Colorful Dutch & English expressions
Ever noticed how Dutch loves to make words bigger, stronger and more expressive?
Instead of simply saying very wet, Dutch speakers might say kletsnat or drijfnat.
Instead of very strong, we say beresterk.
And if something is very soft? It can be boterzacht — literally butter-soft.
In case you missed the first article about this subject, these words are called intensifiers: words and expressions that add extra strength, emotion or colour to what you’re saying.
Let’s explore some of our favourites!
Glad — Slippery
| Nederlands | English |
| spekglad | extremely slippery |
| spiegelglad | smooth and slippery / like a mirror |
| zo glad als een aal | as slippery as an eel |
| glad als ijs | slippery as ice |
💡 Spekglad literally means as slippery as bacon!
Not exactly the first thing you would think of when describing a dangerous pavement…
🌧️ Nat — Wet
| Nederlands | English |
| drijfnat | soaking wet |
| kletsnat | soaking wet |
| doorweekt | drenched / soaked |
| zeiknat | absolutely soaked (very informal) |
| nat tot op het bot | soaked to the bone |
💡 Drijfnat literally means floating wet.
If you’re drijfnat, you’ve definitely forgotten your umbrella. ☔
Droog — Dry
| Nederlands | English |
| kurkdroog | bone dry |
| gortdroog | extremely dry |
| droog als kurk | as dry as a bone / bone dry |
💡 Kurkdroog literally means as dry as cork.
English tends to reach for bone dry instead.
✨ Schoon — Clean
| Nederlands | English |
| brandschoon | spotlessly clean |
| kraakhelder | crystal clear |
| blinkend schoon | sparkling clean |
| spic en span | neat and tidy / spotless |
| schoon als een spiegel | spotless / mirror-clean |
💡 Brandschoon literally means fire-clean. 🔥
The idea is that something is so clean that there isn’t a speck of dirt left.
Vuil — Dirty
| Nederlands | English |
| smerig | filthy / disgusting |
| smoezelig | grubby / grimy |
| vuil als de neten | filthy dirty |
| onder de modder | covered in mud |
💡 Smoezelig is a great word for something that’s not necessarily filthy, but definitely a bit grubby and unpleasant.
💪 Sterk — Strong
| Nederlands | English |
| oersterk | incredibly strong |
| beresterk | extremely strong |
| ijzersterk | incredibly strong / rock-solid |
| zo sterk als een beer | as strong as a bear |
| zo sterk als een os | as strong as an ox |
💡 Beresterk literally means bear-strong.
And ijzersterk means iron-strong.
Dutch really doesn’t hold back!
Hard & zacht — Hard & Soft
| Nederlands | English |
| keihard | rock-hard |
| steenhard | hard as a rock |
| muurvast | firmly stuck / rock-solid |
| hard als steen | hard as stone |
| boterzacht | soft as butter |
| fluweelzacht | velvety soft |
| zijdezacht | silky smooth / silky soft |
| zacht als zijde | as soft as silk |
💡 Boterzacht is one of those wonderfully Dutch expressions that paints a picture immediately: soft as butter.
Slim — Smart
| Nederlands | English |
| pienter | clever / bright |
| superslim | super smart |
| zo slim als een vos | as sly as a fox |
| zo slim als Einstein | as smart as Einstein |
| geniaal slim | brilliantly intelligent |
| razendslim | incredibly clever / extremely smart |
💡 There’s an important difference between slim and sluw.
A fox is often described as slim in Dutch, but sly or cunning in English — depending on the context.
Why use intensifiers?
Compare:
The road is slippery.
with:
The road is absolutely slippery!
Or better yet:
The road is as slippery as ice!
These expressions make your Dutch and English more natural, vivid and expressive. They also help you sound less like a textbook and more like a real speaker.
Your challenge
Pick three expressions from this list and use them this week.
Can you use:
one for weather
one for food
and one to describe a person
Book a session with one of our tutors, go beyond ‘super’ and ‘heel’, and make your language vivid!
