brilliant, highly-gifted
[adverb/adjective]
[ge-ni-aal]

“Geniaal” is linked to “genius” (“genie” in Dutch) and has always been used in the sense of “highly-gifted” people. A synonym of “geniaal” is “hoogbegaafd” (literally: “highgifted”). You can also use the word to describe ingenious ideas, events, people, jokes, food, places etc..

Examples:
– “De nieuwe show van die cabaretier is geniaal, je moet hem zien!” 
(“The new show by that cabaret performer is brilliant, you have to see it!”)

– “Mensen met een IQ van boven de 148 worden beschouwd als geniaal.”
(“People with an IQ of over 148 are considered to be highly-gifted.” Note that in this sentence, you can replace “geniaal” by “hoogbegaafd”.)

– “Heb je de laatste tijd nog iets leuks gelezen?” “-Ja, ‘Saturday’ van Ian McEwan, echt een geniaal boek!”
(-“Have you read anything fun lately?” “-Yes, ‘Saturday’ by Ian McEwan, a truly brilliant book!”)

– “Clifton is een geniaal strand in Kaapstad.”
(“Clifton is a fantastic beach in Cape Town.”)

– “De Graaf van Monte Christo bedacht een geniaal ontsnappingsplan.”
(“The Count of Monte Christo came up with a brilliant plan of escape.”)

Related words:
– Hoogbegaafd: highly gifted [adjective, adverb].
– Genie: genius [noun] [het genie, de genieën].

Example:
– “Vind je Bill Gates een genie van onze tijd?”
(“Do you think Bill Gates is a genius of our time?”)

– Briljant: 1. brilliant [adverb/adjective]; 2. diamond [noun] [de briljant, de briljanten].

Extra:
Note that the plural of “genie” gets an extra “e” in the plural “de genieën”. This is due to the fact that the emphasis of the singular “genie” is on the last syllable. The same goes for instance for “idee” (“idea”) which becomes “ideeën” but not for “kolonie” (“colony”) where emphasis is not put on the last syllable but on the middle one: “ko-lo-nie”. Therefore, the plural of “kolonie” is “koloniën”.

hilarious
[adjective]
[hi-la-risch]

"Hilarisch" is used the same way in Dutch as "hilarious" in English, yet it seems we only use it when something is really hilarious (as in "extremely funny"). When something is "very funny" it is more common to say "(heel) erg grappig" ("really very funny"), "ontzettend grappig" ("incredibly funny") etc.

Note that one pronounces the ending ‘-isch’ as ‘-ies’.

Examples:
– "Het is hilarisch om te zien hoe sommige mensen afgaan bij de Idols audities." 
("It’s hilarious to see how some people humiliate themselves at the Idols auditions.")

– "Hilarisch? Nee hilarisch zou ik het niet willen noemen, eerder zielig." 
("Hilarious? No, I wouldn’t call it hilarious, I’d rather call it pathetic.")

– "Hoe was de comedyshow in het Comedy Theater?"- "Erg goed, sommige van die gasten zijn echt hilarisch!" 
("How was the comedy show in ‘Comedy Theater’?" – "Very good, some of those guys are really hilarious!")

Expressions:
– "Lachen, gieren, brullen": literally "laughing, screaming, roaring" this is used to say you had a really good laugh. Often also used ironically.

Example:
– "Hoe was de nieuwe film met Mr. Bean?"- "Nou, het was weer lachen, gieren, brullen. Maar niet heus."
("How was the new Mr. Bean movie?" – "Well, once again it was really funny. Not…")

– "Buikpijn hebben van het lachen": literally "to have stomachache because of laughing" you say this when you really have or had to laugh hard because of something.

Related words:
– Grappig: funny, amusing [adjective/adverb].
– Komisch: comical, funny [adjective/adverb].

1. to appreciate, to value, to esteem, to rate
[verb]
[waar-de-ren, waar-deer-de, ge-waar-deerd]

Here "waarderen" is used when you want to express appreciation or value/esteem something or somebody. You can also use "waarderen" in case of monetary value, see translation 2 below. Read the Extra below on what the equivalent of American-English "I appreciate it" could be in Dutch.

Examples:
– "Ik waardeer het enorm dat je vandaag gekomen bent." 
("I very much appreciate you being here today." Lit.: "…  that you have come today.")

– "Ik kan een sigaar op zijn tijd wel waarderen." 
("I appreciate (smoking) a cigar every so now and then.")

– "Het spijt me, maar uw bijdrage aan deze discussie wordt niet gewaardeerd." 
("I’m sorry, but your contribution to this discussion is not appreciated.")

– "Helaas moeten we vandaag afscheid nemen van een bijzonder gewaardeerde collega." 
("Unfortunately, today we have to say goodbye to a highly esteemed colleague.")

– "Over het algemeen voel ik me op mijn werk ondergewaardeerd."
("In general I feel undervalued at work.")

Related words:
– Op prijs stellen: to appreciate [verb] [stel op prijs, op prijs gesteld].

Example:
– "Uw aanwezigheid wordt niet op prijs gesteld."
("Your presence is not appreciated.")

Extra:
Sometimes people ask us how to say "I appreciate it" in Dutch. You can use the verb "waarderen" but mind that its usage is quite formal, i.e. when you say "ik waardeer het" or "het wordt gewaardeerd dat…" then you are making a bit of a strong statement, but it is the thing to say when you seriously want to thank somebody. If you however want to informally say "I appreciate it" or when the circumstances do not mandate a formal or very strong statement of appreciation, it is better just to say thank you (see the DWOTD "Dankjewel"), or you can use one of the following phrases:

– "(Dat is) tof van je": that is nice of you [informal].
– "Dat is (bijzonder) aardig/vriendelijk van je/u": that is (really) nice of you.

2. to value, to estimate, to appraise, to rate, to mark
[verb]
[waar-de-ren, waar-deer-de, ge-waar-deerd]

Here "waarderen" is used in the context of monetary value, or when you want to rate the quality of something. There is a strong link with the noun "waarde": value.

Examples:
– "De film ‘Gran Torino’ wordt door de recensenten hoog gewaardeerd." 
("The film ‘Gran Torino’ is highly rated by the critics.")

– "Nederlandse huizen zijn over het algemeen overgewaardeerd en het wordt tijd dat de prijzen gaan dalen!" 
("In general Dutch houses are overvalued and it is about time that the prices will drop!")

Related words:
– Waarde: value [noun] [de waarde, de waarden]. Note that the word is used for both "monetary" and "moral" value.
– Prijs: price, cost [noun] [de prijs, de prijzen].
– Taxatie: assessment, appraisal (of an object) [noun] [de taxatie, de taxaties].