Wat bedoel jy met daardie vraag?

In this sentence, wat means what and introduces the question.

Afrikaans often uses wat at the beginning of a direct question when you are asking for clarification, as in:

• Wat doen jy? — What are you doing?
• Wat bedoel jy...? — What do you mean...?

So here, wat is the question word that asks for the missing information.

Because this is a direct question.

In Afrikaans, when a question begins with a question word like wat, the finite verb usually comes next, before the subject:

• Wat bedoel jy ...?
• Waar woon hy?
• Waarom lag hulle?

This is similar to English word order in many questions:

• What do you mean ...?
• Where does he live?

So bedoel jy is the normal question order.

Bedoel means mean in the sense of intend, have in mind, or be trying to say.

So in sentences like these:

• Wat bedoel jy? — What do you mean?
• Ek bedoel dit ernstig. — I mean it seriously.

It is a very common verb when asking someone to clarify what they are saying.

Yes. Jy is the normal singular you in everyday Afrikaans.

It is used with friends, family, classmates, colleagues, and in most ordinary situations. Afrikaans uses u for a more formal or respectful you, but u is much less common in everyday speech than formal you forms in some other languages.

So:

• Wat bedoel jy met daardie vraag? — normal everyday speech
• Wat bedoel u met daardie vraag? — more formal or polite

Met usually means with, and here it is part of the expression bedoel met — mean by.

So although met often translates literally as with, in this kind of sentence the whole pattern is:

• Wat bedoel jy met ...? — What do you mean by ...?

Other examples:

• Wat bedoel jy met dit? — What do you mean by that?
• Ek weet nie wat hy met sy opmerking bedoel nie. — I do not know what he means by his comment.

So it is best to learn bedoel met as a useful combination.

That is just how Afrikaans expresses this idea idiomatically.

English says mean by, but Afrikaans uses bedoel met. Languages often use different prepositions in fixed expressions, and they do not always match word-for-word.

So even though the English meaning uses by, the natural Afrikaans structure is:

• bedoel met iets — mean by something

This is a good example of why it helps to learn whole phrases, not just individual words.

Daardie means that and hierdie means this.

So:

• hierdie vraag — this question
• daardie vraag — that question

Daardie points to something more distant, less immediate, or already mentioned in the conversation. In this sentence, daardie vraag refers to a specific question that the speaker is reacting to.

Sometimes yes, but the meaning changes a little.

• die vraag means the question
• daardie vraag means that question

Using daardie makes the reference more pointed and specific. It can sound like the speaker is focusing on one particular question, perhaps one just asked.

Compare:

• Wat bedoel jy met die vraag? — What do you mean by the question?
• Wat bedoel jy met daardie vraag? — What do you mean by that question?

The version with daardie is often more natural if you are reacting directly to something someone has just said.

Afrikaans does not need an extra helping verb like English do in this kind of question.

English often uses do-support:

• What do you mean?
• Do you know him?

Afrikaans usually asks the question just by changing word order:

• Wat bedoel jy?
• Ken jy hom?

So bedoel carries the main meaning by itself, without an extra auxiliary verb.

Yes. Vraag is the normal Afrikaans noun for question.

Examples:

• Ek het 'n vraag. — I have a question.
• Dis 'n moeilike vraag. — It is a difficult question.
• Hy antwoord my vraag. — He answers my question.

In your sentence, vraag is singular and is modified by daardie: daardie vraag.

It can be either, depending on tone of voice and context.

Grammatically, the sentence is neutral: it simply asks for clarification. But in real conversation it can sound:

• genuinely curious
• confused
• defensive
• irritated
• challenging

For example, if said sharply, Wat bedoel jy met daardie vraag? can sound like Why are you asking me that? or What are you implying?

So the tone matters a lot.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

vaht buh-DOOL yay met DAAR-dee fraakh

A few helpful notes:

• wat sounds like vaht
• bedoel has stress on the second syllable: be-DOEL
• jy sounds roughly like yay
• daardie is roughly DAAR-dee
• vraag has a guttural final sound, something like fraakh

Pronunciation varies a bit by region and speaker, but this will get you close.

It is possible to hear meen in some contexts, but bedoel is the more natural and standard choice here.

• bedoel = mean, intend, have in mind
• meen = mean, think, be of the opinion

So when asking someone to explain what they intended by something, bedoel is usually the best verb:

• Wat bedoel jy? — What do you mean?

Meen is more common in sentences like:

• Ek meen jy is reg. — I think you are right.
• Hy meen dit ernstig. — He means it seriously.

For this specific sentence, bedoel is the safest and most idiomatic choice.