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

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].

sea
[noun]
[de zee, de zee-ën]

Half of the surface of the Netherlands – literally: the "low lands" – is below sea level: "zeeniveau". The sea is everywhere in Dutch history. In 1953, a large part of the province of Zeeland was flooded, killing over 1800 people. After this tragedy, the Deltawerken were constructed.

Note the plural of "zee": "zeeën". If a syllable ending on an -e or -ie is stressed, the plural gets an extra "e". Since "zee" has only one syllable, the plural gets an extra " e".

Examples:
– "De woeste zee sloeg tegen de rotsen." 
("The savage sea beat against the rocks.")

– "Heb je zin om naar zee te gaan? Het is zo’n lekker weer!" 
("Do you feel like going to the sea? The weather is so nice!")

– "De zee bij Capri is prachtig groenblauw." 
("The sea near Capri is beautifully green-blue.")

– "Dit huis heeft echt een zee van ruimte binnen." 
("This house is really spacious inside.")

Expressions:
– "Water naar de zee dragen": to carry coals to Newcastle, to perform a useless activity.
– "Zo rijk als de zee diep is": filthy rich. Lit.: as rich as the sea is deep.
– "Een echte schipper bevaart ook de Rode Zee": <informal> a real man always makes love to his woman, even when she’s having her period. Lit.: a real skipper also sails the Red Sea.
– "Met iemand in zee gaan": to do business with someone, to cooperate with someone. Lit.: to go into sea with someone.
– "Recht door zee": honest, straight forward. Lit.: straight through sea.

Related words:
– Water: water [noun] [water, de wateren].
– Watersnood: flood, inundation [noun] [de watersnood, de watersnoden].
– Overstroming: flooding [noun] [de overstroming, de overstromingen].
– Zeewater: sea water [noun] [het zeewater, <no plural>].
– Oceaan: ocean [noun] [de oceaan, de oceanen].
– Golf: wave [noun] [de golf, de golven].

Extra:
The Normaal Amsterdam Peil (lit.: Normal Amsterdam Level, usually abbreviated to NAP) is the reference to which altitude measurements in the Netherlands are related. For ease of use, the NAP is alligned with the average sea level, but in fact it’s higher.

drop(let), drip
[noun]
[de drup-pel, de drup-pels]

A “druppel” is a drop of any liquid. A quite famous expression with “druppel” is “de druppel die de emmer doet overlopen” (“the last drop makes the cup run over”), see Dat doet de deur dicht for more synonymous expressions.

Examples:
– “De bladeren lagen ‘s ochtends vol met druppels dauw.” 
(“The leaves were full of dewdrops in the morning.”)

– “De zweetdruppels liepen in straaltjes over haar hoofd.”
(“The drops of sweat trickled down her face.”)

– “Hij is verkouden; hij heeft een druppel aan zijn neus.”
(“He has a cold; he has a drip on his nose.”)

– “De stemmers druppelden het stemlokaal binnen.”
(“The voters came into the polling station one by one.” Please note that this imples that the station was not crowded.)

– “Ik heb oogdruppels die ik twee keer per dag in mijn ogen druppel.”
(“I have eyedrops that I put in my eyes twice a day.”)

Expressions:
– “De druppel die de emmer doet overlopen”: the last straw.
– “Op elkaar lijken als twee druppels water”: to be like as two peas in a pod. Lit.: “To resemble each other as two drops of water”.

Example:
– “Niet alle tweelingen lijken als twee druppels water op elkaar.”
(“Not all twins are like as two peas in a pod.”)

– “Een druppel op een gloeiende plaat”: (just) a drop in the ocean.

Related words:
– Druppelen: to drip, to drizzle [verb] [druppelde, gedruppeld] [regular weak verb].
– Druppen: to trickle, dribble, spit [verb] [drupte, gedrupt] [regular weak verb].