Ek wag 'n bietjie.

I

Breakdown of Ek wag 'n bietjie.

• wag: to wait
• 'n bietjie: a little

Questions & Answers about Ek wag 'n bietjie.

Why is there no word for am in Ek wag?

Afrikaans usually does not use a separate verb like am in this kind of sentence.

• Ek = I
• wag = wait / am waiting

So Ek wag can mean both:

• I wait
• I am waiting

Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English uses either I wait or I am waiting.

What does 'n mean, and why does it have an apostrophe?

'n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, equivalent to English a or an.

So:

• 'n bietjie = a little bit / a while / a bit

The apostrophe is just part of how this word is written in Afrikaans. It is always written as lowercase 'n, even if it appears at the beginning of a sentence.

For example:

• 'n Man = a man

If a sentence starts with it, the next word is capitalized, not 'n itself.

How do you pronounce 'n?