Ons meet die vlak van die water.

We measure the level of the water.

Breakdown of Ons meet die vlak van die water.

• die water: the water
• ons: we
• die: the
• van: of

Questions & Answers about Ons meet die vlak van die water.

Why does meet mean measure here? It looks exactly like the English verb meet.

In Afrikaans, meet is the verb to measure, not to meet someone.

So in this sentence:

• Ons = we
• meet = measure

If you want meet in the English social sense, Afrikaans usually uses ontmoet:

• Ons ontmoet hulle môre. = We meet them tomorrow.

This is a very common false friend for English speakers.

How is meet pronounced in Afrikaans?

Afrikaans meet is pronounced roughly like mate in English, but with a steadier vowel and a final t.

A simple English-friendly guide:

• meet ≈ mate without a strong glide at the end

It is not pronounced like English meet.

Why doesn’t the verb change with ons? Why not something like a special we measure form?