Douche

shower Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de douche, de douches]

Originating from French, Dutch for "a shower" is "een douche". The related verb is "douchen" ("to (take a) shower"). The conjugation of this weak verb is regular but since it doesn’t originate from Dutch, it looks a little bit strange (see below). Note the pronunciation of "douche"; the ‘e’ at the end is not pronounced. Douche_2

Examples:
– "Heb je vanochtend gedoucht of een bad genomen?" 
("Did you take a shower or a bath this morning?")

– "Als ik ‘s ochtends geen douche neem, lukt het me niet om wakker te worden." 
("If I don’t take a shower in the morning, I don’t manage to wake up.")

– "De douche is een fantastische uitvinding." 
("The shower is a great invention.")

– "Heb je het douchegordijn niet dichtgedaan? De hele badkamer is nat!" 
("Didn’t you close the shower curtain? The entire bathroom is wet!")

– "De douchekop is verstelbaar om een harde of een zachte straal te krijgen." 
("The shower head is adjustable to get a hard of a soft spray.")

Expressions:
– "Een koude douche": a sudden disappointment, a rude awakening (Lit.: a cold shower).
– "Een warm bad": a warm welcome (Lit.: a warm bath).

Example:
– "<Krantenkop:> "Warm bad voor voetballers op Schiphol."
("<News headline>: "Warm welcome for soccer players at Schiphol airport.")

Related words:
– Douchen: to shower [verb] [douchte, heb gedoucht].
– Een douche nemen: to take a shower [verb] [nam, heb genomen].
– Douchegel: showergel [noun] [de douchegel, de douchegels].
– Douchegordijn: shower curtain [noun] [het douchegordijn, de douchegordijnen].
– Douchecabine: shower cubicle [noun] [de douchecabine, de douchecabines].
– Douchekop: shower head [noun] [de douchekop, de douchekoppen].
– Bad: 1. bath 2. pool [noun] [het bad, de baden].
– Badkamer: bathroom [noun] [de badkamer, de badkamers].
– Zwembad: swimmingpool [noun] [het zwembad, de zwembaden].

7 thoughts on “Douche

  1. In het frans hebben wij ook veel worden uit Nederlands.
    Hier is een klein selectie:
    boulevard, bâbord, mannequin en….. drogue !

  2. We were just having a discussion in the office here how ‘douche’ and ‘douchen’ should be pronounced. One colleague says (NL uitspraak) doesj and doesjen, and the other does and doezen. Is this a regional thing, and is one more correct than the other?

  3. @ Anne-Liesbeth
    I too heard a Dutch girl tell a room full of Americans that she was off to have a douche. After a moment’s embarrassment, once they realised what she really meant, they nearly wet themselves laughing!

  4. I wish there were an equivalent word in Dutch for the US English term “douchebag” (or just “douche”). Definitions vary, but I think it is best described as a male who is a combination of a blitskikker, aansteller, and (importantly) a lul / klootzak.

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