Aan de slag!

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(Let’s) get going / get to work! [Dutch phrase of the week] Iconspeaker_klein

Aan_de_slag_met
This phrase can be used to encourage people to start with an activity right away, or as an announcement that you (all) are going to get busy. The activity is usually involves serious effort such as studying or work.

You can also use the phrase with the verbs "zijn" and "gaan". You will use "aan de slag zijn" for being in a work related activity or "having a job" (informally). Alternatively you can use "aan de slag gaan" for going to start an activity or "starting a job" (informally). Check out the example sentences.

Note that you will mostly hear the word "slag" used in its translation of "blow/stroke/strike" or "battle".

Examples:
– "Jongens het is al half 9 geweest, open je boek op pagina 16 en aan de slag!"
("Guys, it’s past 8.30 now, open your book at page 16 and let’s get going!")

– "Ok mensen, de koffie is op, aan de slag!"
("Alright people, we have finished our coffee, let’s get to work!"

– "Na drie weken vakantie ga ik morgen weer aan de slag; jammer!"
("After three weeks of holiday, I’m getting back to work tomorrow; too bad!)

– "Zal ik jullie morgen komen helpen?" – "Nou graag, maar we gaan wel al om 8 uur aan de slag!"
("Shall I help you out tomorrow morning?" – "Well, please do, but mind that we will be starting at 8!")

– "Het was gezellig om weer bij te kletsen, maar nu is het tijd om weer aan de slag te gaan!"
("It was really nice to catch up again, but now it’s time to get back to work!")

– "Chantal zoekt al heel lang een baan. Ze ziet er echt naar uit om weer aan de slag te gaan."
("Chantal has been looking for a job for quite some time now. She is really looking forward to getting back to work.")

Troep

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1. mess, rubbish, junk [noun] [de troep, no plural] Iconspeaker_klein_2

"Troep" is what you typically find in your attic: old junk. Quite a few synonyms exist for "troep" (see ‘Related words’). "Troep" is also used to describe a disorganised state of a room or place, or – by some people – of a hairdo: the so-called "Coupe troep" ("Messy haircut") 😉

Examples:
– "Zijn kamer is één grote troep omdat hij nooit opruimt."
("His room is one big mess bacuse he never tidies it".)

– "Heb je nog oude troep die ik op de rommelmarkt kan verkopen?"
("Do you have any old junk that I can sell on the rummage sale?")Troep_2_2

– "Wat een troep! Halen ze het vuilnis niet op in dit land?"
("What a mess! Don’t they collect the garbage in this country.")

Related words: 
– Bende: mess [noun] [de bende, no plural].
– Rotzooi: junk [noun] [de rotzooi, no plural].
– Zooi: mess [noun] [de zooi, no plural]. Also the diminutive is very common: zooitje.
– Rommel: junk [noun] [de rommel, no plural].

2. troop, body of soldiers [noun] [de troep, de troepen]

"Troep" – more often used in the plural ‘troepen’ – also has a totally different meaning: a group of soldiers. Beside the more cheerful news on the Olympic Games, you’ll probably find this word in the headlines of this week’s newspapers.

Examples: 
– "<Voorpagina van NRC vanochtend:> ‘Russische troepen verlaten Gorï’."
("<Front page of NRC this morning:> ‘Russian troops leave Gori’.")Troepen_2

– "De VN pleiten de inzet van vredestroepen in deze regio."
("The UN pleads for the deployment of peace troops in this region.")

Related words: 
– Vredesmacht: peacekeeping force [noun] [de vredesmacht, de vredesmachten].
– Leger: army [noun] [het leger, de legers].

Medaille

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medal, prize-medal [noun] [de medaille, de medailles] Iconspeaker_klein_2

Baanfietsen, Olympische Spelen 2008The word “medaille” is the topic of conversation on Dutch sport news these days, and probably not only in the Netherlands 🙂 Even though a small country, the Dutch participate in many sports at the Olympics, ranging from sailing to fencing. Sometimes we see Dutch sportsmen/women competing who we have never heard of!
(Photo by Chris Coleman (flickr.com) – some rights reserved.)

The Dutch typically do well in hockey, swimming, rowing and judo where “we” expect some medals. We always have our hopes up for the Dutch volleyball teams, the cyclists and the gymnasts. So far the Netherlands is at the ninth place in the medal ranking (“medailleklassement”) with one gold (4x100m Freestyle Relay Women – last time was in 1936!), one silver (Judo Women -57 kg) and one bronze medal (Judo Men -60 kg).

These Olympics there is excitement for the Dutch gymnast Epke Zonderland, who is the first Dutch (male) gymnast to participate since 1928.

Although the word “medaille” is borrowed from French, the pronunciation will be Dutchified 🙂 However, the practical rule is to at least try to approach the French pronunciation. Some fail miserably at this and talk of a “mee-dal-ju” where the “dal” is emphasized more significantly.

A slang word for “medaille” is “plak” (“slice”), and you might hear a Dutch winner talk about his or her “gouden plak”.

Examples:
– “Nederland heeft tot nu toe drie medailles gewonnen.”
(“Up to now the Netherlands have won three medals.”)

– “Als topsporter doe ik alles voor een gouden medaille!”
(“Being a professional athlete/sportsman/sportswoman, I would do anything for a gold medal.” A “topsporter” literally translates to a “top sportsman”.)

– “Vertel ons eens, hoe voel je je, nu dat je geen medaille hebt behaald?”
(“Now that you have not won a medal, tell us, how do you feel?” The verb “behalen” can also be translated with “to obtain” or “to achieve”.)

– “Het winnen van een gouden medaille op de Olympische spelen was mijn droom. Nu is deze droom in duigen.”
(“Winning a gold medal at the Olympics was my dream. Now this dream is shattered. Note that “in duigen” is short for “in duigen gevallen”.)

Expression:
– “Elke medaille heeft een keerzijde”: every medal has two sides / its reverse.

Related words:
– Olympische spelen: Olympic games, Olympics.
– Medaillewinnaar: medallist [noun] [de winnaar, de winnaars]. Literally a “medal winner”.
– Medailleklassement: medal ranking [noun] [het klassement, de klassementen].
– Plak: slice. Slang for “medal” [noun] [de plak, de plakken].

Zenuwachtig

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nervous, tense [adjective, adverb] Iconspeaker_klein_2

"ZenuwachtiNagelbijteng" is related to the word "zenuw" which means "nerve" (the plural is "zenuwen" which can be translated with "nerves"). A synonym of "zenuwachtig" is "nerveus" which is closely related to the English "nervous".

Examples:
– "Hij bijt altijd op zijn nagels als hij zenuwachtig is."
("He always bites his nails when he is nervous".)

– "Doe niet zo zenuwachtig; je maakt me nerveus."
("Stop fidgeting; you’re making me nervous.")

Expressions:
– "Op iemands zenuwen werken": to grate under someone’s skin.

Example:
– "De huilende baby werkte me op mijn zenuwen."
("The crying baby got on my nerves.")

– "Op zijn van de zenuwen": to be a nervous wreck (please note that the emphasis is on "op").

Example:
– "De Miss Universe-kandidate was op van de zenuwen toen ze de vraag over klimaatverandering moest beantwoorden."
("De Miss Universe-candidate’s nerves were in tatters when she had to answer the question on climate change.")

– "Stalen zenuwen hebben": to have nerves of steel.

Related words: 
– Zenuwpees: fidget [noun] [de zenuwpees, de zenuwpezen].
– Nerveus: nervous [adjective].

Uitstellen

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to postpone, to put off, to procrastinate [verb] [stelde uit, uitgesteld] [‘uit-stel-lun’] Iconspeaker_klein

Note that there is no direct translation of "to procrastinate" in 
Dutch. It will be either clear from context
that you are (once again
🙂 ) procrastinating, or if you want to be clear you can use
"voortdurend uitstellen" (to keep putting off).

Examples:Doe_het_vandaag_3
– "Heb je ook gemerkt dat Frank zijn werk uitstelt?"
("Have you also noticed that Frank puts off his work?")

– "Ik heb de neiging om lastige telefoontjes uit te stellen, jij ook?"
("I tend to put off tricky phone calls, you too?" Lit. "I have the
tendency to…" Note that a "telefoontje" is literally a small
telephone, but most common a popular word for a phone call.)

– "De wedstrijd tussen Ajax en Feyenoord is uitgesteld wegens slecht weer."
("Due to bad weather the match between Ajax and Feyenoord has been postponed.")

– "David is echt lui, hij stelt altijd alles continu uit!"
("David is really lazy, he is always procrastinating!" The word "continu" is a synonym for "voortdurend".)

Expressions:
– "Stel niet uit tot morgen wat je vandaag kan doen": never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
–
"Van uitstel komt afstel": this expression is used as a warning; if you
keep putting something off, it will not happen anymore ("afstel").

Related words:
– Uitstel: postponement [noun] [het uitstel, no plural].
– Lui: lazy [adjective].