The informal translation of "kappen" (number 2. below) is very common.

1. to chop, to cut, to axe (trees and such) [verb] [kapte, gekapt; ‘ka-pun’]

Examples:
– "De milieuactivisten protesteerden de hele nacht tegen het kappen van het bos."
("The environmentalists protested all night against the cutting of the forest.")

– "Het kappen van de regenwouden is een gevaar voor het behoud van onze Aarde."
("The felling of the rain forest is a danger to the preservation of our Earth.")

Related words:
– "Bijl": axe.
– "Hout": wood.
– "Boom": tree.
– "Bos": forest, woods.
– "Houthakker": lumberjack/man.

2. to stop, to quit, to break, to cut it out [verb; informal] [kapte, gekapt]

Examples:
– "Ik denk dat ik ga kappen met pianoles; ik kom gewoon niet aan spelen toe!"
("I think I’m going to quit my piano lessons; I just don’t find the time to play!")

– "Wordt het niet eens tijd dat jullie kappen met jullie relatie?"
("Isn’t it about time that you two break off your relationship?")

– "Dit heeft geen enkele zin, laten we er maar mee kappen!"
("This is completely useless / this serves no purpose at all, why don’t we just stop (doing this)!")

– "Nu is het genoeg, ik kap ermee!"
("Now I’ve had it / it is enough, I quit!")

– "<moeder tegen vervelende kinderen:> En nu kappen!"
("<mother to annoying children:> Cut it out now! / Now stop it!")

– "Kap nou!"
(Even more informal translation of "Stop it!")

3. to do somenone’s hair [verb] [kapte, gekapt]

It is more common to use the verb "knippen" (to cut (with scissors)) if the context is clear, however the ‘Related words’ below show some examples of derivations.

Related words:
– "Kapper": hair dresser.
– "Kapsalon": hairdresser’s salon.
– "Kapsel": hair style, hairdo.

Pentecost [noun] [<no article> Pinksteren, <no plural>; ‘Pink-stur-run’]

Today is the second day of "Pinksteren". Most people have a day off today. "Pinksteren" is a national (christian) holiday in the Netherlands. It always falls on a Sunday and consecutive Monday, ten days after "Hemelvaart" .

Examples:
– "Heb jij plannen voor tweede Pinksterdag? – Ik ga naar Pinkpop!")
("Do you have plans for the second day of Pentecost? – I’m going to the Pinkpop festival!")

Related words:
– "Eerste Pinksterdag": First day of Pentecost.
– "Tweede Pinksterdag": Second day of Pentecost.

Extra:
The pop/rock festival season in The Netherlands and Belgium has begun again. This weekend, the Pinkpop festival in Landgraaf will draw more than 50,000 people to the very south of the province of Limburg. Some well-known festivals are:
– Pinkpop
– Rock Werchter
– LowLands
– Pukkelpop
– Beatstad
A complete list of all festivals can be found at festivalinfo.nl.

Ascension [noun] [de Hemelvaart, de Hemelvaarten; ‘hee-mul-vaart’]

Hemelvaart is composed of "hemel" and "vaart", which respectively translate to "heaven" and "trip". "Hemelvaart" is a national (Christian) holiday in the Netherlands. Not many Dutch will still know that "Hemelvaart" is about Jesus returning to heaven permanently…

"Hemelvaart" always is a Thursday. A  lot of Dutch companies and institutions are also closed on the Friday after "Hemelvaart". Sometimes employees have to take mandatory leave of one day (on that Friday).

Ten days after "Hemelvaart" comes "Pinksteren": Pentecost. The second day of Pentecost, "Tweede Pinksterdag", is always a Monday, and is also a national Dutch holiday.

Since "Hemelvaart" and "Pinksteren" are not too far apart, a lot of the Dutch take leave in between. This holiday period is often referred to as the "HePi-vakantie". You may figure out for yourself what "HePi" stands for 🙂

Examples:
– "Heb jij ook vrijdag vrij na Hemelvaart?"
("Do you also have a day off on the Friday after Ascension?")

– "Hebben jullie speciale plannen voor de HePi-vakantie?"
("Do you have special plans for the HePi-holiday period?")

Related words:
– "Hemelvaartsdag": Ascension day.

panic [noun] [de paniek] [‘paa-niek‘]

The English verb "to panic" is often translated with the Dutch idiom "in paniek raken", literally: "to get into panic". In Dutch, the verb "panikeren" does exist, but this is mainly used in Belgium.

Examples:
– "Geen paniek!"
("Don’t panic!" Literally: "No panic!")

– "Frank raakte compleet in paniek toen de directeur hem een vraag stelde."
("Frank completely panicked when the CEO asked him a question.")

– "Een paniekaanval wordt vaak veroorzaakt door veel stress."
("A panic attack is often caused by lots of stress.")

– "De menigte vloog in paniek uit elkaar toen de politie traangas gebruikte."
("The crowd fled off in panic when the police used tear gas.")

Expression:
– "paniek in de tent": <slightly ironic> panic breaking out. Literally: "panic in the tent".

Example:
– "Toen zij bemerkte dat ze haar sleutels verloren had, was er plotseling paniek in de tent."
("When she found out that she had lost her keys, she suddenly broke into panic.")

– "paniek zaaien": to spread panic. Literally: "to sow panic".

Related words:
– "Stress": stress.
– "Ongerust": worried.
– "Zenuwachtig": nervous.