Word
De zwaarte van het werk valt best mee.
Meaning
The heaviness of the work is actually not that bad.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of De zwaarte van het werk valt best mee.
het werk
the work
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
meevallen
to turn out better than expected
best
quite / pretty (degree adverb)
Questions & Answers about De zwaarte van het werk valt best mee.
How is zwaarte formed, and does it only refer to physical heaviness?
It is formed by adding the suffix -te to the adjective zwaar (heavy or hard). While it can refer to physical heaviness, in this sentence it is used abstractly to mean the difficulty, severity, or burden of the work.
If zwaarte means heaviness, how is it different from gewicht?
Gewicht strictly means weight as a measurable physical amount, like kilograms. Zwaarte describes the quality or feeling of being heavy, hard, or severe. You would measure the gewicht of a suitcase, but experience the zwaarte of a difficult task.
What does the verb combination valt ... mee mean in this sentence?
It comes from the separable verb meevallen, which means to turn out better than expected or to not be as bad as feared. It is a very common Dutch concept. If the heavy work valt mee, it means it is not actually as hard as you thought it would be.
What is the role of best in valt best mee?
In this context, best does not mean the English word best. It is a Dutch adverb meaning quite, fairly, or actually. Saying something valt best mee is a very natural and common Dutch way to say it is really not that bad at all.