Ons meet sy lyf.

No. In Afrikaans, meet means measure.

So Ons meet sy lyf means We measure his body, not We meet his body.

If you want to say meet in the English sense of encounter or go to see someone, Afrikaans usually uses ontmoet.

• Ons ontmoet hom = We meet him
• Ons meet sy lyf = We measure his body

So meet is a classic false friend for English speakers.

Ons means we here.

Afrikaans ons can mean both:

• we as a subject
• us as an object

In this sentence, it comes before the verb, so it is the subject:

• Ons meet sy lyf = We measure his body

Here, sy means his.

So:

• sy lyf = his body

This can confuse English speakers because sy can also mean she when it stands alone as a subject.

Compare:

• Sy meet die tafel = She measures the table
• Ons meet sy lyf = We measure his body

So the function depends on position:

• before a noun: often his
• standing alone as the subject: often she

In standard Afrikaans, the possessive sy normally means his.

For her, Afrikaans usually uses haar:

• sy lyf = his body
• haar lyf = her body

So in this sentence, sy lyf clearly means his body.

Lyf means body, but it can sound a bit more physical or everyday than a more formal word like liggaam.

Depending on context, lyf can suggest:

• the body in general
• someone’s figure or build
• the torso/body shape

So sy lyf is a normal way to say his body, especially in everyday language.

A more formal version might use liggaam:

• Ons meet sy liggaam

But lyf is common and natural.

Because sy already works like a determiner, just like his in English.

In English, you say:

• his body not
• the his body

Afrikaans works the same way:

• sy lyf not
• die sy lyf

So the possessive replaces the article.

The sentence follows the basic Afrikaans main-clause word order:

Subject + Verb + Object

So:

• Ons = subject
• meet = verb
• sy lyf = object

This is very similar to English:

• We measure his body

Yes. Afrikaans verbs do not change form the way English verbs often do.

So meet stays meet with different subjects:

• Ek meet = I measure
• Jy meet = you measure
• Ons meet = we measure
• Hulle meet = they measure

Afrikaans does not add an -s like English he measures.

Meet is pronounced roughly like English mate, but with a clear long vowel and final t.

So it is not pronounced like English meet /miːt/.

That is another reason English speakers can get confused:

• English meet = /miːt/
• Afrikaans meet = closer to mate

Not in this sentence as it is written.

Because sy is immediately followed by the noun lyf, it functions as a possessive determiner:

• sy lyf = his body

If sy meant she, it would normally stand as the subject of a clause, for example:

• Sy meet sy lyf = She measures his body

There, the first sy means she, and the second sy means his.

A more formal option would be:

• Ons meet sy liggaam

because liggaam is a more formal word for body than lyf.

However, whether that is the best choice depends on the exact context. In many practical or everyday situations, lyf is still perfectly natural.

Afrikaans usually uses a double nie for negation.

So:

• Ons meet sy lyf = We measure his body
• Ons meet nie sy lyf nie = We do not measure his body

This nie ... nie pattern is a very important feature of Afrikaans.

You would use ons as the possessive:

• ons lyf = our body
• ons liggame = our bodies

So:

• Ons meet ons lyf = We measure our body

That sentence is grammatically possible, though in real usage you would often need context to know exactly whose body is meant.