Stapel

1. pile Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de sta-pel, de sta-pels]Stapel_2

A "stapel" is a pile of books, rocks, papers, problems, etcetera. The related verb is "stapelen" or "opstapelen" ("to pile up"). A little pile is a "stapeltje".

Examples:
– "Ondanks de ‘clean-desk policy’ ligt het bureau van mijn collega altijd vol met stapels papier." 
("Despite the clean-desk policy, my colleague’s desk is always filled with piles of papers.")

– "Toen hij terugkwam van vakantie lag er een stapel post op hem te wachten." 
("When he returned from vacation, a pile of mail was waiting for him.")

– "In haar kast liggen alle broeken, rokjes, truien en bloezen netjes opgevouwen op stapeltjes." 
("In her closet all pants, skirts, sweaters and blouses are nicely folded and piled up.")

– "Omdat zij al haar geld verloor aan gokken, stapelden haar schulden zich op." 
("Since she lost all her money to gambling, her debts piled up.")

Expressions:
– "Op stapel staan": to be planned.

Related words:
– (Op)stapelen: to pile up [regular weak verb] [stapelde op, opgestapeld].
– Hoop: 1. hope [noun] [de hoop, <no plural>]; 2. heap [noun] [de hoop, de hopen].
– Ophopen: to pile up [regular weak verb] [hoopte op, opgehoopt].
– Berg: 1. mountain [noun]; 2. heap [noun] [de berg, de bergen].

2. madly in love
[adverb/adjective]

The second meaning of "stapel" is "madly in love". It is derived from "stapelverliefd" which means "madly in love". Another adjective that is often precede by "stapel" is "stapelgek" which either means "totally crazy" or "crazy in love" or both 😉 Listen to the hitsingle "Stapel op jou" by one of the best-known Dutch singers Marco Borsato.

Eren

to honour Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[e-ren, eer-de, ge-ëerd]

Examples:
Onderscheiding– "De militair werd geëerd voor zijn heldhaftig optreden." 
("The soldier was honoured for his heroic actions.")

– "Laten we de doden eren door het leven te vieren ." 
("Let’s honour the dead by celebrating life.")

– "De koning van Hispanje heb ik altijd geëerd." 
("The king of Spain I have always honoured." This line is taken from the Dutch anthem and yes, it is weird that we have always honoured the king of Spain 😉 Note that the modern translation of Spain is "Spanje".)

Expressions:
– "Ere wie ere toekomt": give credit where credit is
due
.
– "Die/Wie het kleine niet eert, is het grote niet weert": this saying says something like "if you are not happy with something small, you do not deserve something big".

Related words:
– Eer: honour [noun] [de eer, <no plural>].
– Vereren: to worship [verb] [vereerde, vereerd].
– Eerbetoon: tribute, homage [noun] [het eerbetoon, <no plural>].
– Eerbied: esteem, respect [noun] [de eerbied, <no plural>].
– Eerwraak: honour killing, blood revenge [noun] [de wraak, <no plural>].
– Herdenken: to commemorate [verb] [herdacht, herdacht].
– Onderscheiding: distinction, award [noun] [de onderscheiding, de onderscheidingen].

Hoofdstuk

chapter Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[het hoofd-stuk, de hoofd-stuk-ken]Boek

If you’ve ever opened a Dutch book, you will have come across this word. "Hoofdstuk" consists of "hoofd" ("head") and "stuk" ("piece"). It can be used both in a literal and a figurative sense.

Examples:
– "Welke hoofdstukken moeten we voor de training morgen lezen?"
("Which chapters do we have to read for the training tomorrow?")

– " ‘De avonden’ van Gerard Reve is het saaiste boek dat ik ooit heb gelezen; ik heb echt mijn best gedaan, maar ben maar tot hoofdstuk twee gekomen."
(" ‘The evenings’ by Gerard Reve is the most boring book I’ve ever read; I really tried my best but I only made it to chapter two.")

– "Nu Michael Jackson is overleden, is er een hoofdstuk in de geschiedenis van de popmuziek gesloten."
("Now that Michael Jackson has passed away, a chapter in the history of pop music is closed.")

– "De hernieuwde onderhandelingen tussen de twee vijanden waren het begin van een nieuw hoofdstuk."
("The renewed negotiations between the two enemies were the beginning of a new chapter.")

Related words:
– Inhoudsopgave: table of contents [noun] [de inhoudsopgave, de inhoudsopgaven].
Hoofd: head [noun] [het hoofd, de hoofden].
– Stuk: 1. piece [noun] [het stuk, de stukken] 2. broken [adjective/adverb] 3. document [noun] [het stuk, de stukken].
– Paragraaf: paragraph [noun] [de paragraaf, de paragrafen].

In de steek laten

to fail someone, to let someone down, to leave (someone behind), to desert someone, to abandon Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]In_de_steek_gelaten

"Steek" literally translates to "sting" or "stab". "In de steek laten" however describes a situation when someone or something fails to help you in a critical situation, often fleeing the scene.

Examples:
– "Mijn auto laat me om de haverklap in de steek." 
("My car lets me down continually.")

– "Heeft Jan Yolanthe in de steek gelaten, of andersom?"  – "Lekker belangrijk…"
("Did Jan leave Yolanthe behind, or was it the other way around?" – "As if I care…")

– "Het voelt alsof ik door Frank in de steek ben gelaten." 
("It feels as if I’ve been let down by Frank.")

Expressions:
– "Met de noorderzon vertrekken": to leave without notice to an unknown destination.

Related words:
Vlucht: flight, escape [noun] [de vlucht, de vluchten].
– Vluchten: to flee/to escape/to fly/to run (away) [verb] [vluchten, vluchtte, gevlucht].
– Ontvluchten: to flee/to escape (from) [verb] [ontvluchten, ontvluchtte, ontvlucht].
– Dumpen: to dump [verb] [dumpen, dumpte, gedumpt].
– Pech: breakdown, trouble [noun] [de pech, <no plural>].

Example:
– "Marc heeft pech met zijn auto: de lamp rechtsvoor doet het niet meer."
("Marc has trouble with his car: the headlight on the right has broken down.")

Voorgevel

1. façade, face, front Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de voor-ge-vel, de voor-ge-vels]

De "voorgevel" is the front side of a house or building. One
typically uses the general "gevel" (façade) unless you want to
distinguish from the "achtergevel" (rear façade) or potential
"zijgevels" (side façades).

Examples:
– "Dat oude huis heeft een prachtige voorgevel."  Gevel2

("That old house has a beautiful façade.")

– "Langs de Amsterdamse grachten staan huizen met voorgevels die dateren uit de 17e, 18e en 19e eeuw." 
("Along the Amsterdam canals, there are houses with façades that date from the 17th, 18th and 19th century.")

– "Nieuwsflits: vrachtwagen ramt voorgevel huis in Rotterdam." 
("Newsflash: truck rams front of house in Rotterdam.")

Related words:
– Voor: before, in front of [preposition].
– Voorkant: front [noun] [de voorkant, de voorkanten].
– Gevel: façade [noun] [de gevel, de gevels].
Huis: house [noun] [het huis, de huizen].
Dak: roof [noun] [het dak, de daken].

Extra:
Some of the older houses in the Netherlands have a tilted façade. To
the untrained eye this may look like subsidence, but in most cases it
was a deliberate choice. A plausible explanation is that a tilted
façade made it easier to hoist up goods. (Other explanations are that
the (originally wooden) façade was less affected by rain, or that one
tried to increase the surface area of the higher floors whilst only
paying tax based on the surface area of the ground floor.)

2. bosom Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de voor-ge-vel, de voor-ge-vels]

Voorgevel_2

"Voorgevel" can be used colloquially to refer to a woman’s bosom,
much like "knockers", "boobs" etc. It is very informal and can come
across a bit sexist.

Examples:
– "Debbie heeft een flinke voorgevel, zeker in dat strakke shirt…" 
("Debbie is very bosomy, especially in that tight shirt…")

– "Pamela’s voorgevel is indrukwekkend, maar het is natuurlijk allemaal nep." 
("Pamela’s boobs are impressive, but it’s of course all fake.")

Related words:
Borst: chest, breast [noun] [de borst, de borsten].
– Boezem: bosom [noun] [de boezem, de boezems].