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”…:-)

1. pier

[noun]
[de pier, de pie-ren]

Holland’s most famous pier is in Scheveningen.
Since non-Dutch speakers often break their tongue on its pronunciation, we’ve
added an extra audio file here
🙂

Examples:
– "Ben je wel eens op de pier in Scheveningen geweest?" 

("Have you ever been on the pier in
Scheveningen?")

– "Ik heb vanavond een afspraakje
met mijn aanbidder
op de pier." 
("I have a date with my
lover on the pier tonight.")

– "Het is koud hier op de pier, ik krijg kippenvel." 

("It’s cold here on the pier, I’m getting
goose bumps.")

Related words:
–
Zee:
sea [noun] [de zee, de zeeën].
– Strand:
beach [noun] [het strand, de stranden].

Example:
–
"Jongens, ik ga even
uitbuiken
op het strand."
("Guys, I’m gonna sit back and relax (after dinner) at the
beach.")

– Dijk: dike [noun] [de dijk,de
dijken].
– Golfbreker: breakwater (lit.: wavebreaker) [noun] [de golfbreker,
de golfbrekers].

2. worm

[noun]
[de pier, de pie-ren]

"Pier" is synonymous to "worm", which both translate to worm.
Sometimes you may also see "regenworm": earthworm or just
worm.

Examples:
– "Mama, ik heb een pier gevangen!" – "Gooi hem maar in
de emmer
schat." 
("Mom, I’ve caught a worm!" –
"Just put it in the bucket dear.")

– "Mijn vriendin
vindt pieren eng." 

("My girlfriend thinks worms are
scary.")

– "Als je niet inbindt, ben je zo meteen voer
voor de pieren!" 
("If you don’t back
down, we’ll feed you to the worms!" Lit.: "…you will be food for the worms
shortly!")

Expressions:
– "Zo
dood als een pier": as dead as a doornail.
– "De kwaaie pier": the person who
has done it/done wrong.

Example:
–
"Frank is altijd de kwaaie pier op het werk."
("Frank has always done it at work.")

Related words:
–
Worm: worm [noun] [de worm, de wormen].
– Aas: bait [noun] [het aas, <no
plural>].

Example:
–
"Als aas gebruik ik twee pieren."
("As
bait, I use two worms.")

– Regenworm: worm, earthworm (lit.:
rainworm) [noun] [de regenworm, de regenwormen].