328. Cadeau

gift, present [noun] [het cadeau, de cadeaus] [‘ka-do‘]

"Cadeau" is an example of a word that we stole from the French 🙂 You will also encounter the Dutch spelling "kado" but that is officially incorrect. Note that the plural form takes the -s, not the French -x. 

Examples:
– "Vandaag hebben Marc en Sander een cadeau gekregen van Iris en David!"
("Today Marc and Sander received a gift from Iris and David!")

– "Wij zijn erg blij met dit cadeau!"
("We are very happy/pleased with this present!")

– "Denk jij dat je veel kerstcadeaus krijgt?"
("Do you think that you will receive many Christmas gifts?")

Expressions:
– "Iets cadeau krijgen": to get something for nothing/free. You will also hear the negation of this expression: "iets niet cadeau krijgen", which is used to say that you have to make an effort to realize something.
– "Wat een cadeautje!": related to "iets cadeau krijgen" this – or a variant – is said when you have quick success with zero effort, usually because somebody else did all the work or made a mistake of which you benefit.

Example:
– "Ja ja, Van Nistelrooij scoort 1-0! Wat een cadeautje van de Noorse verdediging!"
("Yep, Van Nistelrooij scores 1-0! What a present from the Norwegian defence!")

Related words:
– "Cadeaupapier": gift-wrap paper.
– "Cadeauverpakking": gift wrapping/packing.
– "Cadeautje": small present.
– "Cadeaubon": gift voucher.