoordig nog jongens en meisje die boer of boerin willen worden?"
("Are there still boys and girls who want to become a farmer nowadays?")

– "In de Middeleeuwen werkten de boeren vaak in dienst van de adel."
("In the Middle Ages, peasants often worked for the benefit of the nobility." Literally "…worked in service of…")

– "Frank gedroeg zich weer als een enorme boer tijdens de vergadering."
("Frank was very rude again during the meeting." Lit.: "Frank was behaving himself like an enormous farmer again during the meeting.")

Expressions:
– "Wat de boer niet kent, dat eet hij niet": literally "What the farmer does not know, he does not eat" this is used for people who are afraid to try out new food or believe that it will not be tasty.

– "Lachen als een boer met kiespijn": literally "to smile like a farmer with toothache" this is used for people that smile while trying to hide the fact that they are actually not amused.

Related words:
– "Landbouwer": farmer, cultivator (lit. "land builder").
– "Agrariër": farmer.
– "Landbouw": agriculture.
– "Knecht": farm-hand, labourer.
– "Vee": cattle.
– "Koe": cow.
– "Boer": jack (in the game of cards).

Extra:
1. The last two years, a new Dutch TV show became very popular: "Boer zoekt vrouw",
lit.: "farmer seeks wife/woman". And yes, this show was about single
farmers being matched with women who are prepared to make the ultimate
switch in life: to become a farmer’s wife…

2. In the Netherlands
farmers are notoriously known for their accent, especially if they are
from the east or north. Where the majority of the Dutch do not pronounce the
‘n’, if a word ends in ‘-en’, these farmers leave out the ‘e’ and
pronounce the ‘n’, which is a distinctive difference. In Dutch
supermarkets you can find the "Boer’n yoghurt"
branded yoghurt which you may also find in Dutch company cafetarias in
smaller packings. The ‘e’ is deliberately replaced by an apostrophe
here and the manufacturer is actually mocking the ones without whom he
can’t produce his yoghurt!!

3. The football/soccer club "De Graafschap" from the town of Doetinchem (located in the Achterhoek, an area in the far east of the Netherlands) has an enthusiastic group of supporters who call themselves "superboeren" (self-mockingly!).

2. burp, belch [noun] [de boer, de boeren] [‘boer’]

Although burping is considered rude behaviour, this is probably not why the Dutch have chosen "boer" to describe a burp 🙂 There’s also a related verb "boeren": to burp/belch. You may also see the construction "een boer laten": to burp (lit.: to let (out) a burp.)

Examples:
– "Ik moet een boer laten van al die cola."
("All that coke makes me burp." Lit.: I have to let a burp from all that coke." Of course we mean the drink :-))

Related words:
– "Scheet": fart.

wall [noun] [de muur, de muren] [‘muur‘]

Examples:
– "Kun je twee beroemde muren noemen? – Maar natuurlijk: de Berlijnse Muur en de Chinese Muur!"
("Can you name two famous walls? – But of course: the Berlin Wall and the Great Wall of China!")

– "Ik word gek hier op kantoor…de muren komen op me af…"
("I’m going crazy here at the office…the walls are closing in on me…")

– "Het voorstel van de regering stuitte op een muur van totaal onbegrip."
("The government’s proposal met a wall of complete incomprehension.")

Expressions:
– "De muren hebben hier oren": the walls have ears here.
– "Over de muur gooien": literally "to throw over the wall" this is office jargon for writing a report, delivering it to your customer and either never hearing something about it again, or not caring about it anymore yourself 🙂
– "Een blinde muur": literally "a blind wall", this is used for the "wall view" you might have out of your hotel window…
– "Tegen de muur zetten": literally "to put against the wall", this is an informal expression for executing somebody.

–
"Iets uit de muur eten": to eat (a snack) from a vending machine (literally "out of the wall"). You will also hear "iets uit de muur trekken": to pull something out of the wall. This is seen as typically Dutch but we are not sure everybody is as comfortable eating a snack that might have been on display all day long 🙂 Try it yourself at train stations or the Febo.

Example:
– "Ik heb honger, ik trek even een snack uit de muur…"
("I’m hungry…let me get a snack from the vending machine…" Lit. : "…I’ll quickly pull a snack from the wall…")

Related words:
– "Muurtje": the diminutive is often used in the game of football/soccer to indicate a wall of players formed to block a free kick.
– "Wand": wall, side.
– "Baksteen": brick.

general, public, common, universal [adjective/adverb] [‘al-gu-meen‘]

"Algemeen" is a word that is used very often. Its most common translation is "general", though "public", "common" or "universal" are also possible translations – depending on context, see the Examples.

Examples:
– "En dan nu het algemene nieuws…"
("And now the general news…")

– "Het is van algemeen belang dat de veiligheid van de mensen gegarandeerd wordt."
("It is in the public interest that the people’s safety is guaranteed.")

– "In het algemeen kan men zeggen dat Nederlanders langer zijn dan Japanners.
("In general one can say that the Dutch are taller than the Japanese.")

– "Het is een algemene regel dat iedereen opstaat als de koningin binnenkomt."
("It’s a common rule that everyone stands up when the queen enters.")

– "Hoe weet jij dat?" – "Man, dat is algemene ontwikkeling!"
("How do you know that?" – "Man, that’s general education/knowledge!")

– "Het is algemeen bekend dat mensen steeds dikker worden."
("It’s common knowledge that people become increasingly fat.")

– "Sinds 1922 hebben vrouwen in Nederland algemeen kiesrecht."
("Since 1922, there’s universal suffrage for women in the Netherlands.")

Expression:
– "Door de bank genomen": generally speaking (lit.: taken through the bank).

Related words:
– "Universeel": universal.
– "Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands (ABN)": standard educated Dutch (lit.: general polite Dutch). This is the Dutch that everyone should speak 🙂 The best bet to try to catch some ABN is by watching the evening news on tv.

Extra:
Yesterday it was "Prinsjesdag". Today, the "Algemene Beschouwingen" take place: the Budget Debate (literally: the "General Observations"). The financial plans that were presented by the government yesterday, are discussed today by the Parliament.

key, spanner, wrench, clef [noun] [de sleutel, de sleutels] [‘sleu-tul’]

The word "sleutel" is mostly used for keys to a lock of some kind. If you want, specifiy by adding a noun: "fietssleutel", "autosleutel", "kastsleutel" etc.

If you need a copy of a key, the common place to go is the shoe repairman, but certain hardware stores might provide this service too. Although they will only copy keys, such a place is also called a "sleutelmaker": a key maker, or a "sleutelmakerij": a place where one makes keys. Alternatively you might hear "slotenmaker": locksmith.

When clear from context you can use "sleutel" in the meaning of spanner or wrench, but if necessary you can specifiy the "sleutel" a bit more (see Related words).

Although "sleutel" can translate to "clef", it does not translate to the musical "key" of a composition. In case of the latter, we say "toonsoort" (lit. "kind of tone").

Examples:
– "<man tegen vrouw:> Heb jij mijn sleutels ergens zien liggen? Waarom ben ik deze toch altijd kwijt!"
("<man to woman:> Have you seen my keys lying around somewhere? Why do I always lose them!")

– "Zelfvertrouwen is de sleutel tot succes."
("Self-confidence is the key to success.")

– "Ik zal voor jou een sleutel laten namaken, dat is wel zo gemakkelijk!"
("I will have a key copied for you, that will make things easier!")

– "Je moet oppassen want je fietssleutel is helemaal verbogen; straks breekt hij nog!"
("You have to be careful because your bicycle key is completely bent; it might break!")

– "Laatst was ik zo dronken dat het me niet lukte om de sleutel in het slot te steken."
("I was so drunk the other day that I was unable to put the key into the lock.")

Related words:
– "Sleutelbos": bunch of keys.
– "Sleutelhanger": key ring.
– "G-sleutel": G clef.
– "Versleutelen": to encrypt.
– "Slot": lock.
– "Sleutelgat": keyhole.
– "Sleutelpositie": key position.
– "Engelse sleutel": monkey wrench, adjustable spanner.
– "Dopsleutel": socket spanner, socket wrench.
– "Inbussleutel": hex key, Allen key. Sometimes called an "IKEA-sleuteltje" since you always get these when you buy a do-it-yourself kit at IKEA.
– "Dropsleutel": typically Dutch key-shaped liquorice. They are also sold in fruit flavour. See an animation at Redband, the main producer in the Netherlands.