Weer

1. weather [noun] [het weer, <no plural>]

Examples:
– "Het weer is vandaag typisch Nederlands: grijs en nat."
("The weather today is typically Dutch: grey and wet.")

– "De weerman had een sombere (weers)voorspelling."
("The weatherman had a gloomy (weather) forecast.")

– "Ik ga met de auto naar het werk in plaats van met de fiets; het is echt hondenweer!"
("I’ll take the car to work instead of the bicycle; it is really bad weather!" Literally: "I go with the car …, it is really dog weather!")

Expression:
"Mooi weer spelen.": to pretend nothing has happened/everything is fine, to put on a show of friendliness.

Example:
"Frank speelde mooi weer tegenover het management toen hij de jaarcijfers presenteerde."
("Frank pretended everything was just fine when presenting the annual results to the management.")

2. again [adverb]

Examples:
– "Frank zat weer te zeuren tijdens de vergadering."
("Frank was nagging again during the meeting.")

– "Neeeee, niet weer…."
("Nooooo, not again….")

– "Het is weer slecht weer!"
("Again it is bad weather!")

3. back [adverb]

Examples:
– "Ik ben er weer!"
("I’m back!")

– "Heen en weer."
("Back and forth", literally: "forth and back" ;-))

Expression:
"Het heen-en-weer krijgen van iets of iemand.": to become nervous/tensed or to go crazy, because of something or someone.

Example:
"Ik krijg echt het heen-en-weer van mijn schoonmoeder!"
("My mother-in-law is really driving me crazy!")

Related words:
1. "Regen": rain.
2. "Zonneschijn": sunshine.

The word "weer" in the meaning of "weather" appeared earlier in "DWOTD 56. Herfst", "DWOTD 72. Waaien" and "DWOTD 74. Klimaat".

Klimaat

Grammar: <klimaat> [noun] [het klimaat, de klimaten].

Translates to: climate.

Examples:
1. "Nederland heeft een zeeklimaat."
("The Netherlands have a sea climate.")

2. "Vandaag is in Nairobi de klimaatconferentie van de Verenigde Naties begonnen."
("Today, the climate conference of the United Nations has started in Nairobi.")

3. "Het sociale klimaat in Nederland is de laatste jaren verhard."
("The social climate in The Netherlands has hardened in the last few years.")

Related Words:
1. "Broeikaseffect": the greenhouse effect, global warming.
2. "Weer": weather, see also "DWOTD 56. Herfst".
3. "Het gat in de ozonlaag": the hole in the ozon layer.
4. "Acclimatiseren": [verb] to get used to a different climate or surroundings.

Example:
<sitting down after having entered a friend’s house:> "Zo, even acclimatiseren!"
(Something like: "Well, let’s settle in for a bit now.")

Extra:
The Netherlands are called The Netherlands because the word "nether" translates to "neder" which means "low". The Netherlands used to be called "De Lage Landen": The Low Lands, because half of the country lies below sealevel. The Dutch have a long history of fighting the water overflowing their land. Here’s how The Netherlans would look like if there were no dikes and dams: http://brucop.com/millennium/nederlands/transgressions/hkaart.jpg

In 1953, the so called "Watersnoodramp" took place. In the last night of January, The Netherlands were hit by a flood disaster. The province of Zeeland, the islands of South-Holland and the south-west corner of the province of North-Brabant were hit very heavily by a severe storm roaring across the North sea and the Netherlands.
1835 people drowned and thousands of cattle met the same fate. To prevent this from happening ever again, the Deltaworks were built, a defence system of dams and dykes against high tides and floods.

http://www.deltawerken.com/English/10.html?setlanguage=en
http://www.deltawerken.com/Deltaworks/23.html

Dutch engineers have also been invited to advise on new water defence systems in New Orleans.

Waaien

Grammar: <waaien> [verb] [waaide, h. gewaaid].

Translates to: to blow (by the wind).

The verb "waaien" usually has the wind as its implicit subject. Variations on "waaien" exist that involve other subjects than the wind, see ‘Related words’.

Examples:
1. "Het heeft hard gewaaid afgelopen nacht."
("It was very windy/There was a strong wind last night." Literally: "It has blown hard …")

2. "Hoor de wind waait door de bomen…"
("Hear, the wind blows through the trees…" First sentence of a well-known "Sinterklaasliedje". See "DWOTD 36. Kloppen" for other Sinterklaasliedjes and information on "Sinterklaas".)

Expressions:
1. "Laat maar waaien!": let it go, don’t bother about it!
2. "Zoals de wind waait, waait zijn jasje.": he has no opinion of his own. Literally: like the wind blows, so does his jacket/coat.

Related words:
1. "Omwaaien": to be blown over (by the wind).

Example: "Mijn fiets is omgewaaid." ("My bicycle …")

2. "Wegwaaien": to be blown away (by the wind).

Example: "Mijn pet is weggewaaid." ("My cap …")

3. "Uitwaaien": to be blown out (by the wind).

Example: "De kaars is uitgewaaid." ("The candle …") See also "DWOTD 32. Kaars".

Another use of the verb "uitwaaien" is to walk in the wind and clear your mind, typically at the coast.

4. "Overwaaien": to blow over (by the wind) and figuratively: arrive somewhere quickly from somewhere else, usually a phenomenon.

Example: "Grunge is overgewaaid van Amerika naar Europa."
("Grunge came to Europe from America.")

Another use of this verb is to say that a bad mood or a hard time will go past (eventually). Typical usage: "Het waait wel weer over!" ("It will pass!")

5. "Aanwaaien": to be blown at you/in your direction by the wind.

Example: "Kijk, er komt een ballon aanwaaien!"
("Look, a balloon is blown in our direction (by the wind)!")

Expression:
"Het komt hem allemaal maar aanwaaien.": He succeeds without effort, he does not have to put energy into something and still has success.
Usually when this expression is used it expresses some degree of envy.

And then there are more verbs with "waaien", but we thought this would be enough 🙂

Herfst

autumn, fall [noun] [de herfst, de herfsten]

The Dutch "herfstweer" (autumn weather) is notorious for being very bleak and wet, although this season, too, "suffers" from the changing climate.

Examples:
1. "Het is herfst."
("It is autumn.")

2. "De kleuren van de herfst hebben menig schilder geinspireerd."
("The autumn colours have inspired many a painter.")

3. "In de herfst hebben de treinen vaak vertraging omdat de geplette herfstbladeren gladde rails veroorzaken."
("In the autumn, the trains are often delayed because the squashed autumn leaves cause slippery railroad tracks.")

4. "Hij was in de herfst van zijn leven."
("He was in the autumn of his life.")

Related words:
1. "Winter": winter.
2. "Zomer": summer.
3. "Lente": spring.
4. "Jaargetijde" or "seizoen": season.

Example:
"’De Vier Jaargetijden’ is misschien wel het beroemdste werk van Antonio Vivaldi."
("’The Four Seasons’ might just be Antonio Vivaldi’s most famous work.")