1. mess, rubbish, junk [noun] [de troep, no plural]
"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?")
– "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’.")
– "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].
You used to have a pronunciation of the word of the day. Are you no longer doing that?
hallo, your site is amazing. i actually got this site from brenno,,i’m not sure if my spellings right, but yes, anyways, you guys are awesome
@Marne: hi, yes we are still doing it, but we are a bit behind; they will be added shortly! 🙂