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Dutch Everyday: Laundry and Cleaning

(de) schoonheid 2

mooi

(mooi / mooie 2)

lelijk 2

(lelijk / lelijke 2)

wasmand

wasmand met was

wasmachine - 2

waspoeder = wasmiddel - 2

wasknijpers

droogrekje

droogrekje

waslijn

droogtrommel - 2

droogtrommel - 2

strijkijzer

strijkplank

emmer en emmertje

emmer

emmertje

dweil - 2

borstel

bezem

bezem

schrobber

schrobber

veger en blik stoffer en blik 2

stofzuiger - 2

stofdoek - 2

spons

trekker

prullenbakje

prullenbak - 2

afvalbak

vuilnisbak

schoonmaakmiddel - 2

opruimen (rooms, houses, messes) to 'clear up,' tidy up, put things in their place, clear up messes, throw out garbage etc. - more below
het huis opruimen 2 to 'clear up' the house
Heb je je kamer opgeruimd? 2 3 Have you cleared up your room?
Opgeruimd staat netjes - [Cleared up, stored away looks neat] 'Out of the way looks good'

Maandag wasdag ('Monday laundry-day' - not a good idea)
Een kind kan de was doen 2 3 - ['a child can do the laundry'] - it's a very easy job
De was hangt te drogen 2 3 4 The laundry is hanging out to dry

(Continued from top-of-the-page)
vies 2 (vieze 2 3 - vies/vieze 2 ‑>>) 'dirty' - also: 'bad-tasting'
vies en voos 2 [dirty and dirty] - very dirty
Te vies om waar te zijn 2 3 [Too dirty to be true] - Impossibly dirty 't Is niet vies ... 2 3 It doesn't taste bad ...
Maar 't had lekkerder kunnen zijn 2 But it could have been better (-tasting) Maar 't is ook niet bijzonder 2 But is isn't very special either 't Ziet er vies uit 2 'It looks unappetizing' vieze thee bad-tasting tea
vieze vis bad-tasting fish
een vieze lucht 2 3 a bad, unpleasant smell, a stench, a stink stinken to smell bad, stink ‑>> (de) viezigheid 2 3 1. (literally) dirt, muck
2. (figuratively) smut, filth Gatverdamme! 2 3 a mild curse, said when coming across something disgustingly dirty or extremely bad-tasting
It's a mild form of a very serious curse ‑>> - not for use in polite company

vuil 2 (vuil/vuile 2) 'dirty'
De vuile was buiten hangen 2 3 (saying) [hanging the dirty laundry outside] - airing the dirty laundry (a public showing of private problems) (het) vuil - dirt, garbage
(het) vuiltje 2 3 speck. little piece of dirt
oud vuil 2 3 [old garbage] - absolute garbage, trash that needs to be carted off
(de) vuiligheid 2 3 dirt, filth // smut
vervuild 2 polluted, 'dirtied'
(de) vervuiling 2 pollution, contamination
(het) huisvuil 2 [household, non-industrial] garbage, trash
(het) vuilnis garbage, trash
((het) vulles ('garbage' - also figuratively - slang for vuilnis))
(de) vuilnisbak garbage can, dustbin
(de) vuilnisman 2 garbageman, dustman, sanitation engineer
vuilnisman / vuilnismannen
(de) vuilniswagen 2 garbage truck
Ik heb de vuilnisbakken buiten gezet 2 3 I have put out the garbage cans (I've put them outside for collection) Zet je de vuilnisbak aan de straat? 2 3 Will you put the garbage can [on the street] on the curb, to the side of the street? (het) afval 2 trash, garbage, refuse
In British English, when you hear someone speak nonsense, you can say (or think) "That's rubbish! That's a load of rubbish!" but the Dutch words 'vuilnis'  and 'afval'  only have the literal meaning, the stuff that hopefully carted off by the dustman. In Dutch, you could say (de) onzin 2 or (de) nonsens 2 3
Wat een onzin! 2 Such nonsense! Allemaal onzin! 2 3 It's all nonsense! 't Is allemaal onzin 2 It's all nonsense Wat een onzin allemaal! 2 3 4 Such nonsense! All of it is such nonsense! (de) rommel or (de) rotzooi 2 is 'junk,' items of low value or low quality, or a chaotic collection of stuff you look down on. A salesperson could use these words for the stuff sold by the competition: "It's garbage!"

smerig 2 3 (smerige 2 3) '(unpleasantly, disgustingly) dirty, filthy, soiled'
ongelooflijk smerig 2 3 4 [unbelievable] 'impossibly dirty'
(de) Smeerkees 2 a person who carelessly gets dirty doing a job
(de) Smeerpoets 2 3 a generally dirty, unclean person
verontreinigd 'contaminated, polluted, fouled' ('rein' 2 is an old-fashioned word for 'clean' or 'pure')
verontreinigd met 2 3 contaminated by (a substance) (de) luchtverontreiniging 2 3 air pollution

(de) bende 1. mess (dirty, chaos) 2. gang
Dat wordt een bende! 2 3 That's going to be a mess! (needing a lot of clean-up) Wat een bende! 2 Such a mess!

schoon (schoon/schone ) 'clean' - in older Dutch,  'schoon' meant 'beautiful' and in the South of The Netherlands and in Belgium it still has that meaning. Dutch (de) schoonheid 2 still means 'beauty' and NOT 'cleanliness.' There is no good Dutch word for 'cleanliness.'
schone kleren 2 clean, laundered clothes (fresh?)
schoonmaken 2 3 to clean - see also - below
schoongemaakt 2 'cleaned'
De sergeant deed het schoonmaken voor 2 3 The sergeant showed the cleaning procedure (het) schoonmaakmiddel 2 'cleaner' (liquid or solid)
(de) schoonmaker cleaner (person)
ongewassen 2 unwashed
De Schone Slaapster 2 ['the pretty (female) sleeper'] The Sleeping Beauty Filips de Schone 2 3 Philip the Fair
Geduld is een schone zaak 'Patience is good (but difficult)' - 'Patience is a virtue' Met een schone lei beginnen 2 Starting with a clean slate (a new beginning without baggage) (De) schoonfamilie 2 in-laws more
It's somewhat funny to say Hallo schoonheid 2 3 'hello clean-beauty' to a partner emerging from the shower

(de) vlek 2 'stain'
You'd think that vlekkeloos 2 3 would mean 'stainless' but it usually means a procedure or an action went off perfectly, 'without a hitch'
hygiëne 2 3 'hygiene' - hygiënisch 2 'hygienic'
(de) smet 2 'stain, spot, smudge, blemish'
smetteloos 2 'without blemish, very clean, spotless, without any stain'
(de) besmetting 2 'infection, contagion' - besmettelijk 'contagious, infectious' - Medical
ontsmetten 'to desinfect'

The common Dutch word for 'beautiful' is mooi (mooi / mooie 2)
and 'ugly' is lelijk 2 (lelijk / lelijke 2) - more

Some Dutch verbs are compound words that split up in most forms:

English	Dutch infinitive	simple present singular	simple present plural	simple past singular	simple past plural	perfect tense
English example	to say	I say	we say	I said	we said	I have said
to wash (do laundry)	wassen	ik was	wij wassen	ik waste	wij wasten	ik heb gewassen
to wash (yourself)	zich wassen	ik was me		ik waste me		ik heb me gewassen	2
to clean	schoonmaken	ik maak schoon	wij maken schoon	ik maakte schoon	wij maakten schoon	ik heb schoongemaakt
to tidy up, clear	opruimen	ik ruim op	wij ruimen op	ik ruimde op	wij ruimden op	ik heb opgeruimd
to polish	poetsen	ik poets	wij poetsen	ik poetste	wij poetsten	ik heb gepoetst

The Verb Rules - Verb Examples - More Verb Examples - Splitting Verbs - Reflexive Verbs

tanden poetsen	brushing teeth
schoenen poetsen 2 3	shining, brushing shoes
voeten vegen 2 3 4	wiping feet
(de) deurmat 3 4	doormat
afvegen 2 3	to wipe

More Pictures with Dutch Words of Everyday Items

food

kitchen

flowers

animals

buildings

fire

electricity

>>

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Don't be a dief (thief) / dievegge (female thief) - diefstal (theft) - stelen (to steal) - heler (dealer in stolen goods) - hear Dutch - 2