company, firm, enterprise, business [noun] [het bedrijf, de bedrijven]

The most common translation of "bedrijf" is "company". You will less often encounter it in its meaning of an "act" in a play. It also has a meaning in the context of machinery, see the Expressions.

Examples:
– "Ken jij het bedrijf Twofish in Amsterdam?" – "Nee, maar het komt me wel bekend voor!" 
("Do you know the business Twofish in Amsterdam?" – "No, but it does sound familiar!")

– "Ik wil een eigen bedrijf beginnen, dus ik heb vrijdag een afspraak bij de Kamer van Koophandel." 
("I want to start my own company, so I have an appointment at the Chamber of Commerce this Friday.")

– "Mijn dochter studeert bedrijfskunde en ze vindt het erg leuk." 
("My daughter studies business administration and she enjoys it very much.")

– "Wist je dat TomTom een Nederlands bedrijf is?" 
("Did you know that TomTom is a Dutch company?")

Expressions:
– "Tussen de bedrijven door": as one goes along, in between times/jobs/tasks.

Example:
– "Sander schrijft deze DWOTD tussen de bedrijven door."
("Sander writes this DWOTD in between other activities.")

– "Buiten bedrijf zijn": to be out of operation, to be out of order.

Example:
– "Deze automaat is buiten bedrijf."
("This machine is out of order.")

Related words:
– Bedrijfsuitje: company outing [noun] [het uitje, de uitjes]. You will also hear "personeelsuitje" ("personnel outing"). See the Extra.
– Bedrijfsvoering: (operational) mangement [noun] [de bedrijfsvoering, no plural].
– Collega: colleague, co-worker [noun] [de collega, de collega’s].
– Bestuur: board of directors, management [noun] [het bestuur, de besturen].
– Aandeel: share, stock [noun] [het aandeel, de aandelen].

Extra:
"Bedrijfsuitjes" are common in the Netherlands and usually you will have one once a year. The purpose is obvious: have a (hopefully) good time with the co-workers, which will then (hopefully) improve the working climate and hence make things more efficient. These days one tries to make the company outings more exciting, and there are even companies that specialize in company outings. Check out this video from youtube, which is a dubbed scene from ‘Der Untergang’, in which Hitler and his generals discuss what to do for the next company outing ("personeelsuitje"). Hitler wants to go bowling. They also discuss the family fun park "Drievliet" which is located along the river "de Vliet" between the cities of The Hague and Delft.

heaven(s), sky [noun] [de hemel, de hemelen]

"Hemel" is used for the place where the good people (supposedly) go after they die, as well as for the sky that covers the earth.

Examples:
– "Onze Vader die in de hemel zijt." 
("Our Father who art in heaven.")

– "Zijn ze niet mooi, al die sterren aan de hemel?" 
("Aren’t they beautiful, all those stars in the sky?")

– "Ken je ‘De ontdekking van de hemel’ van Harry Mulish?" 
("Do you know ‘Discovery of heaven’ by Harry Mulish?")

– "In hemelsnaam, ga niet!" 
("For heaven’s sake, don’t go!")

– "De zon staat hoog aan de hemel." 
("The sun is high in the sky.")

Expressions:
– "Mijn/lieve hemel": good heavens. Lit.: My/dear heaven.
– "Hemeltjelief": good heavens. Lit.: Little heaven’s dear.
– "In de zevende hemel": in a state of total bliss, in heaven. Lit.: in the seventh sky/heaven.

Example:
– "Grace is in de zevende hemel. Ze is helemaal verliefd op Will."
("Grace is in a state of total bliss. She’s completely in love with Will.")

– "Hemel en aarde bewegen": to move heaven and earth, to leave no stone unturned.

Related words:
– Engel: angel [noun] [de engel, de engelen].
– Hel: hell [noun] [de hel, <no plural>].

Example:
– "Goede mensen gaan naar de hemel, slechte mensen naar de hel…"
("Good people go to heaven, bad people to hell…")

– Lucht: air, sky [noun] [de lucht, de luchten].
– Ster: star [noun] [de ster, de sterren].
– Aarde: earth [noun] [de aarde, de aardes].
– Hemelvaart: ascension [noun] [de hemelvaart, <no plural>].