G

* Gedeelde smart is halve smart
o Literal Translation: "Shared grief is half grief"
o Meaning: "Having someone who shares your feelings can make them bearable"

* Geen geld, geen Zwitsers.
o Literal Translation: "No money, no Swiss."
o Meaning: "Don't expect something for nothing." (Refers to the frequent use by Dutch nobels of Swiss mercenaries.).

* Geen hoge pet ophebben van iemand.
o Literal Translation: "Not wearing a high cap of someone."
o Meaning: "Not respecting someone."

* Geen slapende honden wakker maken".
o Literal translation: "Do not wake sleeping dogs".
o Meaning: "Do not inform anyone that does not know yet of a somewhat negative item".
o English equivalent: "Let sleeping dogs lie."

* Geen nieuws is goed nieuws.
o Literal translation: "No news is good news."
o Meaning: obvious.

* Goed begonnen is half gewonnen.
o Literal Translation: "Well started is half won."
o Meaning: "If you start something off well, you're already half way."

* Gooi het maar in mijn pet, dan zoek ik het morgen wel uit.
o Literal Translation: "Just toss it in my hat and I'll sort it out tomorrow."
o Meaning: "That is too much for me to understand so quickly."

H

* Haast en spoed zijn zelden goed
o Literal translation: "Haste and speed are rarely good"
o Meaning: "Don't rush, take your time in doing things.".

* Haastige spoed is zelden goed
o Literal translation: "Hasty speed is rarely good"
o Meaning: "Doing something fast does not mean it is done well"

* Het aan zijn water voelen
o Literal Translation: "Feeling it from his water."
o Meaning: "Getting knowledge from intuition."

* Het bloed kruipt waar het niet gaan kan.
o Literal Translation: "The blood creeps where it can't go."
o Meaning: "Wanting to do something which is very unsuspected."

* Het deksel op de neus krijgen
o Literal Translation: "To get the lid on the nose"
o Meaning: "When being too greedy one should expect to be punished"

* Het doel heiligt de middelen.
o Literal translation: "The purpose sanctifies the means."
o Meaning: "Anything goes if you really want to get something done."
o Meaning: "If you want something, everything is allowed."
o English equivalent: "The end justifies the means."

* Het leven gaat niet altijd over rozen.
o Literal Translation: "Life does not always go over roses."
o Meaning: "Life is not always easy."
o English equivalent: "Life isn't always a bed of roses."

* Het onderste uit de pot willen
o Literal Translation: "To want the last from the pot"
o Meaning: "To want every single bit"

* Het op de klompen aanvoelen
o Literal Translation: "Being able to feel it on wooden shoes."
o Meaning: "Getting knowledge from intuition."

* Het paard achter de wagen spannen"
o Literal translation: "To put the horse behind the cart."
o Meaning: "To put the cart before the horse."

* Het regent pijpestelen
o Literal translation: "It's raining pipestems"
o Meaning: "Heavy rain"
o English: "It's raining cats and dogs"

* Het ijzer smeden als het heet is."
o Literal translation: "Casting the iron whilst it is hot."
o Meaning: "Seize your opportunity."
o English equivalent: "Make hay while the sun shines."

* Het zwarte schaap van de familie.
o Literal Translation/English equivalent: "The black sheep in the family."
o Meaning: "The odd one out in the family, the only one that is bad in some way"

* Het zijn niet alleen koks die lange messen dragen."
o Literal translations: "It's not only cooks that wear long knives."
o Meaning: "Don't jump to conclusions on the basis of appearances."
o English equivalent: "Don't judge a book by its cover."

* Hij heeft de klok wel horen luiden maar weet niet waar de klepel hangt.
o Literal Translation: "He did hear the sound of the bell, but doesn't know where the clapper hangs."
o Meaning: "He thinks he knows the subject, but the essence eludes him."

* Hij voelt zich als een kat in een vreemd pakhuis.
o Literal Translation: "He feels like a cat in an strange warehouse."
o Meaning: "He feels out of place, not at home."

* Hoge bomen vangen veel wind"
o Literal Translation: "High trees catch lots of wind."
o Meaning: "The more important the person the more criticism they get."
o English equivalent: "Heavy is the head that wears the crown."

I

* Iemands rechterhand zijn
o Literal Translation: "Being someones right hand."
o Meaning: "Being indiposable to someone."
o English equivalent: "Be someone's right hand man"

* Iets op je lever hebben.
o Literal Translation: "Having something on your liver."
o Meaning: "Worrying about something, and not expressing it."

* In het land der blinden is éénoog koning."
o Literal translation: "In the land of the blind, one-eye is king."
o Meaning: "Where none can do something, the one who has even a little knowledge has the power"
o English equivalent: "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king"

J

* Jong geleerd is oud gedaan.
o Literal Translation: "Learned young is done old."
o Meaning: "If you learn something at an early age, you become quite good at it when you're older."

K

* Krakende wagens duren het langst.
o Literal Translation: "Creaking carts last longest".
o Meaning: Old people suffering from little diseases often life the longest.

* Kleine potjes hebben grote oren.
o Literal Translation: "Small pots have big ears/handles."
o Meaning: "Kids always hear what they're not supposed to hear."
o English equivalent: "Little ears have big mouths"

* Kleren maken de man."
o Literal Translation: "Clothes make the man."
o Meaning: "Good clothing adds to a man's stature."

* Knollen/Appelen voor citroenen verkopen.
o Literal Translation: "sell beets/apples as lemons."
o Meaning: "Presenting something as something else which is more valuable."

L

* Lood om oud ijzer.
o Literal Translation: "Lead for old iron"
o Meaning: It's all the same to me.
o English equivalent: "Six of one or half a dozen of the other."

M

* Met andermans veren pronken.
o Literal Translation: "Showing off with another's feathers."
o Meaning: "Presenting someone else's accomplishments as one's own."

* Met de deur in huis vallen.
o Literal Translation: "Falling with the door into the house."
o Meaning: "Getting directly to the point."

* Met de Franse slag.
o Literal Translation: "With a French sweep."
o Meaning: "A quickly finished job, not paying attention to details."

* Met de handen in het haar zitten.
o Literal Translation: "Sitting with the hands in the hair."
o Meaning: "Not knowing a way out of a problem."

* Met de hoed in de hand komt men door het ganse land.
o Literal Translation: "With the hat in the hand one gets through all the land."
o Meaning: "A little politeness gets you very far."
o English equivalent: "Honey attracts more flies than vinegar."

* Met de mond vol tanden staan.
o Literal Translation: "Standing with the mouth full of teeth."
o Meaning: "Dumbfounded."

* Met de pet rondgaan.
o Literal Translation: "Going around with the hat."
o Meaning: "Collecting money."

* Met een kanon op een mug schieten.
o Literal Translation: "To shoot a mosquito with a cannon."
o Meaning: "Using a tool that is too large for the purpose, overkill."
o English equivalent: "Taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut"

* Mosterd na de maaltijd.
o Literal Translation: "Mustard after the meal."
o Meaning: "Too late."

* Mieren neuken.
o Literal Translation: "Engaging in sex with ants."
o Meaning: "Being obsessed with details."
o English equivalent: "Splitting hairs."