Dutch profanity can be divided into several categories. Often, the words used in profanity by speakers of Dutch are based around various names for diseases. Additionally, a substantial number of curse words in the Dutch language are references to sexual acts, genitalia, or bodily functions. Religious curse words also make up a considerable part of the Dutch profanity vocabulary.
Aside from these categories, the Dutch language has many words that are only used for animals; these words are insulting when applied to people.
Disease-Related Insults
Many Dutch insults invoke diseases, often wishing them upon the target. Here are some examples:
- Kanker means "cancer". It can be used as a strong expletive, as an adjective or as an adverb. Krijg de kanker ("get cancer") is used as an insult. In slang, it can also have a positive meaning. For example, kankerlekker can mean "extremely good tasting" or even "very attractive". Even when used this way in its positive meaning, the word can still be considered very offensive and its use is strongly discouraged. "Kanker" can be paired with nearly any insult to intensify it. Kankerlijer means "cancer sufferer".
- Klere is a slang word for cholera. It can be used as an expletive, as an adjective or as an adverb. Klerelijer is a slang word meaning "cholera sufferer".
- Kolere is a slang word for cholera. It can be used as an expletive, as an adjective or as an adverb.
- Pleuris, or less commonly pleuritis, is a slang word for tuberculosis (compare tering), originally referring to any form of lung infection. It can be used as an expletive, as an adjective or as an adverb. Krijg de pleuris ("catch the tuberculosis") is also commonly used. As with tering, the phrase "alles ging naar de pleuris" ("everything went to the tuberculosis", analogous to "everything went to hell/shit") is commonly used. Pleurislijer is a slang word meaning "tuberculosis sufferer".
- Pokke(n) (correctly spelled "pokken") is a slang word for smallpox. Pokke(n)lijer is a slang word meaning "smallpox sufferer".
- Tering is a slang word for tuberculosis. It is short for "vertering" (literally: "digestion"; compare English "consumption"). It can be used as an expletive, as an adjective or as an adverb. Vliegende tering ("flying tuberculosis") is a humorous variation, originally referring to sudden-onset tuberculosis. Krijg de tering ("catch the tuberculosis") is used as an insult. Teringlijer is a slang word meaning "tuberculosis sufferer".
- Tyfus is a word for typhoid fever. It can be used as an expletive, as an adjective or as an adverb. Krijg de tyfus ("catch the typhoid fever") is used as an insult. The variation optiefen ("to typhoid off") is analogous to "fuck off" (compare oppleuren under pleuris). Tyfuslijer is a slang word meaning "typhoid fever sufferer".
- Vinkentering (literally: "finch tuberculosis") is noted by Sanders and Tempelaars (1998) as an expression that is typical in the Rotterdam vocabulary.
- Lazarus is a euphemism for leprosy.
To wish a disease upon someone, the words krijg de... ("catch the...", "get the...", "contract the...") are typically used. Examples include krijg de tering, krijg de tyfus, krijg de kanker, krijg de pest, krijg de takke, krijg de klere, krijg het lazarus and the more euphemistic (but more old-fashioned) krijg de ziekte.
Insults Based on Mental Capacity
These insults refer to someone's intelligence or mental state.
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- Achterlijk ("retarded") had been used as a word to denote mentally disabled people in the past. It is commonly used as an insult, usually for people who do not have their facts up to date, or for people, organisations or geographic areas considered backwards or old-fashioned.
- Debiel ("incapable" or "infirm") is a term for people with a developmental disorder.
- Idioot means "idiot".
- Mongool ("mongoloid") is a common insult, referring to Down syndrome. Its diminutive mongooltje is often used as a somewhat more neutral or affectionate term for people with Down syndrome, although it is not considered politically correct. Kankermongool ("cancer-mongoloid", idiomatically "fucking retard") is a common variation; see kanker. Some people use mogool.
- Minkukel is a neologism introduced by a famous Dutch comics writer, Marten Toonder. It is incorrectly used to denote somebody with a small (minor) brain or low IQ.
- Stom (literally: "unintelligent", "dumb", "mute") can be used an intensifier when using curse words. Examples are "stomme hoer" ("dumb whore") and "stomme kut" ("dumb cunt").
Religious Profanity
These curses invoke religious figures or concepts.
- Gadverdamme is a softened version of godverdomme. Gadverdamme is used to express disgust.
- Getverderrie is a softened version of godverdomme, and is used to express disgust.
- Godverdomme is a shortened version of the subjunctive phrase "God verdoeme..." ("may God damn...", compare English "goddamnit"). Verdomme ("damn", literally "damn me") or Godsamme ("God shall me", short for "God zal me verhoeden" = "God shall protect me" e.g. from doing something barbarous) are common variations.
- Hel ("hell") is not typically used in Dutch profanity.
- Jezus Christus ("Jesus Christ") is used similarly to godverdomme, although it is slightly less offensive. Often just Jezus, or in the form of minced oaths: tjezus, jeetje, jezus mina etc.
- Judas is used as an insult for somebody who is considered a traitor, like Judas Iskariot who according to the New Testament betrayed Jesus Christ for 30 silverlings.
- Verdorie is a softer variation of verdomme ("darn").
Other Common Insults
This category includes a variety of insults related to appearance, behavior, or social status.
- Anaalgeneraal means "anal general".
- Bastaard is the Dutch word for bastard.
- Bek ("animal mouth") is most commonly used in the phrase "houd je bek" ("shut your mouth").
- Bitch is an English loan word. Its Dutch equivalent is teef.
- Dikzak (literally: "fat bag") is an insult used to describe a fat person.
- Doos means box but is slang for vagina. It is a rather mild insult to women, usually indicating stupidity. E.g. domme doos ("daft bint").
- Drol means turd. It is used for an annoying or stupid person. Flapdrol, literally is a rather inexperienced, unhandy, and weak person.
- Eikel (literally: "acorn") is a neutral word for male glans (originally a Latin word also meaning "acorn"). As an insult, it is in its meaning comparable to the English word "dickhead" when applied to a person, but due to the double meaning of the Dutch word (acorn or glans), it is considered much milder.
- Emmeren (literally: to "bucket" around) is a verb, meaning "to nag". Most people use it ignorant of its etymology and true meaning. It refers to hussars who solved the lack of women in their surroundings by standing on a bucket behind their mares to have intercourse with them. Another possible explanation refers to the term emmer (bucket) or sperma-emmer (sperm bucket) for a prostitute or a slut.
- Ezel (literally: "donkey") is a relatively mild insult for a person behaving in a stubborn yet unintelligent manner.
- Flikker as a noun in modern Dutch slang is analogous to faggot, but as its etymology stems from the analog of "trickster" it is equally often used as a verb, commonly in the context of something being dismissed or discarded, such as "flikker het weg" (throw it the fuck away), "neergeflikkerd" (fell the fuck down), or "flikker op" (fuck off; get bent).
- Fok (literally: the first person singular of "to breed") is used as a variation of the English loan word fuck (possibly the words are etymologically related as well as the German ´ficken´). It is also used in the Afrikaans language. The Dutch news site and virtual community FOK! uses this word as its name.
- Fuck is an English loan word and is a common expletive, sometimes spelled fock as a merger between the English and the Dutch words. Its adjective "fucking" is also commonly in use.
- Graftak literally means "grave branch" and refers to someone's age. This is typically enforced by adding ouwe/oude ("old") or achterlijke ("retarded").
- Hoer is the Dutch word for whore.
- Hondelul (literally: "dog's dick") is a variation of the more commonly heard "lul" ("dick").
- Huppelkut (literally: "skipping cunt") can be used to insult a woman's perceived shallowness. The word was first used by comedian Youp van 't Hek.[10] The diminutive form huppelkutje is most commonly used.
- Incest has the same meaning as the English word incest, and can also figuratively refer to cronyism and nepotism, where the same small group of people in top positions is protecting each other (old boys network). It can furthermore refer to circular (often fraudulent) constructions such as a VAT carrousel, money laundering, or a cash round, where money or goods are constantly exchanged between the same parties.
- Kak means "crap". Sometimes used as a less offensive equivalent to "shit", its more common use is as a social slur (see kakker). It is also commonly in use in the Afrikaans language ("Jy praat kak" â "You're talking shit") and South African English ("You're so full of kak.").
- Kattenkop (literally: "cat's head") is a mild insult commonly aimed at young girls, referring to the mean or crass characters. Compare kop.
- Klootzak (literally: "ball sack") is the scrotum, and is a common insult. It is comparable to the Irish use of "bollocks" (when used as a noun) and the Glaswegian use of "bawbag" when applied to a person. See also zak.
- Klote (correctly spelled "kloten"; however, the "n" after a schwa is silent in standard Dutch, which affects the spelling of slang words) is a word for the testicles. It can be used as an expletive, as an adjective, or as an adverb. Several common expressions use the word klote, such as "ik voel me klote" ("I feel balls" â "I don't feel good"), "het examen ging naar de klote" ("the exam went to the balls" â "the exam went badly") and "het weer is klote" ("the weather is balls" â "the weather is bad").
- Kop ("animal head") is most commonly used in the phrase "houd je kop" ("shut your mouth").
- Kreng (literally: "cadaver") is a common insult aimed at women, and denotes mean or crass characters.
- Kut is a word for the vagina. It is commonly used as a curse word. It can be used as an expletive, as an adjective, or as an adverb. Several common expressions use the word kut, such as "ik voel me kut" ("I feel cunt" â "I feel like shit"), "het examen ging kut" ("the exam went cunt" â "the exam went badly") and "het weer is kut" ("the weather is cunt" â "the weather fucking sucks"). Compare klote. Its common idiomatic use in the phrase "wat kut voor je" ("how cunt for you") expresses roughly the same sentiment as the English "I'm sorry to hear that", albeit in a somewhat profane way; it could therefore be compared to "That (fucking) sucks" in English. When used as a noun to refer to a woman, the meaning of kut is analogous to the (mostly North American) English severity of the word cunt.
- Lamzak (literally: "numb sack", "numb nuts"), is used as an insult for a person that drinks (too) many alcoholic beverages. "Lam" means 'drunk'.
- Lul is a word for the penis. Lullen (literally: "to dick") is a verb, meaning "to talk pointlessly". It is somewhat analogous to the English phrase "to dick around".
- Manwijf (literally: "man female" in contrast to "shemale") Refers to a woman who looks like a man.
- Matennaaier (literally: "a buddy fucker") is somebody who has screwed over one or more of his friends.
- Mierenneuken (literally: "ant fucking") is analogous to "nitpicking".
- Muil ("large animal mouth") is most commonly used in the phrase "hou je muil" ("shut your mouth").
- Muts literally means cap, but is slang for vagina.
- Neuken literally means "to fuck". Neukertje is the diminutive form of the word neuker ("fucker"). Can refer to a person that the speaker is sexually involved with.
- Nicht (literally: "female cousin" or "niece") can be used to mean "queer" (noun) or "fairy", about a homosexual man. It is commonly used within the LGBT community as a term of endearment or self-description.
- Ouwehoeren (literally: "to old whore") is a verb, meaning "to talk pointlessly".
- Pedo and pedofiel (literally: "pedophile") are sometimes used as an insult for people who molest children (who are not per se always pedophiles) or for the older partner in a relationship with a large age difference.
- Pest (literally: "plague", compare "pestilence") can be used as an adjective or as an adverb. The verb pesten means "to bully" (whereas the etymologically related "plagen" means "to tease"). "De pest in hebben" ("to have the plague in") means "to be irritated". Literally meaning "plague head", a pestkop is someone who engages in bullying.
- Poep means "poop". Its diminutive poepje (or poepie) is used as a term of endearment comparable to "sweetie", and is not considered profane. In Belgian Dutch, the verb poepen instead means "to fuck". In Afrikaans, poep is a common term used for "fart".
- Poes (literally: "puss", "cat") is a word for the vagina. Its diminutive poesje ("pussy") is also used.
- Polio is uncommon as a curse word, and is mostly heard in the phrase "heb je soms polio?" ("do you have polio or something?"), which can be used to insult someone's perceived laziness.
- Poot ("animal leg/foot") is a word generally used to describe the leg of either an animal or a piece of furniture. More crudely, it can be used to refer to a person's hands or feet ("Blijf af met je poten" - "Keep your hands off") ("Doe je poten opzij" - "Move your legs out the way").
- Pot can mean "homosexual woman". The term is an abbreviation of "lollepot", a firepot that women in the 16th and 17th centuries placed under their skirts to warm up their lower bodies and legs. This quickly leads to sexual jokes and slang around the use of the pot, making it a metaphor for a lesbian woman.
- Reet (literally: "gash", "tear") is a word for the intergluteal cleft. It is used in many common expressions, such as "ik vind er geen reet aan" ("it does not interest me at all", literally: "I find no asscrack on it"), "het interesseert me geen reet" ("it does not interest me one bit", literally: "it interests me no asscrack"), "steek het maar in je reet" ("stick it up your arse") and "ik snap er geen reet van" ("I don't understand it one bit", literally: "I understand no asscrack of it"). Reetkever (literally: "ass beetle"). Reetridder (literally: "ass knight") is an insult aimed at a man of homosexual nature. It might be derived by etymological reinterpretation from the Frisian word reedrider which simply means "ice skater".
- The particle rot- can be used as an adjective when combined with a noun, and is commonly used in words such as "rothond" ("rotten dog"), "rotjoch" ("rotten kid") and "rotweer" ("rotten weather").
- Takke (from French "attaque") is a slang word for stroke.[4] It can be used an adjective or as an adverb. Krijg de takke ("have the stroke") is used as an insult.
- Zak. See also klootzak.
- Ziekte (literally: "sickness", "illness" or "disease") is used in the expression krijg de ziekte ("catch the disease"). It is a euphemism that can be used for various afflictions. Older variations include drinken als de ziekte ("to drink like the disease").
- Kopvod ("head rag") is a derogatory word to refer to the hijab worn by some Muslim women.
Understanding these insults provides insight into Dutch culture and the nuances of their language. However, it is important to use this knowledge responsibly and avoid using offensive language.
How to SWEAR in DUTCH?
| Insult | Literal Meaning | English Equivalent (Approximate) |
|---|---|---|
| Kankerlijer | Cancer sufferer | Cancer patient (used insultingly) |
| Klootzak | Ball sack | Asshole |
| Tyfuslijer | Typhoid fever sufferer | Typhoid fever patient (used insultingly) |
| Idioot | Idiot | Idiot |
| Hoer | Whore | Whore |
| Ezel | Donkey | Ass, stubborn person |
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