1. foreplay [noun] [het voorspel, de voorspelen]

It is now time to get a little bit more physical with the "love" theme. However, we all know that we need to cover foreplay first!

Examples:
– "Een goed voorspel is het halve werk."
("Good foreplay is half the job.")

– "Sommige vrouwen beweren dat mannen liever het voorspel overslaan!"
("Some women claim that men would rather skip foreplay!")

The use of the word "liever" is very common to express a preference in choice.  The superlative would be "het liefst" and is used to say that you prefer something the most.

– "Goed voorspel is een belangrijk onderdeel van de kunst der liefde."
("Good foreplay is an important part of the art of love.")

The word "der" is a remnant of the old-fashioned use of the second (possessive) case in Dutch (genetivus, like in German). It is only used in archaic and/or dramatic expressions but there are a few common expressions. See also ‘Extra’.

2. prelude, overture, prologue [noun] [het voorspel, de voorspelen]

– "Ouverture 1812 van Tchaikovsky is een bekend klassiek stuk."
("Tchaikovsky’s Overture 1812 is a well known classical piece.")

admirer, worshipper [noun] [de aanbidder, de aanbidders]

"Aanbidder" is derived from the verb "aanbidden": to admire, or to worship. Literally "aanbidden" means "to pray at/to" derived from praying to a statue while kneeling.
It is however also commonly used when you adore somebody. In the context of the latter, "aanbidder" translates to "admirer", which of course is the translation of choice for this week 🙂 However, it is not romantic by definition!

Examples:
– "Het lijkt mij leuk om een stille aanbidder te hebben! Hé, misschien heb ik er wel een…"
("I think it would be nice to have a secret admirer! Hey, perhaps I have one…" Literally: "It seems nice to me to have…")

– "Morgen is het Valentijnsdag. Ik zal wel geen kaartjes van stille aanbidders ontvangen… :-("
("Tomorrow it’s Valentine’s day. I will probably receive no cards from secret admirers… :-(" The use of "wel geen" is a bit confusing, since "wel" is the opposite of "geen". However, "wel" can also mean "probably" which is the case in this construction.)

Expressions:
Quite a few expressions related to "aanbidden" exist. Here are a few:

– "Iemand op handen dragen": to like someone very much. Literally "to carry someone on hands" as in liking somebody so much that you lift him/her with your hands (like what sometimes happens in sports).

– "Weglopen met iemand": to like someone very much. Literally: "to walk away with someone", as in liking somebody so much that you just want to walk away with that person!

– "Iemand op een voetstuk plaatsen": to put somebody on a pedestal.

Related words:
– "Adoreren": to adore.
– "Vereren": to worship, adore. Also used in relation to God.
– "Verafgoden": idolize.

1. threshold, barrier, doorstep [noun] [de drempel, de drempels]

Examples:
– "We bevinden ons op de drempel van een nieuw tijdperk: het tijdperk van de mensen zal eindigen, de orks zullen heersen…"
("We find ourselves at the threshold of a new era: the era of man will end, the orcs will rule…")

– "Frank voelde een grote mentale drempel om op de mooie dame aan de bar af te stappen."
("Frank felt a great mental barrier to approach the beautiful lady at the bar." Literally: "… to step to the beautiful lady…")

– "Ik zet daar geen voet meer over de drempel!"
("I shall never set foot in that house again!" Literally: "…set foot across the doorstep there.")

Related word:
– "30 kilometer zone": 30 kilometer zone, a
zone in which a speedlimit of 30 km/h applies. These zones often have a lot
of "verkeersdrempels"….

Extra:
Once
in the United States Sander encountered the opposite of a speed bump, the
"dip". "What the hell does D-I-P mean?" his co-worker asked after
spotting the big
D I P sign. Not much later they understood! At least you
can see a speed bump coming!

road/traffic sign
[noun]
[het ver-keers-bord, de ver-keers-bor-den]

Traffic in the Netherlands is a bit overregulated. You can’t really go wrong 😉
However, while trying to interpret all these traffic signs, of which the density in the Netherlands is very high, one almost forgets to actually pay attention to traffic!

The Dutch word for traffic is "verkeer". A "bord" in general is some kind of flat shape for display. Most common usages are a "plate" for food, a "sign" of some sort, or a "black/white board" (the latter translating to "schoolbord" at school or just "white board" in the office).

Examples:
– "Neemt u mij niet kwalijk; dat verkeersbord heb ik niet gezien!"
(<to a police officer:>"I beg your pardon; I did not see that traffic sign!")

– "De dichtheid van verkeersborden in Nederland is zeer hoog."
("The density of traffic signs in the Netherlands is very high.")

– "Dit verkeersbord vind ik echt extreem onduidelijk!"
("I find this traffic sign really extremely unclear!")

– "Als de stoplichten buiten werking zijn, moet je goed op de verkeersborden letten."
("When traffic lights are out of order, one has to pay good attention to the traffic signs.")

– "Verkeersbord? Welk verkeersbord??"
("Traffic sign? What traffic sign??")

Related words:
– "Stoplicht": traffic light.
– "Voorrang": right of way.

Extra:
In the Netherlands traffic coming from the right has right of way. This is implicit unless otherwise indicated. The fact that you have to give way can be indicated by the common "upside down triangle" sign or by certain marks on the road. These marks are the same upside down triangles, facing you as you look down on the road. In Dutch these are called "haaientanden" ("shark teeth"). To be on the safe side the Dutch authorities usually include the "haaientanden" in addition to the traffic sign.

zebra/pedestrian crossing [noun] [het <zebra><pad>, de zebrapaden]

"Zebrapad" literally translates to "zebra path", but is often abbreviated to "zebra". This is the place where you are supposed to cross the roads in the Netherlands. However, jaywalking is common practice. Unless you ignore a red light, the police will not bother with you.
Also, drivers are supposed to give way to you when you are waiting at a "zebra" and "have the intention" to cross the road. Nowadays, it is common for pedestrians to wave a thank you at drivers as it is by no means normal anymore that they will stop for pedestrians.

Examples:
– "Voetgangers behoren de weg over te steken bij een zebrapad."
("Pedestrians are required to cross the road at a pedestrian crossing.")

– "Automobilisten moeten voorrang verlenen aan voetgangers als deze de intentie hebben het zebrapad te betreden."
("Drivers have to give way to pedestrians when these intend to set foot onto the zebra crossing." Literally: "… when these have the intention to …")

Related words:
– "Voetganger": pedestrian.
– "Voetgangersoversteekplaats": crossing(-place), pedestrian crossing (literally: place for pedestrians to cross).