udder

[noun]
[de ui-er, de ui-ers]

“Uiers” are the mammary glands of ruminants: mammals that re-chew their plant-based food before further processing. The most well-known Dutch animal with “uiers” is of course a “koe”: a cow 🙂

Sometimes “uiers” are used to refer to a woman’s (large) breasts, but this is strongly sexist and derogatory.

“Uier” has nothing to do with “ui“: onion…

Examples:
– “Een koe produceert melk via de uier.” 
(“A cow produces milk via the udder.”)

– “Ken jij nog meer dieren met uiers?” – “Jazeker: geiten en schapen hebben ook uiers.” 
(“Do you know more animals with udders?” -“Sure: goats and sheep have udders too.”)

– “Anita is afgestudeerd op de invloed van uierbehandeling op de kwaliteit van melk.” -“Te gek! Dat wist ik niet!” 
(“Anita has graduated on the influence of udder care on milk quality.” – “Great! I didn’t know that!”)

Expressions:
– “Melk is goed voor elk”: (Dutch rhyme) milk is good for everybody.

Related words:
– Melk: milk [noun] [de melk, <no plural>].
– Melken: to milk [verb] [melken, molk, h. gemolken].

Example:
– “Koeien worden tegenwoordig niet meer door de boer zelf maar door een machine gemolken.”
(“Nowadays, cows are no longer milked by the farmer himself, but by a machine.”)

– Borst: 1. chest. 2. breast [noun] [de borst, de borsten].
– Koe: cow [noun] [de koe, de koeien].
– Schaap: sheep [noun] [het schaap, de schapen].
– Geit: goat [noun] [de geit, de geiten].