Daar heb ik geen boodschap aan

That is not of my concern, that is of no relevance to me Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

"Boodschap" can be translated as "message" or "grocery". See also DWOTD Supermarkt for more on "boodschap". The meaning of "Daar heb ik geen boodschap aan", most likely refers to its meaning as "message". Literally, it can be translated as "I don’t have a message on that" but that doesn’t make much sense. A sentence with a similar meaning is "Daar heb ik niks mee te maken".

Examples:
– "Wat de buurman van mijn tuin vindt, daar heb ik geen boodschap aan." 
("What the neighbour thinks of my garden doesn’t interest me at all.")

– "Hij heeft geen boodschap aan de ouderwetse opvattingen van zijn overgrootoma." 
("He has no interest in the old-fashioned views of his great-grandmother.")

– "Zij heeft er geen boodschap aan wat haar studiegenoten van haar communistische opvattingen vinden." 
("It’s of no interest to her what her classmates think of her communist views.") Wilders

– "De Nederlandse politicus Wilders had geen boodschap aan de oproep van de regering om zijn Koran-film niet te vertonen." 
("Dutch politician Wilders didn’t care about the request of the government to refrain from showing his Quran-film.")

Related words:
– Boodschap: grocery, message [noun] [de boodschap, de boodschappen].
– Boodschappen doen: do groceries [verb] [deed boodschappen, heb boodschappen gedaan].

Flapdrol

dweeb, idiot, loony, wacko Iconspeaker_3
[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

"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].

Bonje

row, fight, quarrel Iconspeaker_3
Vette_bonje
[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].

Vertrouwen

1. trust, confidence Iconspeaker_3 Vertrouwen
[noun]
[het ver-trou-wen, no plural]

"Vertrouwen" can be both the noun "trust" and the verb "to trust"
(see second meaning below). Don’t mix it up with "trouwen" ("getting
married"), to which it has no connection.

Examples:
– "Hij gaf mij het vertrouwen dat ik nodig had om die baan te krijgen." 
("He gave me the trust I needed to get that job.")

– "In het afgelopen jaar is het vertrouwen in de regering sterk gedaald." 
("During the past year, the confidence in the government has decreased sharply.")

– "Ik heb er vertrouwen in dat we de economie er weer bovenop kunnen helpen." 
("I’m confident that we can help restore the economy again.")

– "Ik kwam hier al als kind, dit is voor mij een vertrouwde omgeving." 
("I used to come here as a kid, this is a very well-known environment for me.")

– "Toen hij eindelijk zijn studie had afgerond, ging hij zijn werkend leven vol vertrouwen tegemoet."
("When he had finally finished his studies, he entered his working life full of confidence.")

2. to trust, to confide in Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[ver-trouw-de, ver-trouwd]

Examples:
– "Ik vertrouwde hem blindelings, maar hij heeft mijn vertrouwen geschonden." 
("I trusted him completely, but he betrayed my trust.")

– "Je bent te goed van vertrouwen, terwijl ik niemand vertrouw!" 
("You trust people too easily, whereas I don’t trust anyone!")

– "Pas op voor haar, ze is niet te vertrouwen." 
("Watch out for her, she’s not to be trusted.")

– "Nadat zijn vriendin een keer was vreemdgegaan, vertrouwde hij haar niet meer." 
("After his girlfriend cheated on him once, he didn’t trust her anymore.")

Related words:
– Vertrouwd: easy to recognize, well-known [adverb/adjective].

Mouw

sleeve Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de mouw, de mou-wen]

A "mouw" is a sleeve. A "mouw" can be "kort" (short) of "lang" (long).Mouw

Examples:
– "Kijk! Er zit een lieveheersbeestje op je mouw!"
("Look! There is a ladybird on your sleeve!")

– "De mouwen van deze trui zijn te lang." 
("The sleeves of this sweater are too long.")

– "Hoe is het weer vandaag? Zal ik iets met korte of lange mouwen aantrekken?" 
("How’s the weather today? Shall I wear something with short or long sleeves?")

Expressions:
– "Daar valt wel een mouw aan te passen": we’ll manage somehow. Lit.: There’s probably a sleeve that can be adjusted.
– "Iemand iets op de mouw spelden": to tell someone a small (lie). Lit.: to pin something on one’s sleeve.
– "Uit de mouw schudden": to come up with something just like that. Lit.: to shake out of the sleeve.

Example:
– "Sander schudt moppen zo uit zijn mouw…echt grappig!"
("Sander comes up with jokes just like that…really funny!")

– "De handen uit de mouwen steken: to put one’s shoulder to the wheel. Lit.: to stick one’s hands out of the sleeves.
– "Daar komt de aap uit de mouw": the truth is revealed, the real intentions become clear. Literally: comes the monkey out of the sleeve.

Related words:
– Kort: short [adjective].
– Lang: long [adjective].
– Manchet: cuff [noun] [de manchet, de manchetten].
– T-shirt:T-shirt [noun] [het T-shirt, de T-shirts].
Trui: sweater, jumper [noun] [de trui, de truien].
Kleren: clothes [noun] [<no singular>, de kleren].

Extra:
Don’t confuse the noun "mouwen" (sleeves) with the verb "mauwen", which translates to "to meow" (the sound made by a cat), which also can be used figuratively: to whine. You may also see "miauwen", which also translates to "to meow", but which doesn’t have the figurative meaning.