Misschien

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maybe, perhaps [adverb]

Examples:
– "Zijn we er al bijna?" – "Ik weet het niet, misschien weet Isabelle het!"
("Are we almost there?" – "I don’t know, maybe Isabelle knows!")

– "Ga jij naar het feest vanavond?" – "Ja, maar ik kom misschien wat later…"
("Are you going to the party tonight?" – "Yes, but I may/might be a bit later…")

– "Is Frank er nog niet?" – "Nee, misschien heeft hij een lekke band."
("Has Frank not arrived yet?" – "No, perhaps he has a flat tire.")

– "Heb jij voor mij misschien een velletje papier?"
("Do you have a sheet of paper for me, by any chance?")

– "Wil jij misschien mijn kijkdoos even zien?"
("Perhaps you would like to take a look at my show-box?" This is a line taken from the Dutch song "Mijn kijkdoos" by "Hanny & De Rekels" (see ‘Extra’). In this song the word "kijkdoos" (literally "see-box") has a bit of a sexual connotation as the word "doos" is sometimes derogatorily used for the female genital organ, see also "DWOTD 82. Kijken" and "DWOTD 1. Doos".)

Related words:
– "Wellicht": perhaps, possibly.
– "Mogelijk": possibly, possible.

Extra:
The music by "Hanny & De Rekels" is part of the so-called genre "levenslied". A "levenslied" (literally: life’s song) is a Dutch song, often a bit sentimental, with topics close to the daily life of the ordinary (wo)man. Another often used term is "smartlap" (literally: sorrow rag) . In the city of Utrecht, the "smartlappenfestival" is held annually.
Famous Dutch "levenslied" performers were "Andre Hazes", "Johnny Jordaan" and "Zangeres Zonder Naam" . Today, "Frans Bauer" is very popular. Read the full lyrics of "Mijn kijkdoos" at http://www.lyricsvault.net/songs/14130.html .

Bijeenkomst

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gathering, meeting, session [noun] [de <bij><een><komst>, de bijeenkomsten]

The word "bijeenkomst" consists of the following parts:
– "bij": to.
– "een": one.
– "komst": coming, arrival.

The word "bijeen" then translates to "together", so "bijeenkomst" literally means "together-coming", which of course explains the link to "gathering", "meeting" and "session".
Although two people can get together, the word "bijeenkomst" is more commonly used when a bigger group of people is involved.

Examples:
– "Het genootschap hield ieder weekend een geheime bijeenkomst."
(" The fellowship held a secret meeting every weekend.")

– "De directeur heeft ons officieel uitgenodigd voor de nieuwjaarsbijeenkomst op 2 januari."
("The CEO has officially invited us to the New Year’s gathering/reception on January 2nd.")

– "Een borrel is een informele sociale bijeenkomst waarbij mensen iets drinken."
("A ‘borrel’ is an informal social gathering at which people drink (something)." See also "DWOTD 102. Kerstborrel".)

Related words:
– "Bijeenkomen": to meet, to gather, to get together (formally).
– "Afspreken": to get together (informally).
– "Vergadering": meeting.
– "Receptie": reception.

Kerstborrel

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Christmas reception [noun] [de <kerst><borrel>, de kerstborrels]

The word “borrel” actually does not translate to reception precisely, but it comes close: a “borrel” is a very informal reception, held periodically at work, or to pleasantly conclude a business meeting or a seminar for example.
Of course there is a verb as well: “borrelen”, the activity of participating in a “borrel”.

The Dutch word for Christmas is “Kerstmis”, often abbreviated to “kerst”.

Examples:
– “Dit jaar wordt de kerstborrel gehouden op 14 december.”
(“This year the Christmas reception is held on the 14th of December.”)

– “Ik ga niet meer naar de vrijdagmiddagborrel; hij komt mijn neus uit!”
(“I am not going to the Friday afternoon reception anymore; I am sick of it!” Literally: “…; it comes out of my nose!”)

– “Tijdens de borrel worden vaak belangrijke beslissingen genomen. Zoals: doen we nog een biertje, of niet?”
(“During a “borrel” quite often important decisions are made. Such as: should we have another beer or not?)” Literally:  “…: do we do another beer, or not?”)

– “De toespraak die Frank hield voorafgaand aan de borrel, duurde veel te lang!”
(“The speech that Frank held prior to the “borrel” was way too long!”)

Related words:
– “Vrijmibo”: abbreviation of “vrijdagmiddagborrel”.
– “Kerstmis”: Christmas.
– “Receptie”: reception.
– “Borrelhapjes”: specific Dutch snacks served during “borrels”, like pieces of cheese, or “bitterballen“.

Extra:
“Vrijmibo’s” in progress can very well be observed every Friday in the several bars at the “Plein” in the city of The Hague, the Netherlands. The bars are crowded with employees from the several nearby ministeries. The number of suites and ties is quite high. In the summer season, on rare sunny days, the terraces start to fill up from three o’clock onwards.

Trakteren

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to treat [verb] [trakteerde, getrakteerd]

In elementary schools in the Netherlands it is common for children to treat their teacher and class mates to some kind of candy when it is their birthday (“healthy” candy is encouraged by the way). Usually also a tour around the school is made where all other teachers are treated as well.

The verb “trakteren” is used for any kind of buying drinks or food for others and does not necessarily require a reason.

Examples:
– “Ik trakteer!”
(“It’s my treat! / This one’s on me!” Literally: “I treat!”)

– “Ik ben vorige week jarig geweest en daarom trakteer ik jullie allemaal op taart!”
(“I had my birthday last week and therefore I treat you all to cake!”)

– “Sander en Marc hebben gisteren zichzelf getrakteerd op een tapas etentje.”
(“Yesterday, Sander and Marc treated themselves to a tapas dinner.”)

– “Omdat Frank voor de derde keer te laat was, heeft hij ons op vlaai getrakteerd.”
(“Because Frank was late for the third time, he treated us to flan/pie.” A typical Dutch pie is “vlaai” which comes in many different kinds. Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaai. A popular store in the Netherlands is “Multivlaai” but you can also buy them at “Hema”. Go here for an overview of “Multivlaai” stores in the Netherlands.)

– “Na de les werd de nerd door de footballspeler op een pak slaag getrakteerd.”
(“After class, the nerd was beaten up by the (American-)football player.” Literally: “…the nerd was treated to a package of beating by…”)

Related words:
– “Traktatie”: treat.
– “Verjaardag”: birthday.

Extra:
“Dutch treat” – or “going Dutch” – is used in the English language to describe the situation that each person eating at a restaurant or drinking in a bar pays for himself or herself, rather than one person paying for everyone. Apparently, the Dutch have a history of being scrooges 🙂 See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Going_Dutch .
We do would like to emphasize that it is definitely not common in the Netherlands that the bill is shared when dating. The one who invited the other should pay. The invited one might offer to pay (all or his or her share), but this should then be refused. However, when you are passed the dating stage and things are more serious, it should no longer be expected that the one inviting the other pays for the bill and you will have to find the equilibrium (as with more things in a relationship 😉 ).

Related Dutch custom is the use of a so-called “pot”, especially among students going out, where every person contributes an equal share of cash money into “de pot”, i.e. the person who manages the collected money (this person is not carrying a “pot” of some sort 😉 ). Subsequent rounds (of beer) are paid from/by the “pot”. This should guarantee that nobody “forgets” to pay for a round. Then again it might lead to “problems” when somebody leaves early before the “pot” is empty 🙂

Hoera

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hurray, hooray, hurrah [noun] [het hoera, de hoera’s]

Just like in English, “hoera” is used as an expression to cheer at somebody or something. It is a bit old-fashioned though and you will find it mostly in written language. Two common occasions where you will hear “hoera” are ceremonies in which the queen plays a central role and she is formally cheered at, and a common Dutch birthday song (see ‘Extra’).

Examples:
– “Hoera! Vandaag is de 100e Dutch Word Of The Day!!”
(“Hurray! Today is the 100th Dutch Word of The Day!!”

– “Driewerf hoera voor de koningin!”
(“Three cheers for the queen!”)

– “Lange leve de koningin!” – “Hoera! Hoera! Hoera!”
(“Long live the queen!” – “Hurray! Hurray! Hurray!”)

– “Hiep, hiep, hiep… Hoera!”
(“Hip, hip, hurray!”)

Related words:
– “Hieperdepiep”: informal corruption of “hiep, hiep, hiep”.
– “Vieren”: to celebrate.
– “Juichen”: to cheer.

Extra:
One of the formal ceremonies in which the queen plays a central role and you will hear the three “hoera’s” is “Prinsjesdag”, the opening of the Dutch parliamentary year and the day on which the government proposes its financial plans for the coming year. The queen will also read out her “troonrede” (“speech from the throne”), outlining the government’s plans for the coming year. Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prinsjesdag.

When a Dutch child has his or her birthday, it is common to sing the following song, pay attention to the “hoera’s”!

Lang zal ze leven,
Lang zal ze leven,
Lang zal ze leven in de gloria,
In de glo-ri-a, in de glo-ri-a!
Hiep hiep, hoera!! <all raise their arms up high on “hiep hiep”>
Hiep hiep, hoera!!
Hieperdepiep, hoera!!

This song is also still in use for adults, and you will hear it in restaurants now and then, usually the “birthday woman/man” being highly embarrassed.
In the first three sentences you have to replace ‘ze’ by ‘hij’ if it is a boy instead of a girl, and ‘zal’ by ‘zullen’ in case you sing for more kids at the same time.