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Die hond het min eetlus.

Die hond het min eetlus.
The dog has little appetite.
From Lesson 41:Taking a pet to the vet·Hardcore Afrikaans

Breakdown of Die hond het min eetlus.

die hond
the dog
hê
to have
min
little
die eetlus
appetite

Questions & Answers about Die hond het min eetlus.

How do I pronounce die here? Is it like the English verb die?
No. In Afrikaans, die is pronounced dee. Here it means the, so die hond = the dog.
Why is it die hond and not 'n hond?
Die means the, while 'n means a/an. So die hond refers to a specific dog, and 'n hond would mean a dog in a more general sense.
What does het mean in this sentence?
Here, het means has. So Die hond het ... means The dog has ....
Why is it het and not a different form for he has or they have?

Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form the way English verbs do. So you say:

ek het = I have
jy het = you have
hy het = he has
ons het = we have

So het stays the same with different subjects.

What does min mean here?

Min means little, not much, or a small amount of in this sentence. So min eetlus means little appetite.

It does not mean small in size. For that, Afrikaans would usually use klein.

Why is there no 'n before eetlus?

Because min already tells you the quantity: little appetite. This works much like English, where you can say The dog has little appetite without using a.

If you said 'n eetlus, that would mean an appetite, which is grammatically possible, but it expresses a different idea.

Is eetlus one word? What is it made of?

Yes, eetlus is written as one word. It is a compound noun:

eet = eat
lus = desire, liking, urge

So eetlus literally has the idea of desire to eat, which is why it means appetite. Afrikaans often joins compound nouns into one word.

What is the difference between eetlus and honger?

Eetlus means appetite — the desire to eat.
Honger means hungry or hunger.

They are related, but not identical. Someone can be hungry but still have little appetite, especially if they are ill. So min eetlus is specifically about appetite, not just hunger.

Is the word order in Die hond het min eetlus normal?

Yes. This is normal Afrikaans main-clause word order:

Die hond = subject
het = finite verb
min eetlus = the rest of the predicate/complement

Afrikaans usually keeps the finite verb in the second position in a main clause, so this sentence is very standard.

Could I also say Die hond het geen eetlus nie?

Yes. That means The dog has no appetite.

The difference is:

min eetlus = little appetite
geen eetlus nie = no appetite

So geen eetlus nie is stronger than min eetlus.

Is het ever used in another way in Afrikaans?

Yes. Het can also be an auxiliary verb in the perfect tense, for example:

Die hond het geëet = The dog ate / has eaten

But in Die hond het min eetlus, het is the main verb and simply means has.

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