Breakdown of Ek meet die gewig van die pakket.
ek
I
die
the
van
of
meet
to measure
die gewig
the weight
die pakket
the package
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Questions & Answers about Ek meet die gewig van die pakket.
Why is the verb meet used in this sentence?
meet is the Afrikaans verb “to measure” (from Dutch meten). You use it when you measure any physical quantity—length, volume, temperature, weight, etc. In this sentence you’re measuring the gewig (weight) of something, so you pick meet.
What’s the difference between meet and weeg?
Both can be used when talking about weight, but:
- meet = “measure” in general (you could measure weight, length, pressure…).
- weeg = “weigh,” specifically putting something on a scale to get its weight.
In practice, if you want a quick way to say “I weigh the package,” you’d say Ek weeg die pakket. If you emphasize the act of measuring the weight as a quantity, you use Ek meet die gewig van die pakket.
Can I omit the article die before gewig?
No. Afrikaans normally requires an article with a singular common noun:
- Definite: die gewig (“the weight”)
- Indefinite: ’n gewig (“a weight”)
If you drop it entirely—Ek meet gewig—it sounds ungrammatical. You need Ek meet die gewig for “I measure the weight.”
Why do we use the preposition van here?
van corresponds to English “of.” You use it to link the thing you’re measuring to its owner or source.
Structure:
die gewig van die pakket
the weight of the package
Could I use the se‐construction instead, like Ek meet die pakket se gewig?
Yes. Afrikaans allows se even with inanimate objects. So Ek meet die pakket se gewig is perfectly acceptable and often sounds more natural in speech than the van-construction.
Does meet change form with different subjects (I, you, he, we…)?
No. Afrikaans verbs don’t conjugate for person or number in the present tense. You use meet for all subjects:
ek meet, jy meet, hy/sy meet, ons meet, julle meet, hulle meet.
How do I pronounce meet and gewig?
• meet = [meːt], like English “mate” but with a long ee and a clear t at the end.
• gewig = [χəˈvix]:
- g as a guttural sound, like clearing your throat
- schwa ə in the first syllable
- v in the second syllable
- short i and a final fricative g/kh (similar to the first g but lighter).
Why is pakket spelled with a double k?
Doubling the k tells you the preceding vowel a is short. In Afrikaans spelling, a single consonant after a vowel often makes the vowel long; two consonants keep it short. So pakket has a short a, whereas paket (one k) would imply a long a (which isn’t the correct pronunciation here).
Could I simply say Ek weeg die pakket instead of measuring the weight?
Absolutely. Ek weeg die pakket means “I weigh the package.” It’s shorter, more idiomatic for weighing something on a scale. Use Ek meet die gewig van die pakket when you want the nuance of “measuring the weight as a quantity.”