Example: Ze zei geen kwaad woord over haar collega tijdens het gesprek.
Definition
"Geen kwaad woord" is a Dutch expression meaning not to say anything bad or negative about someone or something. It implies speaking only positively or refraining from criticism, as in the example where someone said nothing bad about their colleague during the conversation.
Translations
not a bad word
ni una mala palabra
ni una mala paraula
pas un mot de travers
kein böses Wort
nessuna parola cattiva
não dizer mal
Etymology
The phrase "geen kwaad woord" literally translates to "no bad word" in English. It originates from Dutch, where 'geen' means 'no,' 'kwaad' means 'bad' or 'evil,' and 'woord' means 'word.' This expression has been used to emphasize the absence of negative speech about a person or subject.
Learn to use this expression actively
"Geen kwaad woord" appears in the Vocaplus list "Dutch - General - Idioms and Proverbs - (A1) - set 1", containing 109 commonly used expressions.
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not a bad word