1. façade, face, front
[noun]
[de voor-ge-vel, de voor-ge-vels]
De "voorgevel" is the front side of a house or building. One
typically uses the general "gevel" (façade) unless you want to
distinguish from the "achtergevel" (rear façade) or potential
"zijgevels" (side façades).
Examples:
– "Dat oude huis heeft een prachtige voorgevel."
("That old house has a beautiful façade.")
– "Langs de Amsterdamse grachten staan huizen met voorgevels die dateren uit de 17e, 18e en 19e eeuw."
("Along the Amsterdam canals, there are houses with façades that date from the 17th, 18th and 19th century.")
– "Nieuwsflits: vrachtwagen ramt voorgevel huis in Rotterdam."
("Newsflash: truck rams front of house in Rotterdam.")
Related words:
– Voor: before, in front of [preposition].
– Voorkant: front [noun] [de voorkant, de voorkanten].
– Gevel: façade [noun] [de gevel, de gevels].
– Huis: house [noun] [het huis, de huizen].
– Dak: roof [noun] [het dak, de daken].
Extra:
Some of the older houses in the Netherlands have a tilted façade. To
the untrained eye this may look like subsidence, but in most cases it
was a deliberate choice. A plausible explanation is that a tilted
façade made it easier to hoist up goods. (Other explanations are that
the (originally wooden) façade was less affected by rain, or that one
tried to increase the surface area of the higher floors whilst only
paying tax based on the surface area of the ground floor.)
2. bosom
[noun]
[de voor-ge-vel, de voor-ge-vels]
"Voorgevel" can be used colloquially to refer to a woman’s bosom,
much like "knockers", "boobs" etc. It is very informal and can come
across a bit sexist.
Examples:
– "Debbie heeft een flinke voorgevel, zeker in dat strakke shirt…"
("Debbie is very bosomy, especially in that tight shirt…")
– "Pamela’s voorgevel is indrukwekkend, maar het is natuurlijk allemaal nep."
("Pamela’s boobs are impressive, but it’s of course all fake.")
Related words:
– Borst: chest, breast [noun] [de borst, de borsten].
– Boezem: bosom [noun] [de boezem, de boezems].
“Een flinke voorgevel” – great!!! 🙂