breakfast [noun] [het ontbijt, de ontbijten]

‘Ontbijt’ consists of ‘ont’ and ‘bijt’. The latter is derived from ‘bijten’: to bite. The original meaning of ‘ont’ is ‘preceding’, so ‘ontbijt’ means something like ‘starting to eat’. But no Dutch person would know or care! 🙂
The verb that goes with ‘ontbijt’ is ‘ontbijten’: to have breakfast.

Examples:
– "Het ontbijt is de belangrijkste maaltijd van de dag."
("Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.")

– "Zal ik voor jou een lekker ontbijtje maken?"
("Shall I prepare you a tasty breakfast?" The diminutive use of ‘ontbijt’ is quite common in informal settings.)

– "Omdat je jarig bent, krijg je vandaag ontbijt op bed!"
("Because it is your birthday, you will get breakfast in bed!")

– "Is de overnachting inclusief ontbijt?"
("Is breakfast included (in the stay)?" An ‘overnachting’ is a stay of one night.)

– "Waar is de ontbijtzaal?"
("Where is the breakfast room?")

Related words:
– "Ontbijten": to have breakfast.
– "Lunchen": to lunch, to have lunch.
– "Eten": to eat.
– "Middageten": lunch, midday meal.
– "Avondeten": dinner, supper, evening meal.
– "Dineren": to dine.

piece of furniture [noun] [het meubel, de meubelen/meubels]

When talking about ‘furniture’ in general, the Dutch use the plural ‘meubels’ or ‘meubelen’. Which plural form to choose is personal preference, but we guess that ‘meubels’ is more common. Another translation for ‘furniture’ is ‘meubilair’, see ‘Related words’.

Examples:
– “Het wordt tijd om eens wat modernere meubels aan te schaffen!”
(“It’s (about) time to purchase (some) more modern furniture!” The verb ‘to purchase’ translates to ‘aanschaffen’.)

– “In de jaren ’70 en ’80 waren wandmeubelen redelijk in trek.”
(“In the seventies and eighties, wall units were fairly popular.” When saying that something is popular, the Dutch sometimes use the expression ‘in trek’ with the verb ‘zijn’.)

– “Vandaag hebben wij een bezoek gebracht aan de meubelboulevard.”
(“Today we visited the furniture strip.” Literally: “… we brought a visit…”. The word ‘boulevard’ is often used for a row of stores or restaurants, like the boulevard at Scheveningen beach. Also see ‘Extra’.)

– “Ik ben pas verhuisd en wacht nog op mijn nieuwe meubels.”
(“I have recently moved and am still waiting for my new furniture.”)

Related words:
– “Interieur”: interior.
– “Interieurverzorgster”: fancy name for a cleaning lady, literally: “one who takes care of interior [female]”.
– “Meubelmaker”: furniture maker.
– “Meubilair”: furniture.

Example:
– “Frank werkt hier al zo lang, die hoort bij het meubilair.”
(“Frank has been working here for such a long time, he is part of the furniture!” This figurative use of ‘meubilair’ is quite common.)

– “Gemeubileerd”: furnished.

Example:
– “Te huur: gemeubileerd appartement.”
(“For rent: furnished apartment.”)

Extra:
In recent decades it has become tradition for Dutch people to visit the so-called “meubelboulevards” during Easter. “Meubelboulevards” are usually situated at the outer edges of towns, near the motor/high ways. We can’t really explain why Easter seems to be the perfect time to go looking at furniture (buying is usually done at some other time), but whole families go down there. There will be traffic jams starting at the highway exit and packed car parks. Probably there is nothing better to do during Easter 🙂 This year the number of visitors was less than last year, presumably due to the nice weather!

1. head [noun] [het hoofd, de hoofden]

Examples:
– "Ik heb hoofdpijn."
("I have a headache.")

– "Hoofd, schouders, knie en teen, knie en teen."
("Head, shoulders, knee and toe, knee and toe". Dutch children song where all kids touch the respective body parts while singing.)

– "Tijdens het hardlopen heb ik altijd een leeg hoofd."
("During running I always have an empty mind." The verb "hardlopen" is typically used for "athletic running".)

– "Een paar jaar geleden ben ik door een duif op mijn hoofd gescheten."
("A few years ago a pigeon shat on my head." Literally: "… I was shat on my head by a pigeon.")

-"Frank heeft al maanden te veel aan zijn hoofd."
("For months Frank has too many things to deal with." Literally: "… has too much at his head.")

Expression:
– "Geen haar op mijn hoofd die daar aan denkt!": no way that I’m going to do that! Literally: "No hair on my head that thinks of that!"

Related word:
– "Kop": head of an animal, slang for the human head. "Kop" can also mean "cup" but then usually in its diminutive form.

2. main [adjective]

Examples:
– "Het hoofdonderwerp van vanavond is de morele achteruitgang van de samenleving."
("Tonight’s main topic is the moral decline of society." Lit. "The main topic of tonight is…")

– "In deze baan moet je hoofdzaken van bijzaken kunnen onderscheiden."
("In this job one has te be able to distinguish main issues from side issues.")

– "De hoofdoorzaak van het gaslek is menselijk falen."
("The main cause of the gas leak is human failure.")

Instead of "beneden", the word "onder" is also often used. They translate to "beneath" and "under" respectively. The difference is only subtle.

1. beneath, down, downstairs [adverb]

Examples:
– "Gaat deze lift naar beneden?"
("Is this elevator going down?")

– "Ik ga naar beneden om voor jou een lekker ontbijtje te maken!"
("I’m going downstairs to prepare you a nice (little) breakfast!")

– "Wat er beneden ligt…"
("What lies beneath…")

– "Van onderen!"
(Literally "from beneath!" this is what construction workers yell as a warning when throwing down stuff.)

2. beneath, below [preposition]

Examples:
– "Beneden de grote rivieren spreken de meeste mensen met een zachte ‘g’."
("Beneath the great rivers, most people speak with a ‘soft g’." Even though the Dutch ‘g-sound’ is quite pronounced, in the southern provinces it sounds much softer and a lot more friendly 🙂 .)

– "Dat is beneden mijn standaard."
("That’s below my standard.")

– "Dat is onder mijn niveau."
("That is below my level/standard." This can also be used in a moral context.)

– "Lig jij tijdens het vrijen het liefst onder of boven?"
("When you make love, do you prefer to lie beneath or on top?")

Related words:
– "Onder": under.
– "Ondersteboven": upside down, wrong side up, upset, all shaken up.
This can also be used in a figurative way, as the two next examples
show:

Examples:
– "Ik ben er niet ondersteboven van!"
("I’m not all that impressed!")

– "Ik ben helemaal ondersteboven van die man/vrouw!"
("I’m completely put off my balance by that man/woman!")

1. up, upstairs, on top [adverb]

Examples:
– "Gaat deze lift naar boven of naar beneden?"
("Is this elevator going up or down?")

– "<Moeder tegen kind:> Naar boven jij!"
("<Mother to child:> Go upstairs, you!")

– "Oranje boven!"
("Go Holland!" Literally: "Orange on top!" A popular yell to cheer for the Dutch royal family.)

– "Zie je die vogel?" – "Waar?" – "Daar boven!"
("Do you see that bird?" – "Where?" – "Up there!")

2. on top of, above [preposition]

Examples:
– "Sommige criminelen lijken boven de wet te staan."
("Some criminals seem to stand above the law.")

– "Er gaat niets boven een lekker witbiertje met dit mooie weer!"
("Nothing tastes better than a nice white beer in this beautiful weather." Literally: "There goes nothing above…" In spring and summer, white beer ("witbier") is very popular. Well-known brands are Hoegaarden and Wieckse Witte.)

Expressions:
– "Baas boven baas.": there is always somebody who is better or more succesful. Literally: "boss above boss."

– "Boven water zijn": literally "to be above water" this is commonly used when something or somebody was first lost and has now been found or has reappeared.

Example:
"De vermiste journalist is weer boven water."
("The missing journalist has reappeared.")

– "Boven Jan zijn.": to have recovered, to have dealt with all difficulties. We don’t know who "Jan" is in this expression 🙂

– "Er bovenop komen.": to recover, to overcome difficulties. Literally "to come on top".

Example:
"Ik ben de laatste tijd zo moe en gestresst!" – "Ach, je komt er wel weer bovenop!"
("Lately I have been so tired and stressed!" – "Ah, surely you will recover again!")