Learn Hardcore Afrikaans: Ons moet ander mense respekteer.

Moet is a modal verb indicating obligation. It translates as must or have to. In contexts of polite advice, it can sometimes be rendered as should, but the primary sense here is a firm obligation: “we must.”

Why is respekteer at the end, and why isn’t there a word for “to” before it?

In Afrikaans, when you use a modal verb like moet, the main verb goes in the infinitive form at the end of the clause, without te (the usual infinitive marker). Just like English modals take a bare infinitive (“must respect”), Afrikaans does the same: moet respekteer = “must respect.”

What does ander mense mean, and why is there no article before it?

Ander means other, and mense means people. Together they mean other people. There’s no article (like “die” for “the”) because this phrase refers to people in general. If you wanted to say “the other people,” you would write die ander mense.

Is respekteer related to any English word?

Yes. Respekteer is a cognate of the English verb respect. The spelling and meaning are very close, and it’s a regular verb in Afrikaans (infinitive respekteer, past tense respekteer or respekteer het + past participle in perfect constructions).

How would you pronounce respekteer?

Roughly: rihs-puhk-TEER.
• r as in Spanish or lightly rolled.
• e like the “e” in “bed.”
• a and u sounds are short.
• Stress on the last syllable TEER (sounds like English “tear”).

Can I use a different word for “respect” in Afrikaans?

The main verb is respekteer, but you can also use the noun respek (“respect”) in constructions like Ons moet ander mense met respek behandel (“We must treat other people with respect”). Here behandel means “to treat.”