to grumble, to grouse, to complain [verb] [mopperde, gemopperd] [‘mo-pu-run’]

This verb has nothing to do with DWOTD
219. Mop, but is inspired by yesterday’s "
zeur".
Somebody who "moppers" is called a "mopperaar", but mostly you will
hear "mopperkont", which translates to something like "grumble butt" 🙂

Examples:
– "Ik word niet goed van opa! De hele dag door niets anders dan mopperen!"
("Grandpa
is driving me crazy! All day long nothing but grumbling!" Literally: "I
am becoming not well because of grandpa." The expression "niet goed
worden van" is very common. Without a subject it needs the ever tricky
"er": "Ik word er niet goed van": "It is driving me crazy" or "I have
had it (with it)".)

– "Wat zit je te mopperen? Is het weer niet goed?"
("What are you grumbling about? Is it once again not to your liking?")

– "De chef moppert de hele dag op zijn personeel."
("The manager
grumbles at his personnel all day." The word "chef" is used for
managers in production environments, including supermarkets and such.)

Related words:
– "Mopperkont": grumbler/grouch, somebody who complains a lot.
– "Mopperpot": like "mopperkont" but less common.

bore, sorehead, nag [noun] [de zeur, de zeuren] [‘zeur‘]

Of course, there’s also a verb derived from "zeur", which is "zeuren": to nag, to whine, see the examples.

Examples:
– "Frank kan soms zo’n zeur zijn tijdens vergaderingen."
("During meetings, Frank can be such a nag." Note that "zo’n" is short for "zo een": ‘such a".)

– "Mannen gebruiken vaak het cliché dat vrouwen veel zeuren."
("Men often use the cliché that women whine a lot.")

– "<Moeder tegen haar kind:> Nu ophouden met zeuren!"
("<Mother to her child:> "Now stop whining!" Note that the infinitive "ophouden" is used as an imperative. In Dutch, there are three possible imperative forms: the ‘regular’ imperative, the infinitive used as an imperative, and the past participle used as an imperative. See also 39. Oprotten. )

– "Zit toch niet zo te zeuren!"
("Don’t be such a sorehead/nag!" Lit.: "Don’t you whine / be whining like that!" Note that "zitten" is not used to express the literal "sitting", but is used to indicate a continuing action – in this case "zeuren".)

Related words:
– "Zeuren": to nag, to whine.
– "Zeurkous": synonym of "zeur": nag.
– "Zeurpiet": synonym of "zeur": nag.
– "Klagen": to complain.
– "Een zeurende pijn": a nagging pain.

bean [noun] [de boon, de bonen] [‘boon‘]

"Boon" is used to indicate both the legume that contains the seed as well as the seed itself. Its diminutive "boontje" is also often used.

Examples:
– " ‘Ik lust geen boontjes!’, schreeuwde de kleuter naar zijn moeder."
(" ‘I don’t like beans!’, yelled the toddler to his mother.")

– "Kun je mij de sperziebonen even aangeven, alsjeblieft?"
("Can you pass the French/green beans please?")

– "Ik eet alleen bruine bonen als ze in chili con carne zitten."
("I only eat kidney/brown beans when they’re in chilli con carne.")

– "Frank walgt van witte bonen in tomatensaus."
("Frank is disgusted by white beans in tomato sauce.")

Expressions:
– "Een blauwe boon": (an ounce of) lead, a bullet. Lit.: "a blue bean".

– "Honger maakt rauwe bonen zoet": hunger is the best sauce. Lit.: "Hunger makes raw beans sweet".

– "Boontje komt om zijn loontje": he that mischief hatches, mischief catches / you get what you deserve. Lit.: "Little bean comes for his little pay".

– "Een heilig boontje": a goody-goody / prig.

Example:
– "Frank gedraagt zich altijd als een heilig boontje in de buurt van zijn manager."
("Frank always behaves so holier-than-thou / like a goody-goody when his manager is around." Lit.: "…in the neighbourhood of his manager.")

parade [noun] [de parade, de parades] [‘paa-raa-du‘]

Examples:
– "De veteranen werden geëerd met een militaire parade."
("The veterans were honoured with a military parade.")

– "Ga jij ook naar De Parade deze week?")
("Are you also going to "De Parade" this week?" See ‘Extra’.)

Related words:
– "Optocht": march, parade.
– "Paraderen": to march, to parade.
– "Processie": procession.
– "Stoet": procession, parade.
– "Begrafenisstoet": funeral procession.

Extra:
"De Parade" is a Dutch cultural festival which is held during the summer season every year. "De Parade" is held successively in Rotterdam, Den Haag, Utrecht and Amsterdam. It offers a varying range of Dutch theatre, music, dance, film and special foods and drinks. The shows, often exclusively produced for "De Parade", vary from three to fourty minutes. Concept of "De Parade" is that an entrance fee (6 Euros) is paid to enter the Parade terrain, and then additional fees must be paid for individual shows (from 2 to 10 Euros). Every day from 15.00h there’s also the "Kinderparade", for children (no entrance fee).

Although most of the spoken shows are in Dutch, "De Parade" is highly recommended by the Dutch Gurus, since the atmosphere is really relaxed, ‘cultural’ and friendly (there are also music shows and shows where it is not about speech). Even without going to a show, one can eat and drink at "De Parade" while doing some nice people watching. Dutch Guru Tip: don’t leave "De Parade" without having paid a visit to the Silent Disco 🙂

"De Parade" in Den Haag is located at the Westbroek Park, from July 6th-15th.

In general, "tof" is used to express a positive opinion on a subject. It is often used informally, and the "level of positivity" depends on context, see the examples.

1. great, smashing, cool [adjective; ‘tof‘]

Examples:
– "Toffe actie!"
("Well done!" Lit.: "Great/cool action!")

– "Nicole is een toffe meid, vind je niet?"
("Nicole is a great girl, don’t you think?")

– "Dat was een tof verjaardagsfeest gisteren!"
("That was a smashing birthday party yesterday!")

– "Sander en Marc zijn toffe peren 🙂 ."
("Sander and Marc are great guys 🙂 ." Lit.: "…are great pears…" An expression which can only be used for men…)

– "Vind jij ‘Kiss’ van Prince ook zo’n tof nummer?"
("Do you also think that ‘Kiss’ by Prince is such a cool song?" "Nummer" literally translates to "number", but – depending on context – can also translate to "song".)

2. decent, OK, okay [adjective; ‘tof‘]

Examples:
– "Frank vindt de meeste van zijn collega’s wel tof."
("Frank thinks most of his colleagues are pretty okay.")

– "Ik ken die jongens niet erg goed, maar volgens mij zijn ze wel tof."
("I don’t know those chaps very well, but I think they are pretty decent." Lit.: "…according to me, they are pretty decent.")

Related words:
– "Gaaf": cool, smooth.
– "Keitof": very cool, only used in province of Noord-Brabant where they put "kei" in front of everything to emphasize 🙂 A "kei" is a cobble stone or boulder.
– "Aardig": nice, friendly.
– "Sympathiek": sympathetic, friendly.
– "Cool": cool.
– "Vriendelijk": friendly.