to saw

[verb]
[za-gen, zaag-de, h. ge-zaagd]

"Zagen" translates to "to saw". Related noun is "zaag": a saw. There are different kinds of "zagen" (saws), see the Related words. A small variation on "zagen" is "afzagen": to saw off.

Sometimes you may hear the idiom "over iets zagen": to harp on a subject. There’s also "doorzagen", which has two meanings: 1. (literal) to saw through (e.g. a log), 2. (figurative) to keep on harping on a subject, or: – in case of "iemand doorzagen – to question a person thoroughly,

And last but not least: "zagen" is also used as a synonym for "snurken".

Examples:
– "Pas op voor je handen als je gaat zagen." 
("Be careful with your hands if you’re going to saw.")

– "Ken je de film ‘Saw’ ? Verschrikkelijk…iemand moet zijn eigen been afzagen om te ontsnappen aan de moordenaar." 
("Do you know the movie ‘Saw‘ ? Awful, somebody has to saw off his own leg to get away from the killer.")

Expressions:
– "De poten onder iemands stoel zagen": to undermine someone’s position. Lit.: to saw the legs from under one’s chair.

Related words:
– Hamer: hammer [noun] [de hamer, de hamers].
– Afgezaagd: dull, boring, dreadful, tedious, dreary, lit.: sawed off [adjective].

Example:
– "Die film heeft bij mij een gevoelige snaar geraakt…" – "Kom op, die film was ongelofelijk afgezaagd!"
("That movie has touched a nerve with me…" – "Come on, that movie was incredibly dull!")

– Kettingzaag: chainsaw [noun] [de kettingzaag, de kettingzagen].
– Cirkelzaag: circular saw [noun] [de cirkelzaag, de cirkelzagen].
– Figuurzaag: fretsaw [noun] [de figuurzaag, de figuurzagen].
– Houthakker: lumberjack, lit.: woodchopper [noun] [de houthakker, de houthakkers].
– Timmerman: carpenter [noun] [de timmerman,de timmermannen].

Extra:
From 1990 to 2005, the show "Jiskefet" was broadcast on the Dutch
television. It was a show with various humoristic and absurdistic
sketches. One of the recurring sketches was "Debiteuren Crediteuren", in which the boring life at the (Dutch) office was ridiculed. There’s one sketch that introduces "Zaagmans, die de week doormidden komt zagen": Mr. Saw, who comes to saw the week in half…Check out the clip (@ 1m35s, in Dutch) at YouTube.

string
[noun]
[de snaar, de sna-ren]

A "snaar" is a string. "Snaar" is commonly used in the context of a stringed instrument. The snares in a snare drum are also called "snaren" in Dutch.

Be careful, don’t mix up "snaar" with the Dutch "string", which is a thong…

Examples:
– "Een viool heeft vier snaren, een gitaar heeft er zes." 
("A violin has four strings, a guitar has six." See also Extra)

– "Ken jij de Snaartheorie?" – "Zeker, ik heb natuurkunde gestudeerd." 
("Do you know the String theory?" – "Sure, I studied physics.")

– "Je gitaar is vals, misschien moet je er nieuwe snaren opzetten." 
("Your guitar is out of tune, maybe you should put new strings on it.")

Expressions:
– "Een gevoelige snaar raken": to touch (upon) a tender string, to strike a sensitive chord.

Example:
– "Heb je hem al gevraagd of hij wil trouwen?" – "Nee, dat raakt een gevoelige snaar…"
("Have you already asked him if he wants to get married?" – "No, that touches upon a tender string…")

Related words:
– Touw: rope [noun] [het touw, de touwen].
– Stemmen: to tune [verb] [stemmen, stemde, h. gestemd].

Example:
– "Gebruik jij voor het stemmen van je gitaar een stemapparaat of een ouderwetse stemvork?"
("Do you use a tuning device or an old-fashioned tuning fork for tuning your guitar?")

– Snaarinstrument: stringed instrument (lit.: string instrument, e.g. a harp) [noun] [het snaarinstrument, de snaarinstrumenten].
– Strijkinstrument: stringed instrument (lit.: stroke instrument, e.g. a cello) [noun] [het strijkinstrument, de strijkinstrumenten].
– De sectie strijkinstrumenten (in een orkest) / de strijkers: the string section in an orchestra / the strings.
– Spanning: tension [noun] [de spanning, de spanningen].
– Fijnbesnaard: tender, susceptible, sensitive, delicate, subtle [adjective].

Extra:
To memorize the standard tuning of a guitar, there’s a simple mnemonic in Dutch: Een Aap Die Geen Bananen eet: E – A – D – G – B – e. Literally: a monkey that doesn’t eat bananas 🙂

1. to perform, to act (as/against), to appear
[verb]
[op-tre-den, trad op, op-ge-tre-den]

"Optreden" is both a verb and a noun (see 2. below). You will use it in two main contexts: an artistic performance or to take action (against).

Examples:
– "De ME trad hard op tegen de protestanten." 
("The riot police acted forcefully against the protesters." The "ME" in Dutch is the "mobiele eenheid": riot police or "anti-riot squad", literally "mobile/agile unit". Note that a "protestant" in Dutch can also mean a "Protestant".)

– "Tegen dit soort gedrag moet direct worden opgetreden!" 
("We have to take measures against this kind of behaviour immediately!" Lit.: "Against this kind of behaviour measures must be taken immediately.")

– "Wat was ook alweer de eerste film waarin Tom Cruise optrad?" 
("What was that movie again in which Tom Cruise made his first appearance?" Lit.: "…the first movie in which Tom Cruise appeared?")

– "Als je je als artiest wil ontwikkelen, moet je regelmatig optreden." 
("If you want to develop yourself as an artist, you have to perform regularly.")

Related words:
– Handelen: to take action [verb] [handelde, gehandeld].
– Actie ondernemen: to take action [verb] [ondernam actie, actie ondernomen].

Example:
– "Na de zoveelste klacht ondernam de gemeente eindelijk actie."
("After the umpteenth complaint, the city council finally took action.")

2. action, way of acting, performance, show

[noun]
[het op-tre-den, de op-tre-dens]

Examples:
– "Het gewapend optreden tegen de protestanten was disproportioneel." 
("The armed action against the protesters was disproportional.")

– "Het optreden van de danseres werd door de recensenten omschreven als dodelijk saai." 
("The critics described the dancer’s performance as dead boring." Note that "danseres" is a female dancer.)

– "Ik kan mij mijn eerste optreden nog erg goed herinneren." 
("I remember my first performance very clearly.")

cauliflower
[noun]
[de bloem-kool, de bloem-ko-len]

“Bloemkool” is composed of “bloem” and “kool”, which respectively translate to “flower” and “cabbage”. In the Netherlands, “bloemkool” is considered a “wintergroente”: a winter vegetable, i.e. a vegetable that is mostly eaten during the winterseason. Of course, it’s perfectly legal to eat “bloemkool” in the spring, summer and autumn too 🙂

“Bloemkool” is traditionally served with a “papje”: a sauce (lit.: little porridge, see also Extra). It is usually a white sauce, also called “melksaus” (milk sauce), which is made from milk, butter, flour, pepper, salt and nutmeg…

Examples:
– “Hou jij ook van bloemkool?” – “Ja, heerlijk!” 
(“Do you also like cauliflower” – “Yes, delicious!”)

– “Vanavond eten we bloemkool!” – “Mij best.” 
(“We’re having cauliflower tonight!” – “Fine with me.”)

– “Echte hollandse kost! Bloemkool met een papje…” – “Smakelijk eten!” 
(“A real Dutch meal! Cauliflower with sauce…” – “Bon appetit!”)

– “De bloemkolen waren uitverkocht in de supermarkt.” 
(“The cauliflowers were sold out in the supermarket.”)

Expressions:
– “Grote bloemkolen”: <sexist> big boobs.

Related words:
– Kool: cabbage [noun] [de kool, de kolen].
– Groente: vegetable [noun] [de groente, de groentes].

Example:
– “Iedere dag twee ons groente en twee stuks fruit.”
(“Every day, two ‘ons’ of vegetables en two pieces of fruit.” ; health campaign slogan by the Dutch government. Note that an ‘ons’ in Dutch is equal to 100 grams.)

– Broccoli: broccoli [noun] [de broccoli, <no plural>].
– Bloem: flower [noun] [de bloem, de bloemen].

Extra:
André van Duin is one of Holland’s most famous comedians. He’s been around for a long time, and in 1979 he had a small hit with the song “Bloemkolen“.

In the eighties, there was a very popular children’s show on Dutch television, called De Film van Ome Willem (the film of Uncle Willem), starring (former) Dutch TV celebrity and “BN’er“, Edwin Rutte, also known as Ome Willem. Watch him sing the intro song of the show, and check out the lyrics from 1m17s: “bloemkool met een papje”…:-)