complete(ly), full(y), entire(ly) [adverb/adjective] [vol-le-dig]

"Volledig" consists of two words: "vol" (meaning "full") and "ledig" (the old-fashioned word for "leeg" which means "empty"). So it seems to be a contradictio in terminis: what does it mean, full or empty? "Volledig" means full. A more often used synonym of "volledig" is "helemaal".

Related noun is "volledigheid": completeness, entirety.

Examples:
– "Dacht je dat ik jouw werk zou afmaken? Sorry, dat heb je volledig verkeerd begrepen!"
("Did you think that I would finish your work? I’m sorry, you completely misunderstood.")

– "Hij is volledig blut na zijn reis naar de casino’s in Macau." 
("He is completely broke after his trip to the casinos in Macau.")

– "Heb je de volledige route naar van Amsterdam naar Santiago de Compostela gelopen?"
("Did you walk the entire way from Amsterdam to Santiago de Compostela?")

– "Voor de volledigheid zal ik de doelstellingen van het project nogmaals toelichten." 
("For the sake of completeness I will explain the objectives of the project once more." Please note that "volledigheid" is often used in a formal setting.)

– "Haar vakantie was volledig verziekt door de aanslag in Mumbai."
("Her vacation was totally ruined because of the attack in Mumbai.")

– "Zoek je een gedeeltelijk of volledig gemeubileerd appartement?"
("Are you looking for a partly or fully furnished apartment?")

– "Deze auto is volledig uitgerust om door de bergen te rijden."
("This car is fully equipped to drive through the mountains.")

– "Maak je geen zorgen, je kunt hem volledig vertrouwen."
("Don’t worry, you can trust him completely.")

Related words:
– Volledigheid: completeness [noun] [de volledigheid, de volledigheden].
– Vol: full [adverb/adjective].
– Totaal: total [adverb/adjective].
– Heleboel: a (whole) lot, (quite) a lot, lots [noun] [de heleboel, <no plural>].
– Leeg: empty [adverb/adjective].

to patronize [verb] [be-tut-tel-de, be-tut-teld]

"Tut" is an informal derogative for a somewhat stupid goose of a woman. "Betuttelen" would actually be something like "to treat like a ‘tut’ ". Don’t confuse "tut" with the far more rude "trut", which translates to "b*tch"…

The related noun is "betutteling", see also Extra.

Examples:
– "Frank betuttelt zijn vriendin verschrikkelijk in het openbaar." 
("Frank dreadfully patronizes his girlfriend in public.")

– "Je moet een jong kind niet te veel betuttelen." 
("You shouldn’t patronize a young child too much.")

– "Al die betuttelende regels van deze regering maken me gek!" 
("All those patronizing rules of this government make me crazy!")

Expressions:
– "Iemand de les lezen": to lecture someone.

Related words:
– Beschermen: to protect [verb] [beschermde, beschermd].
– (Onder)steunen: to support [verb] [(onder)steunde, (onder)steund].

Extra:
The Dutch don’t like to be "betutteld". In fact, the Dutch complain a lot about being "betutteld" by the government. A lot of the Dutch – especially the smokers – consider the recent ban on smoking in bars and restaurants a serious form of "betutteling", as well as the even more recent ban on hallucinogenic mushrooms (the so called paddos). Some believe that the christian parties (CDA and CU) within the Dutch Cabinet and Parliament are mainly responsible for this…Apparently, there’s even a party that protest against any kind government-driven kind of "betutteling" or patronizing…

meeting [noun] [de ver-ga-de-ring, de ver-ga-de-ring-en]

In Dutch office life it is common to have meetings. The associated verb is "vergaderen": the act of sitting together and discussing issues. A "vergadering" in the Netherlands can last very long. This is because we like to reach a compromise consensus and everybody gets their say (and decisions are not always made). See the Extra for some "vergadering" lingo.

Examples:
– "Ik moet nu ophangen, ik heb een vergadering over 5 minuten." 
("I have to hang up now, I have a meeting in 5 minutes.")

– "De ene na de andere vergadering, ik word er gek van!" 
("One meeting after another, it is driving me crazy!")

– "Het is de bedoeling om de voortgang van het project te bespreken, maar ik kom helemaal niet aan werken toe door al die vergaderingen!"
("The intent is to discuss the progress of the project, but I hardly get to do some work due to all these meetings!")

Related words:
– Vergaderen: to formally meet to discuss something [verb] [vergaderde, vergaderd].
– Agenda: agenda [noun] [de agenda, de agenda’s]. This word is also used for a (pocket) calendar, hence Dutch people often say they have to check their "agenda".
– Agendapunt: topic on the agenda [noun] [het punt, de punten].
– Voorzitter: chairman [noun] [de voorzitter, de voorzitters].
– Discussiëren: to argue, to discuss [verb] [discussieerde, gediscussieerd].
– Bespreken: to discuss, to talk about [verb] [besprak, besproken].

Extra:
A common topic on a meeting agenda is "WVTTK", short for "wat verder ter tafel komt", or: "what else may come to the table" (like "any other business"). This is an opportunity to bring a new topic to discuss to the table but it may only prolong the meeting. It is encouraged not to include this topic but to formally decide on the meetings agenda at the beginning of the meeting. This is done during the meeting topic "vaststelling agenda". At the end of a meeting it is common to give all attendants one more
chance to ask a question about something that has not been discussed
yet. This is called the "rondvraag" (and the chairman will go "round
the table" to see if anybody has a question ("vraag")). Again this might lead to more discussion and a longer meeting 🙂