Mop

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1. sweetie, doll [noun] [de mop, de moppen]

The informal diminutive of "mop" is "moppie". Both can be used. Mind that it is a bit old-fashioned and associated with lower class social environments. Also, it can only be used to address females.

Examples:
– "<bouwvakker:> Hé moppie! Wat zie jij er goed uit!!"
("<construction worker:> "Hey sweetie! You’re lookin’ good!!)

– "<in een Amsterdams bruin café:> Luister eens moppie, het is dat je vent staat te kijken, want anders had ik het wel geweten!"
("<in a brown pub/bar in Amsterdam:> Listen sweetie, if it weren’t for your man looking at us, I would have taken my chance!" Literally: "…, it is that your man is looking, because otherwise I would have known!" Here, the use of the verb "staan" is to indicate that the man is in the activity of looking.)

– "Ik weet het mop, ik had het beloofd, maar ik moet vanavond weer overwerken!"
("I know sweetie, I promised, but tonight I have to work overtime again!")

2. joke, jest [noun] [de mop, de moppen]

Examples:
– "Weet jij een leuke mop?"
("Do you know a good joke?")

– "Mijn oom is erg goed in het vertellen van moppen."
("My uncle is really good at telling jokes.")

Related words:
– "Moppentappen": to tell jokes. Literally "to draft jokes".
– "Grap": joke.
– "Grappenmaker": one who makes jokes.

3. mop [noun] [de mop, de mops]

Example:
– "Heb jij de mop gezien? Ik wil de keukenvloer dweilen."
("Have you seen the mop? I want to mop the kitchen floor.")

Related words:
– "Zwabber": mop. This word is actually more common than "mop".
– "Dweil": floor-cloth, rag, mop (if on a stick).

Scheetje

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1. (little) darling [noun] [het scheetje, de scheetjes; diminutive] [‘sgee-tju’]

Literally, "scheetje" means "little fart" 🙂 , see 2. When used as a pet word, "scheetje" would be best translated with "little darling" in English, but alternatives exist depending on context, see the examples. We admit that it is strange to call your lover "little fart", but hey, someone thought it was a good idea! (Not that it is everybody’s favourite pet name.)

Examples:
– "Wat ben je toch een scheetje!"
("You’re such a (little) darling!")

– "Heb je de baby van Rosalie gezien? Het is echt een scheetje!"
("Have you seen Rosalie’s baby? She’s a real cutie!" From the Dutch sentence you cannot tell the gender of the baby, but since we actually know this baby we translated it with "she" ;-))

Related words:
– "Poepie": synonym for "scheetje". Can also be used as a pet name.
– "Drolletje": little turd. Can also be used as a pet name, if you care for more substance than a "scheetje" 🙂

2. (little) fart [noun] [het scheetje, de scheetjes; diminutive] [‘sgee-tju’]

"Scheetje" is the diminutive of "scheet": fart. A more formal synonym (if existing!) for fart is "wind" or "windje".
"To fart" is translated with "een scheet laten", literally: "to let a fart".

Examples:
– "Ruik je dat? Volgens mij heeft er iemand een scheet gelaten!"
("Do you smell that? I think someone has farted!" Lit.: "According to me, someone has farted!")

– "Sorry, niet dichterbij komen, ik moet een scheetje laten!"
("I’m sorry, don’t come any closer, I have to fart!" Lit.: "…I have to let a little fart!")

– "Het laten van scheten wordt over het algemeen als onfatsoenlijk gedrag gezien, maar zeg nu zelf, soms kan je er niets aan doen!"
("Farting is generally considered to be inappropriate behaviour, but you have to admit, sometimes you can’t help it!" Literally "zeg nu zelf" translates to "say it yourself".)

Expression:
– "Het zijn de harde die klinken, maar de zachte die stinken.": we have heard the English say "silent but violent"; literally this means "the loud ones are the ones that sound, but the soft are the ones that smell."

Related words:
– "Wind/je": fart.
– "Poepie": (little) fart.
– "Schijten": to shit, to (take a) crap.
– "Poepen": less informal synonym for "schijten".

Liefie

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sweetie, dear, darling [noun, informal diminutive] [de het liefie, de liefies] [‘lie-fie’]

couple-168191_640“Liefie” is the informal diminutive of the noun “lief” that
translates to “beloved/love/dear”. As a pet name, “liefie” is more
common amongst the younger generations (including people in their
thirtees). Alternatively, the similar “lieveling” can be used.
“Lieveling” has a slightly more poetic or old-fashioned touch to it,
and would be best translated with “darling”, not with “sweetie”.
In general, one who is “lief” is called a “lieverd”.

Examples:
– “Hoi liefie, ik ben even naar de Albert Heijn wat boodschapjes halen.”
(“Sweetie, I’m off to Albert Heijn to get some groceries.”)

– “<sms text message:> Liefie! Kom je vanavond bij me eten? Mis jou…”
(“Sweetie! Would you like to have dinner at my place tonight? Miss you…”)

– “Jij bent mijn allerliefste liefie!!”
(“You are my dearest
sweetie!” In Dutch the superlative of ‘lief’ is ‘liefst’, however you
can go one step higher by adding ‘aller’ 🙂 It means something like
“of all”. It is very common, so put it to practise!)

Related words:
– “Lieveling”: darling, sweetheart, love.
– “Lieverd”: synonym for “lieveling”.

Schat

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1. hon, honey, baby, darling [noun] [de schat, de schatten] [‘sgat‘]

Literally, “schat” means “treasure”, see 2. When used as a pet word, “schat” would be best translated with “hon” or “honey” in English, sometimes “darling”.
The diminutive form “schatje” is also often used, which would also be best translated with “honey” or “baby”.

Examples:
– “Schat, ik ben thuis!”
(“Honey, I’m home!”)

– “Wat ben je toch een schat!”
(“You’re such a darling!”)

– “Hee schatje, heb je zin om met me te dansen?”
(“Hey baby, do you wanna dance with me?”)

– “Schat, wil je alsjeblieft opschieten? We zijn al een half uur te laat.”
(“Hon, will you please hurry, we’re already half an hour late.” Lit.: “…do you want to hurry please?…”)

Related words:
– “Schattebout”: sweetie pie. Lit.: treasure bolt.
– “Schattig”: sweet, lovely. Lit.: treasure-like.
– “Skatje”: baby. (Phonetic form of “schatje” pronounced with a French/Italian accent 😉 Street slang, no official spelling…)

2. treasure [noun] [de schat, de schatten] [‘sgat‘]

Examples:
– “De piraten hadden de schat op een klein eiland verborgen”.
(“The pirates had hidden the treasure on a small island.”

– “Die man heeft een schat aan technische kennis, maar hij blijft contactgestoord.”
(“That man has a wealth of technical knowledhe, but he still is socially handicapped.” Lit.: “That man has a treasure on technical knowledge, but he still remains contact-disturbed.”)

Extra:
There’s also a Dutch verb “schatten”, which is surprisingly not translated with “to treasure” but with “to estimate”.

“To treasure” is translated with “als een schat bewaren” (to keep like a treasure) or with “koesteren” (to cherish).

Noodzakelijk

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1. necessary [adjective / adverb] [‘noot-zaa-ku-luk’]

Examples:
– "Samenwerking is noodzakelijk om een goed resultaat te behalen."
("Cooperation is necessary to achieve a good result.")

– "Het was noodzakelijk dat de politie met geweld ingreep tijdens de rellen."
("It was necessary that the police acted with force during the riots.")

– "Het feit dat Nederland coffeeshops heeft, betekent niet noodzakelijk dat iedereen in Nederland wiet rookt."
("The fact that The Netherlands have coffeeshops, does not necessarily mean that everybody in The Netherlands smokes weed.")

– "Liefde is een noodzakelijke levensbehoefte."
("Love is a necessity of life." Lit.: "Love is a necessary life’s need.")

2. inevitable [adjective / adverb] [‘noot-zaa-ku-luk’]

Examples:
– "Files zijn een noodzakelijk gevolg van de toegenomen economie."
("Traffic jams are an inevitable consequence of the increased economy. ")

Related words:
– "Noodzaak": necessity.
– "Genoodzaakt": forced, obliged.
– "Nood": need.
– "Onvermijdelijk": inevitable, inescapable.