1. usual, common, ordinary, regular, plain
[adjective/adverb]
[ge-woon]
The Dutch think they’re pretty common people. We even feel that it’s a virtue to be “common”…see the – very common – first expression under Expressions.
Examples:
– “Ik ben slechts een gewone jongen.”
(“I’m just a common guy.”)
– “In Nederland is het heel gewoon dat mensen elkaar tutoyeren.”
(“In the Netherlands, it’s very normal that people are on a first-name basis with each other.”)
– “Dit is geen gewone man, nee dit is Superman!”
(“This is not an ordinary man, no this is Superman!”)
– “Ik wil graag een gewone koffie.”
(“I would like a regular coffee.”)
– “Hebben ze in Jordanië gewone stopcontacten?”
(“Do they have normal power plugs in Jordan?”)
Expressions:
– “Doe nou maar gewoon, dan doe je gek genoeg”: There’s no need to act all crazy like that. Lit.: Just act normal, that’s crazy enough”.
– “Zoals gewoonlijk”: As usual.
Related words:
– Gewoonlijk: usually [adjective].
2. just, simply
[adjective/adverb]
[ge-woon]
Examples:
– “Dit is gewoon liefde op het eerste gezicht.”
(“This is just love at first sight.”)
– “Het is gewoon de bedoeling dat deze ellende ophoudt!”
(“This misery is simply supposed to stop!”)
– “Het was niet gewoon een vluggertje…Frank is echt verliefd...”
(“It wasn’t simply a quickie…Frank is really in love…”)
– “Gewoon doen.”
(“Just do it.”)
3. used to, accustomed to
[adjective/adverb]
[ge-woon]
Using “gewoon” in this context is somewhat formal. A less formal synonym you may see more often is “gewend”.
Examples:
– “Ik ben dit niet gewoon.”
(“I’m not accustomed to this.”)
– “De burgemeester is niet gewoon zich te begeven onder het gewone volk.”
(“The mayor is not used to make his way among the common people.”)
Related words:
– Gewend aan: used to [adjective].
Example:
– “Frank is niet gewend aan deze hoge temperaturen.”
(“Frank is not used to these high temperatures.”)
I don’t know how many times my neighbor would scold her children with a simple “Gewoon!” when they were doing something dopey.