Dutch profanity
Dutch profanity can be divided into several categories. Often, the words used in profanity by speakers of Dutch are based around various names for diseases. In many cases, these words have evolved into slang, and many euphemisms for diseases are in common use.
Additionally, a substantial number of curse words in the Dutch language are references to sexual acts, genitalia, or bodily functions. Religious curse words also make up a considerable part of the Dutch profanity vocabulary. Aside from these categories, the Dutch language has many words that are only used for animals; these words are insulting when applied to people. English terms often complement the Dutch vocabulary, and several English curse words are commonly in use.
Because of the prominence of the diminutive in the Dutch language, most nouns used in Dutch profanity can also be said or written in their diminutive forms.
Profanity related to illness and disability
Profanity which involves diseases are used throughout the country.| achterlijk | Achterlijk had been used as a word to denote the mentally handicapped in the past. It is commonly used as an insult. A humorous variation, "achterlijke gladiool", was first lexicalized in 1984. |
| debiel | Debiel is a term for people with a developmental disorder. It is commonly used as an insult. |
| downie | Downie has the same meaning as the English "downy", referring to people with Down's Syndrome. |
| idioot | Idioot means "idiot". Also used in Afrikaans as equal to "idiot". |
| kanker | Kanker means "cancer". It can be used as a strong expletive, as an adjective or as an adverb. Krijg de kanker is used as an insult. In slang, it can also have a positive meaning. For example, kankerlekker can mean "extremely good tasting" or even "very attractive". Even when used this way in its positive meaning, the word can still be considered very offensive and its use is strongly discouraged. "Kanker" can be paired with nearly any insult to intensify it. The word is sometimes shortened to its historical euphemism K, or in slang kk or kkr. |
| kankeren | Kankeren is a verb, and means "to complain excessively". Idiomatically, it could be translated as "to bitch". |
| kankerlijer | Kankerlijer means "cancer sufferer". It is a strong insult: an example of its legal status can be found in a 2008 court case, in which using the word kankerlijer to insult a police officer was cited as a serious offense. |
| klere | Klere is a slang word for cholera. It can be used as an expletive, as an adjective or as an adverb. Kolere is a common variation. |
| klerelijer | Klerelijer is a slang word meaning "cholera sufferer". It is used as an insult, and roughly analogous to "motherfucker". |
| kolere | Kolere is a slang word for cholera. It can be used as an expletive, as an adjective or as an adverb. Klere is a common variation. |
| krijg de... | To wish a disease upon someone, the words krijg de... are typically used. Examples include krijg de tering, krijg de tyfus, krijg de kanker, krijg de pest, krijg de takke, krijg de klere, krijg het lazarus and the more euphemistic krijg de ziekte. In standard Dutch, the article is superfluous or incorrect in these phrases, and consequently "de" and "het" are only paired with disease names in context of profanity. |
| lazarus | Rich man and Lazarus is a euphemism for leprosy. Krijg het lazarus is uncommonly used as an insult. It is more often used as slang for getting very drunk, comparable to "shitfaced". |
| lijer | Lijer is a noun and suffix. It is correctly spelled "lijder", but the "d" becomes silent in slang. It is used both as a standalone insult and in combination with diseases, such as coronalijer, kankerlijer, klerelijer, pleurislijer, pokkelijer, takkelijer, teringlijer and tyfuslijer. |
| mongool | Mongool is a common insult, referring to Down syndrome. Its diminutive mongooltje is often used as a somewhat more neutral or affectionate term for people with Down syndrome, although it is not considered politically correct. Kankermongool is a common variation: see kanker. Some people use mogool. Also frequently used in Afrikaans. |
| minkukel | Minkukel is a neologism introduced by a famous Dutch comics writer, Marten Toonder. It is incorrectly used to denote somebody with a small brain or low IQ. According to the writer it is actually a positive quality, as a lack of pretence and ego. |
| pest | Pest can be used as an adjective or as an adverb. The verb pesten means "to bully". "De pest in hebben" means "to be irritated". The word is sometimes shortened to its historical euphemism P. |
| pestkop | Literally meaning "plague head", a pestkop is someone who engages in bullying. See pest and kop. |
| pleuris | Pleuris, or less commonly pleuritis, is a slang word for tuberculosis, originally referring to any form of lung infection. It can be used as an expletive, as an adjective or as an adverb. Krijg de pleuris is also commonly used. As with tering, the phrase "alles ging naar de pleuris" is commonly used. As a verb, the word oppleuren can mean "to fuck off". |
| pleurislijer | Pleurislijer is a slang word meaning "tuberculosis sufferer". It is used as an insult, and roughly analogous to "motherfucker". |
| polio | Polio is uncommon as a curse word, and is mostly heard in the phrase "heb je soms polio?", which can be used to insult someone's perceived laziness. The Genootschap Onze Taal has noted a rise in the use of polio as an expletive and adjective in the Rotterdam area, and describes it as a possible alternative to the more severe kanker. |
| pokke | Pokke is a slang word for smallpox. It can be used as an adjective or as an adverb. |
| pokkelijer | Pokkelijer is a slang word meaning "smallpox sufferer". It is used as an insult, and roughly analogous to "motherfucker". |
| stom | Stom can be used an intensifier when using curse words. Examples are "stomme hoer" and "stomme kut". stommeling is the person who is considered stupid. |
| takke | Takke is a slang word for stroke. It can be used an adjective or as an adverb. Krijg de takke is used as an insult. A common variation is takkewijf : see also wijf. |
| tering | Tering is a slang word for tuberculosis. It is short for "vertering". It can be used as an expletive, as an adjective or as an adverb. Vliegende tering is a humorous variation, originally referring to sudden-onset tuberculosis. Krijg de tering is used as an insult. Other words for tuberculosis include TB and TBC, which were historically used as euphemisms, owing to the fact that names of diseases were considered profane. As with pleuris, the phrase "alles ging naar de tering" is commonly used. |
| teringlijer | Teringlijer is a slang word meaning "tuberculosis sufferer". It is used as an insult, and roughly analogous to "motherfucker". |
| tyfus | Tyfus is a word for typhoid fever. It can be used as an expletive, as an adjective or as an adverb. Krijg de tyfus is used as an insult. The variation optiefen is analogous to "fuck off". Sanders and Tempelaars note tiefttering as a variation common in Rotterdam. |
| tyfuslijer | Tyfuslijer is a slang word meaning "typhoid fever sufferer". It is used as an insult, and roughly analogous to "motherfucker". |
| vinkentering | Vinkentering is noted by Sanders and Tempelaars as an expression that is typical in the Rotterdam vocabulary. A noted humorous variation is krijg de vinkentering. See also tering. |
| ziekte | Ziekte is used in the expression krijg de ziekte. It is a euphemism that can be used for various afflictions. Older variations include drinken als de ziekte. Ziek can also be used as an adjective, much in the same sense that "sick" in English is used. |
Profanity related to religion and death
| gadverdamme | Gadverdamme is a softened version of godverdomme. Gadverdamme is used to express disgust. It is often shortened to gadver or gatver. |
| getverderrie | Getverderrie is a softened version of godverdomme, and is used to express disgust. It is often shortened to getver. |
| godverdomme | Godverdomme is a shortened version of the subjunctive phrase "God verdoeme...". Verdomme or Godsamme are common variations. |
| godskolere | Godskolere is a combination of the West-Flemish dialect word koleire and God. |
| graftak | Graftak literally means "grave branch" and refers to someone's age. This is typically enforced by adding ouwe/oude or achterlijke. The word can also refer to a moody, cranky person. |
| hel | Hel is not typically used in Dutch profanity. The word can be seen in some expressions, including "loop naar de hel" and the archaic helleveeg. |
| Jezus Christus | Jezus Christus is, like godverdomme, although it is slightly less offensive. Often just Jezus, or in the form of minced oaths: tjezus, jeetje, jezus mina etc. Disgust can be expressed by jesses, jasses, harrejasses, the last from Here Jezus. |
| verdomme | Verdomme is a common variation of godverdomme. |
| verdorie | Verdorie is a softer variation of verdomme. There is a large number of bastard curses of this form, including Potdorie, Potjandorie, Potdrie, Potverdriedubbeltjes, Potdeksels, Deksels,... |
Profanity related to sexuality, the human body, and animals
| Anaalgeneraal | Anaalgeneraal means "anus general". It is used to insult men who have sex with men. |
| anusridder | Anusridder means "anus knight". It is used to insult men who have sex with men. Anaalridder is a variation, depending on region. |
| bastaard | Bastaard is the Dutch word for bastard. Uncommonly used in the same context as the English equivalent. |
| bek | Bek is most commonly used in the phrase "houd je bek". Compare kop and muil. |
| bitch | Bitch is an English loan word. Its Dutch equivalent is teef. The same word is also used in the Afrikaans language. |
| chips | Chips is a minced oath version of shit, used to avoid saying the common English loan word "shit". |
| dikzak | Dikzak is an insult used to describe a fat person. Synonyms include vetzak and papzak. |
| doos | Doos literally means box, but is slang for vagina. It is a rather mild insult to women, usually indicating stupidity. E.g. domme doos. The word is also used in Afrikaans, but as in "stomme doos" |
| drol | Drol literally means turd. It is used for an annoying or stupid person. Flapdrol, literally is a rather inexperienced, unhandy and weak person. "Drol" is also used in Afrikaans. |
| eikel | Eikel is a neutral word for male glans. As an insult, it is comparable to the English word "dickhead" when applied to a person. |
| ezel | Ezel is relatively mild insult for a person behaving in a stubborn yet unintelligent manner. Compare with the English-language use of "ass". |
| flikker | Flikker is analogous to faggot, but is often also used as a verb, like flikker op. Also commonly used in the context of something being dismissed or discarded, such as "flikker het weg", or "neergeflikkerd". |
| fok | Fok is used as a variation of the English loan word fuck. It is also in use in the Afrikaans language. The Dutch news site and virtual community FOK! uses this word as its name. Also used in Afrikaans. |
| fuck | Fuck is an English loan word and is a common expletive, sometimes spelled fock as a merger between the English and the Dutch words. Its adjective "fucking" is also commonly in use. The word is productive in Dutch: a standard variation is "fucken met". |
| hoer | Hoer is the Dutch word for whore. Also used in Afrikaans. |
| hondelul | Hondelul is a variation of the more commonly heard "lul". First coined by Feyenoord soccer player Piet Romeijn, the usage of the insult has kept many connotations to Dutch professional soccer, and will often be heard during chants on the supporter tribunes. |
| huppelkut | Huppelkut can be used to insult a woman's perceived shallowness. The word was first used by comedian Youp van 't Hek. The diminutive form huppelkutje is most commonly in use. It can be seen as a comedic variation of the noun kut. |
| kak | Kak means "crap". Sometimes used as a less offensive equivalent to "shit", its more common use is as a social slur. It is also commonly in use in the Afrikaans language and South African English. |
| kattenkop | Kattenkop is a mild insult commonly aimed at young girls, and referring to mean or crass character. Compare kop. The related adjective and adverb kattig is equivalent to the English "catty". |
| klootzak | Klootzak is the scrotum, and is a common insult. It is comparable to the English word "asshole" when applied to a person. See also zak. Klojo, possibly a derivative of klootzak, means "clumsy person", "simpleton". |
| klote | Klote a word for the testicles. It can be used as an expletive, as an adjective, or as an adverb. Several common expressions use the word klote, such as "ik voel me klote", "het examen ging klote" and "het weer is klote". Compare kut. |
| kop | Kop is most commonly used in the phrase "houd je kop". Compare bek and muil. |
| kreng | Kreng is a common insult aimed at women, and denotes mean or crass character. |
| kringspiermusketier | Kringspiermusketier is an insult aimed at a man of homosexual nature. |
| kut | Kut is a word for the vagina. It is commonly used as a curse word. It can be used as an expletive, as an adjective or as an adverb. Several common expressions use the word kut, such as "ik voel me kut", "het examen ging kut" and "het weer is kut". Compare klote. Its common idiomatic use in the phrase "wat kut voor je" expresses roughly the same sentiment as the English "I'm sorry to hear that", albeit in a somewhat profane way; it could therefore be compared to "That sucks" in English. When used as a noun to refer to a woman, the meaning of kut is analogous to the English severity of the word cunt. |
| lamzak | Lamzak, is used as an insult for a person that drinks many alcoholic beverages. 'Lam' meaning 'drunk'. |
| lul | Lul is a word for the penis. It is used as an insult, and is roughly analogous to the English "dick" when applied to a person. |
| lullen | Lullen is a verb, meaning "to talk pointlessly". It is somewhat analogous to the English phrase "to dick around". Compare ouwehoeren. |
| manwijf | Manwijf Refers to a woman who looks like a man. Sometimes also used the opposite way. |
| matennaaier | A matennaaier is somebody who has screwed over one or more of his friends. Infamous historical examples include Brutus and Benedict Arnold. |
| mierenneuken | Mierenneuken is analogous to "nitpicking". It is considered less offensive than the standalone word neuken. |
| muil | Muil is most commonly used in the phrase "hou je muil". Compare bek and kop. |
| muts | Muts literally means cap, but is slang for vagina. It is a relatively mild insult to women, comparable to doos. |
| neuken | Neuken literally means "to fuck". It can be used neutrally, as an intimate or romantic term, or as a form of profanity. |
| neukertje | Neukertje is the diminutive form of the word neuker. Can refer to a person that the speaker is sexually involved with. It can be either used as a term of affection, or as an insult, depending on context. |
| nicht | Nicht can be used to mean "queer" or "fairy", in reference to a homosexual man. It is commonly used within the LGBT community as a term of endearment or self-description. Its adjective and adverb are nichterig. |
| ouwehoeren | Ouwehoeren is a verb, meaning "to talk pointlessly". See also hoer, compare lullen. |
| paardereet | paardereet is an insulting term for an unintelligent person. |
| pissig | Pissig can mean "pissed off", "angry". |
| poep | Poep means "poop". Its diminutive poepje is used as a term of endearment comparable to "sweetie", and is not considered profane. In Belgian Dutch, the verb poepen instead means "to fuck". In Afrikaans, poep is a common term used for "fart". The noun poep is the Flemish term for "buttocks". |
| poes | Poes is a word for the vagina. Its diminutive poesje is also used. Poes is also used for "vagina" in Afrikaans. |
| poot | Poot is a word generally used to describe the leg of either an animal or a piece of furniture. More crudely, it can be used to refer to a person's hands or feet . Additionally, poot is also a common slang term for a homosexual man, analogous to "fag". |
| pot | Pot can mean "homosexual woman". It is somewhat more reappropriated than poot, and consequently analogous to dyke. |
| teef | Teef means "bitch". Like in English, the word can either be a neutral term for a female dog, or a strong insult aimed at women. An even stronger variant is Beftekkel which is the female variant of klootzak. Teef is also used in Afrikaans to describe "bitch". |
| trut | Trut is a common insult aimed at women. It was originally a slang word for vagina. It is significantly milder than kut. |
| tut | Tut is a common mild insult aimed at women. It is a softer form of trut. Its diminutive tutje is also common, as is the variation tuthola. |
| reet | Reet is a word for the intergluteal cleft. It is used in a number of common expressions, such as "ik vind er geen reet aan", "het interesseert me geen reet", "steek het maar in je reet" and "ik snap er geen reet van". Compare zak. |
| reetkever | Reetkever. Similar to kringspiermusketier. |
| rot- | The particle rot- can be used as an adjective when combined with a noun, and is commonly used in words such as "rothond", "rotjoch" and "rotweer". |
| rotzak | Literally meaning "rotten sack" or "rotten testicles", rotzak can be used as an insult, roughly analogous to "asshole". Compare zak, klootzak. |
| schijt | Schijt means "shit". It is not used as an exclamation, but can be used as part of some common expressions: for example, schijtluis, schijtlijster or schijterd means "chickenshit" or "coward". See also stront. |
| shit | Shit is an English loan word and an extremely common expletive. It is sometimes softened to chips. |
| slet | Slet is the Dutch word for slut. The diminutive sletje is also commonly in use. This term is commonly combined with the Dutch slangword for fellatio pijpslet, or another common variant being slettenbak. |
| slijmbal | A slijmbal is someone who makes exaggerated compliments, a flatterer. Akin to English slimeball, meaning ass-kisser or bootlicker. Also slijmerd, slijmjurk. |
| slons | Slons means a person whose appearance is untidy. Its adjective is "slonzig". |
| stoephoer | Stoephoer can be used as an insult to women. |
| stront | Stront means "shit". It is not used as an exclamation, but can be used an adjective, or as a part of fixed expressions such as "zak in de stront". Unlike "shit", the word can also be used neutrally. See also schijt. |
| swaffelen | Swaffelen means to hit one's penis—often repeatedly—against an object or another person's body. Swaffelen was named as the word of the year in the Netherlands and Belgium in 2008. |
| zak | Zak is a word for the scrotum, and is a common insult. It is comparable to the English word "jerk" when used applied to a person. Additionally, it is used in a number of common expressions, such as "ik vind er geen zak aan", "het interesseert me geen zak" and "ik snap er geen zak van". Compare reet. |
| uilskuiken | Uilskuiken is a word for a naively dumb person. |
| zeiken | Zeiken is a verb, meaning "to complain" or "to bitch". Also afzeiken, meaning "to insult". |
Ethnic and social slurs
| bamivreter | Bamivreter is an ethnic slur used against people of Asian descent. |
| bosneger | Bosneger was originally a neutral anthropological term for Maroons from the Surinam hinterland; today it is considered rather derogatory. |
| fransoos | Fransoos is a lightly derogatory term for French people. |
| geitenneuker | Geitenneuker is an ethnic slur applying to Muslims or people of Middle Eastern descent. It was coined by filmmaker and author Theo van Gogh. See also neuken. |
| hangjongere | Hangjongere refers to youngsters who hang around in neighborhoods and cause nuisance. See also tuig which has a stronger connotation. |
| Indo | An Indo is someone of mixed Dutch-Indonesian descent. Famous examples include the Van Halen brothers, the Klemann sisters, and, ironically, the populist politician Geert Wilders. See also Eurasian. |
| kaaskop | Kaaskop a word for ethnically Dutch people. Is also used to refer to people originating from the city of Alkmaar, The Netherlands. |
| kakker | Kakker is social slur, referring to people of higher social standing than the speaker, comparable to British posh. It was derived from "kouwe kak", which can be used to mock someone's wealth or upper-class mannerisms. See also kak. |
| koelie | Koelie originally a word used in the Indies to refer to laborers, now it's used as a derogatory for people of Indonesian and Hindi origins. |
| lijp | Lijp originated as a slur for Jewish people, based on the name Levi. Later on, it came to mean "slow", "dumb", "sluggish". More recently, the word has also come to mean "cool", "interesting" in youth slang. |
| medelander | Medelander is a neologism from two words: "mede-" and "Nederlander". It literally means co-countryman. Medelander was coined as a euphemism for the word "allochtoon", which was itself coined as a euphemism for "buitenlander" and "asielzoeker". It is now used as a derogatory term in an ironic way. It is often written between scare quotes to accentuate its difference from a "Nederlander". |
| Mocro | Mocro is an ethnic slur and is used for people of Moroccan descent. It has largely been reappropriated. |
| mof | Mof is an ethnic slur used for people of German descent, comparable to kraut. It was first noted in 1574. During World War II, the word became more common. In the northern parts of the Netherlands, the word poep is used instead. A variation is moffenhoer, referring to a woman who was sexually or romantically involved with a proponent of National Socialism. Another variation is Mofrica, a way to refer to Germany combining Mof and Africa. |
| nikker | Nikker is analogous to nigger, a word for a terror ghost. Like neger, nikker became an offensive slur towards black people. Both neger and nikker haven't been reappropriated. The term neger is usually considered offensive by black people while others consider it neutral; nikker is always considered offensive. |
| pauper | Pauper is a social slur, referring to people of low social standing. Although it is no longer in common use, the word is popular in Leiden and Delft student slang as a noun and as an adverb or adjective, and can be used to mean "trashy, gaudy". |
| pinda | Pinda is an ethnic slur used against people of Indonesian descent. |
| plebejer | Plebejer is a social slur, referring to people of low social standing. Cf. English plebeian. This term is occasionally used among students when talking about people with a lower education. |
| poepchinees | Poepchinees is an ethnic slur used against people of Asian descent. |
| proleet | Proleet stems from the Latin term "proletarius" someone who is very rude and uncultured. Also commonly of low social class. This term is often used by students and high educated people towards those with a lower education. |
| rapalje / rapaille | Rapalje / rapaille is a pejorative term for lower classes. It is no longer commonly in use. The term is famous from the Rapaille Partij, an anti-democratic political party which attempted to make its point by ridiculing democracy. |
| roetmop | Roetmop is an ethnic slur for black people. |
| spaghettivreter | Spaghettivreter is an insulting term for people of Italian descent. It can be compared to wop. A variant is pastavreter. |
| loempiavouwer | loempiavouwer is an insulting term for people of Vietnamese descent. |
| spleetoog | Spleetoog is an insulting term for people of Asian, mostly Chinese and Indonesian descent. |
| tatta | Tatta is a neutral term used by Antilleans and Surinamese people for the Dutch. In the last few years "rijke tatta" is used for ethnically Dutch people who are rich. It can be used in a positive and in a negative way, but its meaning is mostly neutral. It is also the word for potato in Surinamese. |
| tuig | Tuig refers to people who hang around in the streets and around bars, commit petty crime, and bother or mistreat passers-by. |
| Tokkie | Tokkie is used as a pejorative term for lower-class people who often are seen as likely to engage in anti-social behaviour, similar to the British and Irish "chav" and the Australian "bogan". The term is derived from the surname Tokkie and came into general use when the Dutch Tokkie family gained notoriety when they were portrayed on national television in 2004 and 2005. Of this family only the mother bears the surname Tokkie. The other family members bear the surname Ruijmgaart. |
| zandneger | Zandneger is an ethnic slur for people of Middle Eastern descent. |
| zwartnek | Zwartnek is an ethnic slur for black people. |
Miscellaneous profanity
| klootviool | klootviool is a mild insult that rose to prominence because of the frequent use in a voice-over series that was very popular during the mid 2000s |
| koekert/koekwaus | Koekert or koekwaus means "crazy person". It is most often used in the South of the Netherlands, mostly in Noord Brabant. |
| NSB'er | NSB'er refers to the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands. It is generally used for someone who betrays someone's actions to authorities. |
| oelewapper | Oelewapper is a rather mild insult for someone who behaves strangely or unintelligently; a nincompoop. It is rarely used today. |
| pannekoek | Pannekoek is a mild insult for someone who is doing an inadequate job. |
| smeerlap | Smeerlap can be used to mean "pervert", or more generally to refer to someone of questionable morality. |
| sukkel | Sukkel is a relatively mild insult. The meaning of this word can be compared to "wimp", "dork", or "schlemiel". It was originally Frisian. The English word "sucker" is perhaps derived from sukkel and resulted in a verb. This has been translated into Dutch: het zuigt. |
| sul | Sul is a relatively mild insult, typically aimed at boys and men. The meaning of this word can be compared to "wimp", "dork", or "schlemiel". Its etymology is unclear. |
| wijf | Wijf is a common insult aimed at women. It originally meant "woman". It can be combined with other curse words, leading to common forms such as kutwijf, kankerwijf, etc., but also viswijf. This is because in order to sell the fish it was, and sometimes still is, loudly praised by the person selling it on the fish market. |
| zooi | Zooi and its diminutive zooitje mean "mess". It can be used to intensify an expletive, for example in the common expressions teringzooi and kankerzooi. The variation rotzooi, however, is fairly neutral and not commonly seen as profanity. Sanders and Tempelaars additionally note the use of krijg de kankerzooi. |