1. trust, confidence 
[noun]
[het ver-trou-wen, no plural]
"Vertrouwen" can be both the noun "trust" and the verb "to trust"
(see second meaning below). Don’t mix it up with "trouwen" ("getting
married"), to which it has no connection.
Examples:
– "Hij gaf mij het vertrouwen dat ik nodig had om die baan te krijgen."
("He gave me the trust I needed to get that job.")
– "In het afgelopen jaar is het vertrouwen in de regering sterk gedaald."
("During the past year, the confidence in the government has decreased sharply.")
– "Ik heb er vertrouwen in dat we de economie er weer bovenop kunnen helpen."
("I’m confident that we can help restore the economy again.")
– "Ik kwam hier al als kind, dit is voor mij een vertrouwde omgeving."
("I used to come here as a kid, this is a very well-known environment for me.")
– "Toen hij eindelijk zijn studie had afgerond, ging hij zijn werkend leven vol vertrouwen tegemoet."
("When he had finally finished his studies, he entered his working life full of confidence.")
2. to trust, to confide in
[verb]
[ver-trouw-de, ver-trouwd]
Examples:
– "Ik vertrouwde hem blindelings, maar hij heeft mijn vertrouwen geschonden."
("I trusted him completely, but he betrayed my trust.")
– "Je bent te goed van vertrouwen, terwijl ik niemand vertrouw!"
("You trust people too easily, whereas I don’t trust anyone!")
– "Pas op voor haar, ze is niet te vertrouwen."
("Watch out for her, she’s not to be trusted.")
– "Nadat zijn vriendin een keer was vreemdgegaan, vertrouwde hij haar niet meer."
("After his girlfriend cheated on him once, he didn’t trust her anymore.")
Related words:
– Vertrouwd: easy to recognize, well-known [adverb/adjective].
Whilst I accept that as you say there is no connection between vertrowen and trowen, I wonder if that is the complete story? The old fashioned English word for marriage is betrothal which literally means making a promise – or pledging ones trust. There is an echo of this, perhaps in echtgenoot where I assume the echt prefix here has its origins in a similar sense of true or trusted friend; and in, perhaps now archaic, English the expression ‘my true love’ is used for a spouse or spouse to be.
Just a thought. Thanks for all the work that you do to help us poor learners!
Hi Alen, I think you are probably right. Perhaps there is an etymologist amongst our readers who can elaborate?
– Sander