1. up, upstairs, on top [adverb]

Examples:
– "Gaat deze lift naar boven of naar beneden?"
("Is this elevator going up or down?")

– "<Moeder tegen kind:> Naar boven jij!"
("<Mother to child:> Go upstairs, you!")

– "Oranje boven!"
("Go Holland!" Literally: "Orange on top!" A popular yell to cheer for the Dutch royal family.)

– "Zie je die vogel?" – "Waar?" – "Daar boven!"
("Do you see that bird?" – "Where?" – "Up there!")

2. on top of, above [preposition]

Examples:
– "Sommige criminelen lijken boven de wet te staan."
("Some criminals seem to stand above the law.")

– "Er gaat niets boven een lekker witbiertje met dit mooie weer!"
("Nothing tastes better than a nice white beer in this beautiful weather." Literally: "There goes nothing above…" In spring and summer, white beer ("witbier") is very popular. Well-known brands are Hoegaarden and Wieckse Witte.)

Expressions:
– "Baas boven baas.": there is always somebody who is better or more succesful. Literally: "boss above boss."

– "Boven water zijn": literally "to be above water" this is commonly used when something or somebody was first lost and has now been found or has reappeared.

Example:
"De vermiste journalist is weer boven water."
("The missing journalist has reappeared.")

– "Boven Jan zijn.": to have recovered, to have dealt with all difficulties. We don’t know who "Jan" is in this expression 🙂

– "Er bovenop komen.": to recover, to overcome difficulties. Literally "to come on top".

Example:
"Ik ben de laatste tijd zo moe en gestresst!" – "Ach, je komt er wel weer bovenop!"
("Lately I have been so tired and stressed!" – "Ah, surely you will recover again!")