scarf, shawl [noun] [de sjaal, de sjaals]

To more or less complete our winter garment theme, today’s DWOTD is "sjaal". When talking about a smaller scarf, more for fashion than to protect against the cold, we talk about a "sjaaltje".

Mark the plural of "sjaal": it ends with "-s", which is uncommon in Dutch, since most plurals end with "-en".

Examples:
- "Hé wat een leuke sjaal! Nieuw?"
("Hey what a nice scarf! (Is it) New?")

- "Mijn nek is altijd helemaal geïrriteerd als ik mijn sjaal afdoe!"
("My neck is always completely irritated when I take off my scarf!")

- "Beetje nichterig sjaaltje is dat…"
("That’s a bit of a gay scarf…" – "Nicht" (literally: niece or female cousin) is a slang word for a homosexual).

- "Doe je sjaal eens goed om, anders vat je kou!"
(<mother to a child:> "Put your scarf on properly, otherwise you’ll catch a cold!" The word "om" can translate to "around" in Dutch and in the verb "omdoen" it indicates that you put a garment around a body part, in this case the scarf around the neck.)

Related words:
- "Das": synonym for "sjaal" but not often used.
- "Stropdas": tie.
- "Muts": hat.
- "Handschoen": glove.

Extra:
"Sjaal" and "shawl" originate from the Persian "shal". Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawl .