soap
[noun]
[de zeep, de ze-pen]
"Zeep" is the general word for soap. You will also hear 'handzeep' for liquid (hand) soap ('vloeibare zeep'). When discussing soap operas, we say soap 🙂 Read more in the Extra below on the recent death of the well-known Dutch (soap) actor Antonie Kamerling.
Examples:
– "De zeep is al een paar dagen op!" – "O, dat had ik nog niet gemerkt om eerlijk te zijn!"
("We've been out of soap for a couple of days now!" -"Oh, I hadn't noticed yet to be honest!")
– "Als je naar Albert Heijn gaat, wil je dan handzeep kopen?"
("When you go to Albert Heijn, could you please buy liquid/hand soap?")
– "Ik vind die zeepjes die je in hotels vindt echt bespottelijk. Daar kun je je toch niet mee wassen, of wel soms??"
("I find those little pieces of soap one finds in hotels really ridiculous. One can't possible wash oneself with that, can one now??")
– "Voor het douchen gebruik ik liever douchegel dan zeep. Het is ook link, want voor je het weet glij je uit over een stuk zeep!"
("When showering I prefer to use shower gel over soap. It's also tricky, because before you know you'll slip on a piece of soap!")
Expressions:
– "Iemand om zeep helpen": to kill/murder someone.
Example:
– "In het wilde Westen werd je om het minste of geringste om zeep geholpen."
("In the Wild West you were killed on the slightest provocation." The word 'gering' translates as 'small, petty'.)
Related words:
– Schoon: clean [adjective].
– Wassen: to wash, to clean [verb] [waste, gewassen]. Note that 'wassen' can also mean 'to rise (of water)' or 'to grow', e.g. an 'adult' in Dutch is a 'volwassene' (a 'fully grown' one).
– Fris: fresh, clean [adjective].
– Hygiënisch: hygienic [adjective].
– Douchen: to take a shower [verb] [douchte, gedoucht].
– In bad gaan: to take a bath.
– Douchegel: shower gel [noun] [de gel, de gels].
– Inzepen: rubbing soap into, or 'the act of rubbing snow in somebody's face' [verb] [zeepte in, ingezeept].
Extra:
In Dutch we also use the word 'soap' for the soap opera TV series. The most well-known soap in the Netherlands is "Goede tijden, slechte tijden" ('good times, bad times'). It's iconic in the sense that it was the first Dutch soap and it has been running for 20 years or so. Those living in the Netherlands may have noticed the news coverage on the suicide of Antonie Kamerling last week. Antonie Kamerling was part of the first crew of actors in 'Goede tijden, slechte tijden' and became a well-known Dutch actor (e.g. in the film "De kleine blonde dood"). He also scored a number 1 hit with the song 'Toen ik je zag', performed under the artist name "Hero" (originally written by Guus Meeuwis). The song was the number 1 iTunes download in the Netherlands end of last week…
(Picture taken from Wikipedia)