saus
/sɑu̯s/
The English word 'sauce' is saus in Dutch.
saus is the most common and widely understood generic term for sauce in Dutch. You can use it in various descriptions, such as pindasaus (peanut sauce), knoflooksaus (garlic sauce), Hollandaise saus (Hollandaise sauce), Pittige saus (spicy sauce), Pikante saus (piquant/hot sauce) or Zoete saus (sweet sauce). You can also describe the consistency or origin of a sauce using terms like Dikke saus (thick sauce), Dunne saus (thin sauce), Romige saus (creamy sauce) or zelfgemaakte saus (homemade sauce).
Meaning: liquid condiment (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
To describe the act of adding sauce to food, you can use the verb sauzen. If you are referring to small portions of sauce or dipping sauces, the diminutive form sausjes is frequently used.
How do you pronounce it?
/sɑu̯s/
Did you know?
- In the Netherlands, pindasaus (peanut sauce) is so iconic that it is frequently served with traditional fries, a combination rarely found in other European cuisines.
- The English word 'sauce' and the Dutch saus share the same Latin ancestor, salsus, which means 'salted'.
- The Dutch use the diminutive sausjes not just for size, but to make the request sound more polite or appetizing when ordering in a restaurant.
Examples in context
- Geef de saus door!Pass the sauce!This sentence is useful for practicing how to ask someone to pass the saus.Tatoeba #13726876 by doemaar14, translation #7357057 by Eccles17
- Probeer eens deze saus.Try this sauce.This sentence is useful for practicing how to suggest trying a specific saus.Tatoeba #6133027 by Mandalay, translation #60931 by CK
- Honger is de beste saus.Hunger is the best sauce.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of saus in a common proverb.Tatoeba #664518 by martinod, translation #18157 by papabear
- De saus smaakt heerlijkThe sauce tastes delicious
- Ik ben dol op pindasaus!I love peanut sauce!
- Mag ik extra knoflooksaus, alstublieft?Can I have extra garlic sauce, please?
- Ik heb gisteren een heerlijke zelfgemaakte saus bereidYesterday, I made a delicious homemade sauce
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sophie and Daan are having dinner at home.
- SophieDaan, wil je de saus even doorgeven?Daan, can you pass the sauce, please?
- DaanNatuurlijk, hier is de saus.Of course, here is the sauce.
- SophieDank je, hij ziet er goed uit.Thank you, it looks good.
- DaanIk hoop dat je hem lekker vindt.I hope you like it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sauce” translations and entries saus, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries saus, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
