1. to dim [verb] [dimde, gedimd] [‘dim-mun’]

The literal translation "dimmen" is not very exciting: to dim… However, in Dutch, "dimmen" is not only used to describe lowering the intensity of light(s), but also to describe lowering the intensity of certain (human) behaviour, see 2.

Examples:
– "Lezen bij gedimd licht is slecht voor je ogen."
("Reading with dimmed light is bad for the eyes.")

– "Frank, kun jij het licht dimmen, zodat we de presentatie beter kunnen zien?"
("Frank, can you dim the lights so we can have a better view of the presentation?")

– "Liefie, wil jij het licht even dimmen?" – "Vanavond niet schat, ik heb hoofdpijn."
("Sweetie, could you just dim the lights?" – "Not tonight honey, I’ve got a headache.")

Related words:
– "Dimmer": dimmer(-switch).
– "Donker": dark, gloomy.
– "Verduisteren": to darken, to obscure, to embezzle.

2. to cool it [verb] [dimde, gedimd] [‘dim-mun’]

In this context, "dimmen" is used to describe lowering the intensity of certain (human) behaviour, hence the translation: "to cool it".

You may see the following phrase a lot: "Effe dimmen!" ("Cool it!"). "Effe" is informal spoken language for the Dutch word "even", written phonetically. "Even" is used a lot in Dutch! It translates to "for a moment" or "just", but cannot always be translated like that literally. Sometimes "even" is omitted in the translation, as is the case in the first example.

Examples:
– "Effe dimmen, makker! Dit is niet leuk meer."
("Cool it, pal! This is not funny anymore.")

– "Die gast moet nu dimmen, anders sla ik hem op zijn bek!"
("That dude should cool it right now, or I’ll punch him in the face!")

– "Die topmannen moeten gewoon effe dimmen met die bonussen." – "Ik weet niet of ik dat met je eens ben."
("These captains of industry should just cool it on the bonuses." – "I don’t know if I agree with you on that.")

Related words:
– "Kalmeren": to calm (down).
– "Rustig": calm, peaceful, quiet.
– "Ontspannen": to relax.

to travel [verb] [reisde, gereisd] [‘rei-zun’]

You will also encounter the word "reizen" as the plural of the noun
"reis": trip, journey or travel. Instead of "reizen" the Dutch will
also say "op reis zijn" and "op reis gaan": "to be on a trip / the go" and "to go on a trip".

A word that sounds the same but has a completely different meaning is "rijzen": to rise (up), to arise. To distinguish between the ‘ij’ and ‘ei’, that sound the same, the Dutch often speak of the ‘lange ij‘ and the ‘korte ei’, depending on the presence of the "long" ‘j’. Grammatically speaking however, there is no such thing as a ‘korte ei’, as ‘ei’ is a vowel combination and not a letter.

Examples:
– "Moet jij vaak reizen voor het werk?"
("Do you have to travel for work often?" We also commonly say "moet jij vaak op reis voor het werk?")

– "Veel mensen in Nederland reizen elke dag op en neer tussen woon -en werkplaats."
("A
lot of people in the Netherlands commute to work every day." Note the
expression "op en neer reizen": "to commute / travel up and down".)

– "Sinds Frank een consultant is, reist hij heel de wereld rond."
("Ever since Frank became a consultant, he travels all around the world.")

– "Mijn oma heeft niet veel gereisd toen zij jong was. Maar ja, het
is tegenwoordig veel makkelijker om te reizen dan vroeger, toch?"
("My
grandmother has not travelled much when she was young. But hey,
nowadays it is a lot easier to travel than in the old days, isn’t it?")

Related words:
– "Op reis zijn": to be on the road / the go, to be in the act of travelling.

Example:
– "Ik heb Laura al een tijd niet gezien!" – "Dat kan kloppen, zij is op reis!"
("I haven’t seen Laura for quite some time!" – "That may be the case, she’s travelling!"

– "Op reis gaan: to go on a trip.
– "Reiziger": traveller.
– "Reizen met de/het …": to travel by … .
– "Reizen per …": to travel by … .
– "Wereldreis": trip around the world.
– "Forensen": to commute (also see second example above).
– "Pendelen": to commute, to shuttle.
– "Reis": trip, journey, travel.

Example:
"Goede reis!"
("Have a good trip!")

– "Reisgids": travel guide.
– "Reislustig": fond of travelling, keen on travelling.
– "Vakantie": holiday.
– "Ticket": plane ticket.

to be frightened, to be shocked, to be scared [verb] [schrok, geschrokken] [‘schrik-kun’] 

The Dutch verb "schrikken" is intransitive (cannot have a direct object) and is translated as "to be frightened". Another Dutch verb with the same meaning and resembling the English construction with "to be" is "bang zijn". The former verb refers to a short, unexpected event, whereas the latter verb refers to a continued state of being. The girl in the picture is scared ("bang") possibly since something gave her a fright ("ze is geschrokken van iets").

Examples:
– "Waarom sluip je zo naar me toe? Je laat me schrikken!"
("Why do you sneak up to me like that? You’re giving me a fright!")

– "Ik ben bang voor spinnen."
("I’m afraid of spiders.")

– "Opeens zat er een muis voor me op de keukentafel, ik schrok me rot/kapot/dood."
("All of a sudden, there was a mouse in front of me on the kitchen table, I was scared stiff/I was scared to death/it frightened the life out of me.")

– "Schrik je ook altijd zo van de wekker ‘s ochtends?"
("Does the alarm clock also always give you a fright in the morning?")

– "De menigte schrok van de geweerschoten".
("The gunshots gave the crowd a fright.")

– "Hij schrok wakker toen zijn telefoon ging."
("He woke with a start when his phone rang.")

– "Het was wel even schrikken toen we hoorden dat oma naar het ziekenhuis moest maar gelukkig was haar gezondheid beter dan we verwachtten."
("It gave us something of a shock when we heard that grandma had to be admitted to hospital, but fortunately her health turned out to be better than expected.")

Expressions:
– "Ik wist niet dat je achter me stond, ik schrok me een hoedje."
("I didn’t know you were standing behind me, I was scared out of my wits.")

– "Toen ik bekomen was van de eerste schrik, heb ik de politie gebeld."
("As soon as I had recovered from the initial shock, I called the police.")

– "Je moet gekookte eieren laten schrikken anders zijn ze moeilijk te pellen."
("You should plunge boileds egg into cold water otherwise it’s difficult to peel them.")

Extra:
Don’t confuse ‘schrikken’ with another Dutch verb: ‘schrokken’, which means to gobble/to cram/to gulp/to wolf. An example of the use of this verb is given below:
– "Zit niet zo te schrokken."
("Stop making a pig of yourself.")

The verb ‘schrokken’ is not as often used as schrikken, and only when referring to food, so when you hear or read ‘wij schrokken’, it will probably be the past tense of ‘schrikken’ instead of the present tense of ‘schrokken’.

Related words:
– "Afschrikken": to deter, to scare off.
– "Opschrikken": to startle, to jump.
– "Bang zijn": to be frightened.
– "Schrik": terror, shock, fright.
– "Angst": fear.