1. usual, common, ordinary, regular, plain
[adjective/adverb]
[ge-woon]

The Dutch think they’re pretty common people. We even feel that it’s a virtue to be “common”…see the – very common – first expression under Expressions.

Examples:
– “Ik ben slechts een gewone jongen.” 
(“I’m just a common guy.”)

– “In Nederland is het heel gewoon dat mensen elkaar tutoyeren.”
(“In the Netherlands, it’s very normal that people are on a first-name basis with each other.”)

– “Dit is geen gewone man, nee dit is Superman!”
(“This is not an ordinary man, no this is Superman!”)

– “Ik wil graag een gewone koffie.”
(“I would like a regular coffee.”)

– “Hebben ze in Jordanië gewone stopcontacten?”
(“Do they have normal power plugs in Jordan?”)

Expressions:
– “Doe nou maar gewoon, dan doe je gek genoeg”: There’s no need to act all crazy like that. Lit.: Just act normal, that’s crazy enough”.
– “Zoals gewoonlijk”: As usual.

Related words:
– Gewoonlijk: usually [adjective].

2. just, simply
[adjective/adverb]
[ge-woon]

Examples:
– “Dit is gewoon liefde op het eerste gezicht.” 
(“This is just love at first sight.”)

– “Het is gewoon de bedoeling dat deze ellende ophoudt!”
(“This misery is simply supposed to stop!”)

– “Het was niet gewoon een vluggertje…Frank is echt verliefd...”
(“It wasn’t simply a quickie…Frank is really in love…”)

– “Gewoon doen.”
(“Just do it.”)

3. used to, accustomed to
[adjective/adverb]
[ge-woon]

Using “gewoon” in this context is somewhat formal. A less formal synonym you may see more often is “gewend”.

Examples:
– “Ik ben dit niet gewoon.” 
(“I’m not accustomed to this.”)

– “De burgemeester is niet gewoon zich te begeven onder het gewone volk.”
(“The mayor is not used to make his way among the common people.”)

Related words:
– Gewend aan: used to [adjective].

Example:
– “Frank is niet gewend aan deze hoge temperaturen.”
(“Frank is not used to these high temperatures.”)

1. rose
[noun]
[de roos, de ro-zen]

The most common use of “roos” is “rose”. As you probably know, roses are not Holland’s most famous flowers; tulips are. If you’ve ever visited the Keukenhof (I have to admit I haven’t), you know how serious the Dutch take their tulips. “Roos” can have several other meanings that are explained below.

Examples:
– “Op haar 28e verjaardag kreeg ze 28 rode rozen van haar vriend.” 
(“On her 28th birthday she got 28 red roses from her boyfriend.”)

– “Wat zijn je lievelingsbloemen? Rozen, tulpen, anemonen, lelies of chrysanten?”
(“What are your favorite flowers? Roses, tulips, anemones, lilies or chrysanthemums?”)

– “Hij plukte rozen uit de tuin van de buren.”
(“He picked roses from the neighbours’ garden.”)

– “Kun je de rozen even schuin afsnijden voor je ze in een vaas zet?”
(“Can you cut the roses slantwise before you put them in a vase?”)

Expressions:
– “Slapen als een roos”: to sleep like a baby.

Related words:
– Bloem: flower [noun] [de bloem, de bloemen].
– Tulp: tulip [noun] [de tulp, de tulpen].

Extra:
“Sleeping beauty” is called “Doornroosje” in Dutch. “Doorn” means “thorn” and “roosje” is the diminutive of “roos” thus meaning “little rose”. She’s probably called this way because a thick thorny hedge is surrounding the castle where she’s “sleeping like a rose” 😉

As for girls’ names, “Roos” is also a common Dutch name. In the 1990’s, Dutch band Linda, Roos and Jessica scored a hit with “Ademnood” (“Shortness in breath”).

2. dandruff
[noun]
[de roos, <no plural>]

Examples:
– “Gebruik je een anti-roos shampoo om roos tegen te gaan?” 
(“Do you use an anti-dandruff shampoo to prevent dandruff?”)

3. bull’s-eye
[noun]
[de roos, <no plural>]

Examples:
– “Hij zei dat hij niet kon omgaan met een wapen maar hij schoot de eerste keer dat hij het probeerde in de roos!” 
(“He said he couldn’t handle a gun, but he hit the bull’s-eye the first time he tried .”)

Expressions:
– “In de roos!”: bulls’-eye!
– “Een schot in de roos”: a bull’s-eye, the perfect choice/decision/gift.

socket, wall socket/plug, power socket, power-point
[noun]
[het stop-con-tact, de stop-con-tac-ten]

“Stopcontacten” are everywhere in the Netherlands 🙂 Sometimes you may hear the somewhat more formal term “wandcontactdoos” or “contactdoos”.

Dutch power sockets have two holes, and sometime a ground pin. For the nerds among us: the official socket standard(s) used in the Netherlands is Type C and Type F and Type E/F…

Examples:
– “Kinderen, probeer nooit een pen in een stopcontact te steken…”  – “Doe niet zo betuttelend…”
(“Children, never try to stick a pen into a power socket…” – “Don’t be patronizing like that…”)

– “Steek eerst de stekker in het stopcontact, zet dan de computer aan.”
(“First put the plug in the power socket, then turn on the computer.”)

– “Als je de gloeilamp gaat vervangen, trek dan eerst de stekker uit het stopcontact.”
(“If you’re going to change the light bulb, first pull the plug from the socket.”)

Expressions:
– “Balen als een stekker”: to be really fed up with something.
– “Zijn/haar stoppen sloegen door”: He/she went berserk, lit.: He/She blew his/her fuses.

Example:
– “Toen Frank hoorde dat hij ontslagen zou worden, sloegen bij hem de stoppen door.”
(“When Frank heard that he would be fired, he went berserk.”)

Related words:
– Stop: plug, fuse [noun] [de stop, de stoppen].
– Stekker: plug [noun] [de stekker, de stekkers].

Example:
– “Of je stopt de stekker erin…”
(“Or you could put the plug in…” See Extra)

– Doos: box [noun] [de doos, de dozen].
– Stekkerdoos: multiple socket
– Kortsluiting: short-circuit [noun] [de kortsluiting, de kortsluitingen].
– Elektriciteit: electricity [noun] [de elektriciteit, <no plural>].
– Stroom: current [noun] [de stroom, de stromen].
– Spanning: voltage [noun] [de spanning, de spanningen].

Extra:
Somewhere in the eighties, there was a commercial by IBM running on Dutch television, which became very popular. It became particularly popular because of the phrase “Of je stopt de stekker erin” … Check out the very, very out-dated clip on YouTube 🙂

to replace, to stand in for
[verb]
[ver-van-gen, ver-ving, ver-van-gen]

"Vervangen" means "to replace" or "to stand in for". The verb has no relation with "vangen" which means  "to catch". As the English "to replace", you can use "vervangen" for almost anything: from broken light bulbs to kneecaps to people.. The related noun – used for people only – is "vervanger" ("substitute"). The adjective related to "vervangen" is "vervangbaar" ("replaceable").

Examples:
– "De spits werd in de laatste minuut van de wedstrijd vervangen. Zijn vervanger: een middenvelder." 
("The forward was replaced in the last minute of the game. His substitute: a midfielder.")

– "De binnenband van mijn fiets was helemaal beschadigd, dus ik heb hem vervangen." 
("The innertyre of my bicycle was completely damaged, so I replaced it.")

– "De blauwe envelop van de Belastingdient wordt binnen enkele jaren vervangen door een internetformulier." 
("The blue envelope of the Tax Authority will be replaced by an internet form within a few years.")

– "De VS gaan een van hun generaals in Afghanistan vervangen." 
("The United States will replace one of their generals in Afghanistan.")

– "Als je niet naar die afspraak kan, kun je dan vervanging regelen?" 
("If you can’t make that appointment, can you arrange a replacement?")

– "Mijn mobiel valt de hele tijd uit; hij is dringend toe aan vervanging." 
("My cellpone turns itself off all the time; it urgently needs replacement.")

Expressions:
– "Vervangend vervoer": substitute transportation (e.g. as part of your car insurance service).

Related words:
– Vervanging: replacement [noun] [de vervanging, de vervangingen].
– Vervanger: replacement, substitute [noun] [de vervanger, de vervangers].
– (On)vervangbaar: (ir)replaceable [adjective/adverb].
– Vangen: to catch [verb] [ving, gevangen].

word
[noun]
[het woord, de woor-den]

A “woord” is a word. It doesn’t get easier than that 🙂

Estimations on the total number of words in the Dutch language vary a lot: from one million words (not counting declinations and conjugations) up to 60 million (including declinations and conjugations). Some even say that the number of all possible Dutch words is virtually infinite, since new compositions or derivations can be endlessly created from “original” words…

Examples:
– “Deze zin heeft vijf woorden.” 
(“This sentence has five words.”)

– “Dat zijn harde woorden.” 
(“Those are harsh words.”)

– “De tortelduifjes hadden alleen maar lieve woordjes voor elkaar.” 
(“The lovebirds only had sweet little words for each other.”)

– “Vrouwe, ik geef u mijn woord. Ik zal niet falen.” 
(“My Lady, I give you my word. I shall not fail.”)

– “Wat een onzin! Zoveel woorden die nergens op slaan.” 
(“What nonsense! So many words that make no sense.”)

Expressions:
– “Geen woord meer!”: not another word!
– “Zijn woord breken”: to break one’s word.
– “Het woord doen/voeren”: to do the talking/to act as spokesman.
– “Het woord is aan jou/u”: the floor is yours.
– “Woorden hebben met iemand”: to have words with someone.
– “Het hoogste woord hebben”: to talk loudest/to dominate the conversation    .
– “Zijn woord houden”: to keep one’s word.
– “Zijn woord breken”: to break one’s word.

Related words:
– Zin: sentence [noun] [de zin, de zinnen].
– Letter: letter [noun] [the letter, the letters].

Example:
– “Het woord ‘bouwvakkersdecolleté’ heeft 20 letters.”
(“The word ‘bouwvakkersdecolleté’ has 20 letters.”)

– Woordenboek: dictionary [noun] [het woordenboek, de woordenboeken].
– Spellen: to spell [verb] [spellen, spelde, gespeld].

Extra:
Like in many other countries, Lingo is the popular “word-guessing” game show that runs on Dutch TV since 1989 (but stopped in 2014). It has run so long that they had to go from 5-letter words to 6-letter words…