dweeb, idiot, loony, wacko
[noun]
[de flap-drol, de flap-drol-len]

"Flapdrol" is composed of "flap" and "drol", which respectively translate to "flap" and "turd", so "flap turd" isn’t a compliment 🙂

"Flapdrol" is used informally and is a derogatory word for a lame and loony person (mostly male) without character.

Examples:
– "Het zal wel aan mij liggen, maar ik vind Frank een flapdrol." 
("It’s probably just me, but I think Frank’s a dweeb.")

– "Zie je die gast met dat groene haar? Wat een flapdrol!" 
("Do you see that dude with the green hair? What a loony!")

– "Wie is die flapdrol met dat brilletje?" – "Ho eens even! Dat is onze minister-president Jan-Peter Balkenende!"
("Who’s the dweeb with the glasses?" – "Now just a minute! That’s our prime minister Jan-Peter Balkenende!")

Expressions:
– "Elke gek zijn gebrek": <ironical> Everybody’s a fool sometimes.
– "Zalig de armen van geest, want hunner is het Koninkrijk der hemelen (Matteüs 5:3)": Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matth 5:3).

Related words:
– Mafkees: crazy person, wacko [noun] [de mafkees, de mafkezen].
– Mafkikker: crazy person, wacko (lit.: crazy frog) [noun] [de mafkikker, de mafkikkers].

row, fight, quarrel

[noun]
[de bon-je, <no plural>]

You can say that there is "bonje" somewhere, that people are having "bonje" or that there is "bonje" between people. It is not necessarily a row or fight, it can also be the state of people being heavily in disagreement, not talking to each other etc. It is in fact quite similar to "ruzie" but its usage is more informal.

Examples:
– "Hoor je dat lawaai hiernaast? Volgens mij hebben de buren bonje." 
("Do you hear that noise next door? I think the neighbours are fighting.")

– "Het begon als een discussie, maar aan het eind van de middag was het toch echt bonje." 
("It started out as a debate, but at the end of the afternoon it became a real fight after all." Note that quite often a "discussie" in Dutch is more a debate/argument than a conversation.)

– "Kunnen Robert en Erica beter niet uit elkaar gaan; het is altijd bonje tussen die twee." 
("Shouldn’t Robert and Erica break up; they are always fighting / having arguments.")

– "Wat is er? Hebben jullie bonje?" 
("What’s wrong? Are you (guys) fighting?")

Related word:
– Ruzie: quarrel, row, argument, fight [noun] [de ruzie, de ruzies].

conference
[noun]
[de con-fe-ren-tie, de con-fe-ren-ties]

Quite often Dutch people also use the word "congres" which is similar to "conferentie", so a Dutch person might tell you that "he is going to a congress", see the Related words. Note that the "tie" in "conferentie" is pronounced "tsie".

Examples:
– "Volgende week ben ik niet op kantoor, want ik ga naar een conferentie." 
("Next week I will not be in the office, because I’ll be going to a conference.")

– "Ga je wel eens naar een conferentie voor je werk?" – "Nee, mijn werkgever vindt dat niet nodig." 
("Do you ever attend a conference for work?" – "No, my employer feels it is not necessary.")

– "Is je artikel al gepubliceerd?" – "Nee nog niet, ik presenteer het eerst op een conferentie." 
("Has your paper been published yet?" – "No not yet, I will first present it at a conference.")

– "Is Sarah in Tallinn voor die conferentie?" – "Misschien, ze heeft er niets over tegen mij gezegd. Sander is er wel, dat weet ik zeker." 
("Is Sarah in Tallinn for that conference?" – "Maybe, she has not said anything about it to me. Sander is there, that I know for sure.")

Related words:
– Vergadering: meeting [noun] [de vergadering, de vergaderingen].
–
Congres: conference [noun] [het congres, de congressen]. In Dutch the
word "congres" is often used for a more formal or bigger conference.

Example:
– "Ga je naar een congres of naar een conferentie?" – "Ik weet het niet, wat is het verschil?"
("Are you going to a ‘conferentie’ or to a ‘congres’ "? – "I don’t know, what is the difference?")