bench, couch, sofa, bank [noun] [de bank, de banken]

Examples:
1. "Tijdens een voetbalwedstrijd zijn er altijd spelers die op de bank zitten.".
("During a football (soccer) game there are always players that sit on the bench.")

2. "Ik moet een nieuwe bank kopen want ik heb de oude weggegooid."
("I have to buy a new couch because I have thrown the old one out.")

3. "Hij heeft een rekening bij de ABN Amro bank."
("He has an account with the ABN Amro bank.")

4. "Bloedbank" : blood bank.

5. "Zandbank" : sandbank.

Dutch slang: "bankzitter".
A "bankzitter" is a professional team sports player who almost always sits on the bench and never plays.

toothpaste [noun] [de tandpasta, de tandpasta’s]

The word “pasta” is more commonly used for Italian pasta. Also, “chocoladepasta” (chocolate spread) is very popular with children.

Examples:
1. “In de supermarkt kun je diverse soorten tandpasta kopen.”
(“In the supermarket one can buy several kinds of toothpaste.”)

2. “Ik ben afgelopen weekend in Maastricht geweest om het Preuvenemint te bezoeken, maar ik vergat helemaal om mijn tandpasta mee te nemen!”
(“Last weekend I was in Maastricht to visit the Preuvenemint but I completely forgot to bring my toothpaste!”)

Related words:
1. “Gebit” : (set of) teeth.
2. “Kunstgebit” : (set of) false teeth.
3. “Tandenborstel” : toothbrush. (Which I by the way also forgot to bring to Maastricht.)
4. “Tandarts” : dentist (also see 4. Afspraakje).

egg [noun] [het ei, de eieren]

When it comes to pronunciation, this word is like the little brother of ‘ui’. Not nearly the same sound, but again very hard to pronounce for the non-native Dutch speaker.

Note that:
– the plural form of ‘ei’ ends in ‘eren’. However, the general rule is that a plural form ends in ‘en’ or ‘s’.
– the Dutch vowel ‘ij’ sounds the same as ‘ei’ and often leads to spelling errors.

Examples:
1. Well known Dutch beer brand with ‘ei’ in it: "Heineken".

2. "Eiersalade" : egg salad/spread (also see DWOTD "Sla").

3. "Een (zacht/hard) gekookt eitje." : "A (soft/hard) boiled egg."

4. "Twee gebakken eieren." : "Two fried eggs."

5. <expression> "Het was een eitje!".
Translates to: "It was a piece of cake!"

Example:
"Hoe ging je examen wiskunde? Man het was een eitje!"
("How did your maths exam go? Man, it was a piece of cake!")

Related words:
1. "Kip" : chicken.

Example:
"De kip legt een ei."
("The chicken lays an egg.")

2. "Haan" : cock/rooster.

3. "Uitsmijter" : typically Dutch breakfast order in cafes or restaurants. Consists of two fried eggs served on slices of bread (or toast) with slices of ham and/or cheese.

Caution: ‘Uitsmijter’ is the noun derived from the verb ‘uitsmijten’, which means ‘to throw out’, specifically when it comes down to throwing people out of clubs or bars, hence: ‘uitsmijter’ also means ‘bouncer’.

onion [noun] [de ui, de uien]

This word, that is no more than a vowel sound, is notoriously difficult
to pronounce for the non-native speakers. Here you really have to ask
the local Dutch guru 🙂

Examples:
1. "Uiensoep" : onion soup.
2. "Peen en uien" : carrot and onions (together with potatoes these are
the basic ingredients of a traditional Dutch winter dish called ‘hutspot‘).

Many Dutch words exist that have ‘ui’ as their core and I am sure we
will come across them in future DWOTDs. Here are a few examples so you can practise the ‘ui’ sound:
1. "Lui" : lazy.
2. "Uil" : owl.
3. "Trui" : sweater/jumper.
4. "Bui" : mood, rain shower.

Example:
"Hij was in een slechte bui vanwege de hevige buien."
("He was in a bad mood because of the severe(/heavy) rain showers.")