1. arm [noun] [de arm, de armen] [‘arm‘]

Examples:
– "Mijn rechterarm doet pijn, misschien is het RSI."
("My right arm hurts, maybe it’s RSI." Lit.: "My right arm does pain…")

– "Romeo sloeg zijn armen om Julia’s nek en kuste haar teder."
("Romeo put his arms around Julia’s neck and kissed her tenderly.")

– "Frank denkt dat hij mij kan verslaan met armpje drukken."
("Frank thinks he can beat me at arm wrestling." Lit.: "…with little arm pushing.")

– "Mijn dochtertje moet naar het ziekenhuis; ze heeft een gebroken arm."
("My (little) daughther has to go to hospital, she has a broken arm.")

Expression:
– "Met open armen ontvangen worden.": to be welcomed with open arms, to be very welcome.

Example:
– "Na een jarenlange dictatuur werd de nieuwe democratisch gekozen president met open armen ontvangen."
("After a dicatorship of many years, the new democratically elected president was welcomed with open arms.")

Related words:
– "Hand": hand.
– "Elleboog": elbow.
– "Been": leg.

2. poor [adjective] [‘arm‘]

The declinations "arme" and "armen" can also be used as nouns, see the Examples. (So "de armen" can either translate to "the poor" or to "the arms" ….)

Examples:
– "Arme hals, ik hoop dat je vannacht een slaapplek kunt vinden."
("Poor soul, I hope you can find a place to sleep tonight.")

– "De rijken worden steeds rijker, de armen worden steeds armer."
("The rich are getting richer and richer, the poor are getting poorer and poorer." Lit.: "…continuously richer…continuously poorer.")

– "Nederland probeert via ontwikkelingshulp arme landen te helpen."
("The Netherlands try to help poor countries through development aid.")

Related words:
– "Armoede": poverty.
– "Rijk": rich.
– "Rijkdom": wealth.

neck, throat [noun] [de hals, de halsen] [‘hals‘]

As explained in 245. Nek, there are two Dutch words that each cover a different part of the English "neck". There’s "nek", which is the back part of the neck, and there’s "hals", which is the front part of the neck. Since the front part of the neck gradually changes into the throat area, sometimes "hals" can also be translated with "throat".

If the distinction between "neck" and "hals" is irrelevant, "neck" is used. This is usually the case and you will mostly encounter "hals" in an expression.

Expressions:
– "Zich iets op de hals halen": to bring it on oneself.

Example:
– "Wat heeft hij zich nu weer op de hals gehaald?!"
("What has he let himself in for now?!")

– "Hals over kop": in a rush, head over heels.

Example:
– "Ik heb geen idee waar de directeur is. Hij is vanochtend hals over kop vertrokken."
("I have no clue where the director is. He left in a rush this morning.")

– "Halsbrekende toeren verrichten": carry out daredevil feats. Lit. "neck breaking".
– "Iemand om de hals vliegen": throw one’s arms round someone’s neck.

Example:
"Bij zijn terugkomst vloog de vrouw de militair om de hals."
("On his return, the woman threw her arms round the soldier’s neck.")

Related words:
– "Halsketting": necklace. The general "ketting" can also translate to chain, as in "fietsketting".
– "Halsstarrig": obstinate, stubborn.
– "Zwanenhals": swan’s neck, or a U-trap/gooseneck (under the sink for example).
– "Halszaak": capital crime/offence, hanging-matter. Here you will also hear the expression "Ergens een halsszaak van maken": to take something too seriously, turn something into a big deal.
– "Halsslagader": carotid (artery).
– "V-hals": V-neck (w.r.t. shirts).

neck [noun] [de nek, de nekken] [‘nek‘]

The word "nek" was discussed earlier in 221. Vlek. In Dutch, there are two words that each cover a different part of the English "neck". There’s "nek", which is the back part of the neck, and there’s "hals", which is the front part of the neck.

There is also the related verb "nekken", which translates to "to neck", "to wreck", or "to ruin", see the Examples.

Examples:
– "De verkiezingen waren een nek-aan-nekrace."
("The elections were a neck-and-neck race.")

– "Ik heb gisteren met het autoraampje open gereden, nu heb ik een stijve nek."
("Yesterday, I drove with the car window open, now I have a stiff neck.")

– "Als je niet opsodemietert, breek ik je nek, klootzak!"
(<vulgar:> "If you don’t f*ck off, I’ll break your neck, asshole/bastard!")

Expressions:
– "Over zijn nek gaan": to be sick, to puke. Lit.: to go over one’s neck.

Example:
"Sander is het afgelopen weekend over zijn nek gegaan van de sushi."
("The past weekend, Sander was sick from the sushi (he ate).")

– "Uit zijn nek kletsen": to talk out of the back of one’s neck. Lit.: to talk out of one’s neck.

– "Iemand met de nek aankijken": to give someone the cold shoulder. Lit.: to look at someone out of one’s neck.

– "Zijn nek uitsteken": stick one’s neck out, risk one’s neck.

Related words:
– "Nekken": to neck, to wreck, to ruin.

Example:
– "Die laatste berg heeft veel wielrenners genekt."
("That last hill has necked/wrecked a lot of cyclists.")

– "Hals": (front part of the) neck.

Both translations of "oppassen" are very common.

1. to be careful, to look/watch out, to mind [verb] [paste op, opgepast] [‘op-pa-sun’]

Examples:
– "Pas op het afstapje!"
("Mind the step!")

– "Je moet oppassen dat je niet met je voet tussen de spaken komt!"
(<common warning to kids sitting on the back of mom’s bicycle:> "You have to watch out that your foot doesn’t end up between the spokes!" Literally: "…that you do not come with your foot between the spokes.")

– "Pas op met oversteken, het kan druk zijn!"
("Watch out when crossing (the street), it might be crowded!")

– "Pas nou toch op!"
("Be careful now!")

– "Pas erop dat je alle ramen sluit voordat je weggaat."
("Mind to close all windows before you leave.")

– "Oppassen!"
("Be careful! / Watch out!")

– "Pas op!"
("Be careful! / Watch out!")

Related words:
– "Uitkijken": to watch out.
– "Opletten": to pay attention.
– "Voorzichtig": careful.
– "Roekeloos": reckless.

2. to take care of, to baby-sit [verb] [paste op, opgepast] [‘op-pa-sun’]

Examples:
– "Marc moet vandaag oppassen op zijn achternichtje."
("Today Marc has to baby-sit his second cousin.")

– "Nou ik ga! Pas goed op je zusje hè!"
("I’m off now! Take good care of your little sister o.k.?")

– "We gaan drie weken op vakantie, maar ik heb de buren gevraagd op het huis te passen."
("We are going on holiday for three weeks, but I have asked the neighbours to watch the house.")

Related words:
– "Babysitten": to baby-sit.
– "Babysitter": baby sitter. Both verb and noun are common.

Example:
– "We gaan vanavond naar de schouwburg. Gelukkig hebben we een babysitter kunnen vinden!"
("Tonight we are going to the theatre. Luckily we have been able to find a baby sitter!")