Slaapkamer

bedroom Click to listen

[noun]
[de slaap-ka-mer, de slaap-ka-mers]

bedroom-389254_640“Slaapkamer” is composed of “slaap” and “kamer”, which respectively translate to “sleep” and “room”. Hence literally, “slaapkamer” would translate to “sleep room”: a bedroom.

Check out the common bed sizes used in Dutch bedrooms here: DWOTD “Bed“.

Examples:
– “Waar is de kleine Max?” – “In zijn slaapkamer. Hij was uitgeput van het schoolreisje.” 
(“Where’s little Max?” – “In his bedroom. He was exhausted from the school trip.”)

– “Wat een lelijk behang in de slaapkamer…” – “Dat valt wel mee, toch?” 
(“The wallpaper in the bedroom is ugly…” – “It isn’t that bad, is it?”)

– “Frank! Heb jij stiekem zitten roken in de slaapkamer??” 
(“Frank! Have you been smoking secretly in the bedroom??”)

Expressions:

Met het verkeerde been uit bed stappen“: to wake/get up on the wrong side of the bed.

Related words:
Bed: [noun] [het bed, de bedden].
Droom: dream [noun] [de droom, de dromen].

Example:
– “Ik heb een droom dat op een dag dit land zal verrijzen en zal leven naar de ware betekenis van haar credo.”
(“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.”)

Gapen: to yawn [verb] [gapen, gaapte, h. gegaapt].
Slaapverwekkend: mind-numbing, sleep-inducing, soporific [adjective].

Extra:Bedstee
In some old Dutch houses and farms you may find something called a “bedstede” or “bedstee”. A  “bedstee” is a more or less a compartment where you can sleep, integrated in the wall, in the form of a cupboard, closeable with doors or curtains for privacy. “Bedstedes” were used a lot up until the 19th century, particularly in farms at the countryside. (From: Wikipedia)

Meevallen

to exceed one’s expectations (in a positive way) Click to listen
[verb]
[mee-val-len, viel mee, i. mee-ge-val-len]

“Meevallen” is composed of “mee” and “vallen”, which respectively translate to “along/with” and “to fall. Hence literally, “meevallen” translates to “to fall along”, but this makes absolutely no sense at all of course 🙂

“Meevallen” is used when your expectations about something are exceeded in a positive way. The opposite of “meevallen” is “tegenvallen”. Related noun is “meevaller” (or its diminutive “meevallertje”): a situation or occurrence in which your expectations are positively exceeded, see also Related words.

Examples:
– “De bank wordt binnen twee weken bezorgd.” – “Dat valt mee, normaal is het ten minste acht weken.” 
(“The couch will be delivered within two weeks.” – “That’s all right, normally it’s at least eight weeks.”)

– “Frank heeft heel rustig gereden.” – “Dat valt mee, normaal houdt hij erg van bumperkleven.” 
(“Frank drove real quietly.” – “That’s not bad, normally he’s really into tailgating.”)

– “Het is niet makkelijk om Nederlands te leren…” – “Dat valt wel mee, Xavier.” 
(“It’s not easy to learn Dutch…” – “It’s not so bad as it seems, Xavier.”)

Expressions:
– “Een storm in een glas water”: a storm in a teacup, much ado about nothing.
– “Van een mug
een olifant maken”: to make a mountain (out) of a molehill, to
exaggerate. Lit.: “to make an elephant out of a mosquito”.

Example:
– “Frank heeft weer eens van een mug een olifant gemaakt…de schade aan zijn auto viel reuze mee…”
(“Frank has made a mountain out of a molehill again…the damage to his car wasn’t really all that much…” Note that “reuze” literally translates to “gigantically”: really much…)

Related words:
– Meevaller: piece of good luck, pleasant surprise, stroke of unexpected luck [noun] [de meevaller, de meevallers].

Example:
– “Ik heb gisteren vijftienhonderd euro gewonnen bij de loterij!!” – “Dat is te gek! Wat een financiële meevaller!”
(“I won fifteen hundred euros yesterday at the lottery!!” -“That’s great! What an unexpected financial surprise!”)

– Tegenvallen: to not meet one’s expectations, to exceed one’s expectations in a negative way [verb] [tegenvallen, viel tegen, i. tegengevallen].
– Vallen: to fall [verb] [vallen, viel, gevallen].

Bumperkleven

to tailgate, tailgating Click to listen
[verb]
[bum-per-kle-ven, bum-per-kleef-de, h. ge-bum-per-kleefd]  Bumperkleven

"Bumperkleven" is composed of "bumper" and "kleven", which respectively translate to "bumper" and "to stick". Hence literally, "bumperkleven" would translate to "to bumperstick" or "bumpersticking". In English, this is called tailgating:  the practice of driving on a road too closely at a distance which does not guarantee that stopping to avoid collision is possible. [from Wikipedia]. A person who is tailgating is called a "bumperklever".

"Bumperkleven" is an example of a compound verb that cannot be separated when conjugated. So:
>> [correct] ik bumperkleef, ik bumperkleefde, ik heb gebumperkleefd
>> [incorrect] ik kleef bumper, ik kleefde bumper, ik heb bumpergekleefd

Examples:
– "Irritant als mensen bumperkleven." 
("De vertaling van bovenstaande zin.")

– "In geval van bumperkleven kan de politie je een bekeuring opleggen.
("In case of tailgating, the police may give you a fine.")

– "Wat zullen we nou krijgen! Ik rij al 150 en die gast is nu al vijf minuten aan het bumperkleven." 
("What's going on here?! I'm driving 150 (km/h) already, and this dude is tailgating me for five minutes now.")

Expressions:
– "Haastige spoed is zelden goed": (lit.: hasty haste is seldom good) haste makes waste.

Related words:
Auto: car [noun] [de auto, de auto's].
– Bumper: bumper [noun] [de bumper, de bumpers].
File: traffic jam [noun] [de file, de files].
– Kleven: to stick [verb] [kleven, kleefde, h. gekleefd].

Example:
– "Er kleeft kauwgom aan de onderkant van de tafel."
("There's chewing gum sticking under the table.")

Stiekem

sneaky, underhand, surreptitious, secret Click to listen
[adjective/adverb]
[stie-kem]

Stiekem When you do something 'stiekem', you do it with the intention to not be caught, however it is not necessarily a secret as such. Both the person as the act can be called 'stiekem'. The related noun is 'stiekemerd': somebody who acts 'stiekem', but this mainly used jestingly for children.

Examples:
– "Hij heeft stiekem alle fooi voor zichzelf gehouden." 
("He secretly kept all the tips for himself.")

– "Nikki heeft stiekem een barbecue georganiseerd voor Debbie." 
("Nikki organized a BBQ for Debbie on the sly.")

– "Ik heb stiekem met je gedanst, ik hoop dat je het leuk vond…" 
("I danced with you without you noticing it, I hope that you liked it…" Famous line from one of the big Dutch pop classics: "Stiekem gedanst" by the Dutch eighties band 'Toontje lager'.)

– "Ik ben al dat stiekeme gedoe zat, je vertelt me nu de waarheid of ik ben weg!" 
("I'm sick of your sneaky behaviour, you will tell me the truth now or I'm leaving!")

– "Sander staat erom bekend dat hij recepties of feestjes altijd stiekem verlaat." 
("Sander is known for always sneaking out on receptions or parties.")

– "Wat is er toch aan de hand met die twee, ze doen altijd zo stiekem!" 
("What's up with those two, they are always so sneaky!")

– "Frank sms't stiekem naar een andere vrouw. Dat ga ik stiekem tegen zijn vrouw zeggen!" 
("Frank is secretly texting another woman. I will tell his wife without him knowing!")

Expressions:
– "In het geniep": on the sly/quiet.

Related words:
– Geniepig: sly, secretive, sneaky [adjective/adverb].
– Stiekemerd: sneak, sly dog [noun] [de stiekemerd, de stiekemerds].
– Heimelijk: stiekem [adjective/adverb]. 'Heimelijk' is more formal.

Stilte

silence, quiet, stillness Click to listen
Stilte
[noun]
[de stil-te, de stil-tes/stil-ten]

A "stilte" is a silence. Related adjective is "stil": silent, quiet, still. There's also the verb "stillen", which would literally translate to "to make quiet". "Stillen" is never used in this literal sense though. In Dutch, you can say for example "je dorst/honger stillen": to quench your thirst / satisfy your hunger.

Examples:
– "Stilte! Ik vermoord je!" 
("Silence! I kill you!")

– "Er viel een grote stilte in de rechtszaal toen de moordenaar werd binnengebracht." 
("A great silence fell in the courtroom when the murderer was brought in.")

– "Dit is wat je noemt een ongemakkelijke stilte." 
("This is what you call an awkward silence.")

Expressions:
– "Een oorverdovende stilte": (lit.: an ear-numbing silence) a roaring silence.

Related words:
Fluisteren: to whisper [verb] [fluisteren, fluisterde, h. gefluisterd].
Lawaai: noise, tumult, uproar, racket [noun] [het lawaai, <no plural>].

Example:
– "Te veel lawaai hier, ik ben weg,
toedeledoki!" 

("Too much noise in here, I'm
gone, cheerio!")

– Stil: silent, quiet, still [adjective].

Extra:
In Dutch trains, you may see so called "stiltecoupés". They are train compartments whereStiltecoupe it's not allowed to make noise… "Stiltecoupés" have windows with "SILENCE [S] STILTE" on them, and each  compartment has stickers like the picture on the right. The exact "stiltecoupé" rules and rules of conduct are one of the best kept secrets in the Netherlands 🙂 and topic of many a discussion. The general idea is not to disturb your fellow passengers, but of course everybody has a different definition of "disturb"…