1. mistake, error, defect, fault 
[noun]
[de fout, de fou-ten]
A "fout" is a mistake or an error. The related adjective spells the same: "fout" – wrong/false, see 2. "Fout" is synonymous to "vergissing": mistake.
Examples:
– "Iedereen maakt fouten."
("Everybody makes mistakes.")
– "Deze lijst bevat veel fouten."
("This list contains many errors.")
– "Okee, we hebben een paar fouten gemaakt, maar we gaan door met dit project."
("Okay, we’ve made a couple of mistakes, but we’ll continue with this project.")
Expressions:
– "Een fout maken/begaan": to make a mistake.
– "Een vergissing begaan": to make a mistake.
Example:
– "Frank heeft een grote vergissing begaan, en nu ligt hij in scheiding…"
("Frank has made a big mistake, and now he’s divorcing his wife…" Lit.: "…he lays in divorce.")
Related words:
– Vergissing: mistake [noun] [de vergissing, de vergissingen].
– Prutser: incompetent blunderer, screw up [noun] [de prutser, de prutsers].
Example:
– "Deze prutser maakt fout na fout!"
("This screw up makes mistake after mistake!")
– Blunder: blunder [noun] [de blunder, de blunders].
– Misser: miss, blunder [noun] [de misser, de missers].
– Misverstand: misunderstanding [noun] [het misverstand, de misverstanden].
2. wrong, false, faulty
[adjective/adverb]
"Fout" generally translates to "wrong" as in "not right". Translations may vary depending on context, see the Examples and Expressions.
Examples:
– "Het woord ‘onmiddellijk‘ wordt vaak fout gespeld. Het is met dubbele ‘d’ en dubbele ‘l ‘."
("The word ‘onmiddellijk’ is often spelled wrong. It’s with double ‘d’ and double ‘l’ .")
– "Het is geen kwestie van goed of fout."
("It’s not a question of right or wrong.")
– "Auto verkeerd geparkeerd? Dat is een bekeuring van 120 euro!"
("Car parked wrong? That’s a 120 euro fine!")
Expressions:
– "Fout in de oorlog": lit.: wrong in the war. Used for people who collaborate with the enemy during war. (The NSB party (click on picture for more info) is generally considered to have been "fout" during World War II…)
– "Foute boel": bad (situation).
Example:
– "Dit is foute boel…we peren hem!"
("This is bad…we’re getting out of here!")
– "Fout zitten": to be wrong. Lit.: to sit wrong..
– "Een foute tent": a dodgy, questionable bar/café.
Related words:
– Goed: right, good [adjective/adverb].
– Slecht: bad [adjective/adverb].
Example:
– "Om je nog maar een keer te vertellen wie er slecht is…"
("Just to tell you once again, who’s bad…")
– (On)juist: (in)correct [adjective].
– Verkeerd: wrong, off, false [adjective].
– (On)waar: (un)true [adjective].
