1. whole, intact, undamaged, perfect [adjective, adverb]
Examples:
– "Het tafelblad van de 500 jaar oude tafel was nog helemaal gaaf."
("The tabletop of the 500 years old table was still perfectly flawless."
– "Fotomodellen hebben over het algemeen een wit en gaaf gebit."
("In general, models have a white and perfect set of teeth.")
2. awesome, great, super, cool, brilliant [adjective, adverb]
Many other words than "gaaf" are in use to describe that something or someone is awesome or brilliant. It kind of depends on the person’s age and the region he or she lives or grew up in 🙂
Likewise there exist words that you can put in front of "gaaf" (or similar words). This then again can depend on region or age, see ‘Extra’.
Examples:
– "Wat vond je vond die film? – Hij was gaaf!"
("What did you think of that movie? – It was great!")
– "Wat vond je van de halsketting die Amanda gisteravond droeg? – Die was erg gaaf!"
("What did you think of the necklace Amanda was wearing last night? – It was really awesome!")
Related words:
– "Cool": cool, nice.
– "Fantastisch": fantastic.
– "Geweldig": great.
Extra:
In recent years it has become popular amongst youngsters to use the word "vet" ("fat" or "greasy") to describe that something is cool. This word can then be used as an adjective or as an adverb.
Examples:
"Het concert van U2 was echt vet!"
("The concert by U2 was really cool!")
or:
"Het concert van U2 was echt vet cool!"
("The concert by U2 was really super cool!" (or something) )
In the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant, it is common to use the adverb "kei" to strengthen the statement: "Het concert van U2 was echt keigaaf!". Likewise, "very good" usually translates to "keigoed".