Klef

1. sticky, clammy, soggy [adjective] [‘klef‘] Iconspeaker_klein

Today’s weather is an example of "klef": very warm, moist and damp (at least for Dutch standards…:-) ). In this context, the synonymous "klam" is also used a lot.Klef

Examples:
– "Wat een klef weer vandaag! Ik zweet als een otter…"
("Such clammy weather today! I’m sweating like a pig…" Lit.: "…like an otter…")

– "Dit kleffe weer leidt waarschijnlijk tot een onweer later vanmiddag."
("This sticky weather will probably lead to a thunderstorm later this afternoon.")

Related words:
– "Klam": clammy, moist, damp.
– "Vochtig": damp, humid.
– "Plakkerig": sticky.

2. sticky, gooey [adjective] [‘klef‘] Iconspeaker_klein

Food can also be "klef". See the Examples.

Examples:

– "Deze boterham is helemaal klef geworden door het klamme weer."

("This sandwich has turned completely gooey because of the clammy weather.")


– "Ik ga even een snack uit de muur trekken." – "Bah, kleffe hap man.."

("I’m gonna quickly grab a snack from the vending machine." – "Yech, gooey stuff man…" Lit.: "…gooey bite…")

3. clinging (to one another) [adjective] [‘klef‘] Iconspeaker_klein

And even people can be "klef", when they’re constantly clinging to each other, giving each other hugs and kisses while holding hands all the time… In this context, the activity of being "klef" is called "kleffen".

Examples:

– "Frank en zijn vriendin waren op het feestje verschrikkelijk klef."

("Frank and his girlfriend were constantly clinging to each other at the party.")

– "Kijk Myra en Jan…ze zijn enorm aan het kleffen!"
("Look at Myra and Jan… they’re really clinging to each other.")

Related words:
– "Verliefd": in love.

One thought on “Klef

  1. Hi everybody, I’m writing from Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, and I can tell you that the weather is very “klef” here!
    I hope you enjoy the DWOTD this summer, despite the summer schedule!
    Groeten van Sander

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