Talle mense wag.

Numerous people are waiting.

Breakdown of Talle mense wag.

• wag: to wait
• die mense: the people
• talle: numerous

Questions & Answers about Talle mense wag.

What does talle mean, and is it a common word in Afrikaans?

Talle means many or numerous. It is correct and fairly common, but it sounds a little more formal or written than baie in some contexts.

So:

• Talle mense wag. = Many people are waiting.
• Baie mense wag. also works and is often more everyday.

A learner will probably see both, but talle is a useful word to know because it appears often in writing, news, and formal speech.

Why is mense used here instead of something like menss or mensen?

Because mense is the plural of mens.

• mens = person / human
• mense = people

This is an irregular-looking plural from an English speaker’s point of view, so it is best learned as a vocabulary item.

Examples:

• Die mens is feilbaar. = The human being is fallible.
• Die mense is moeg. = The people are tired.

Why is there no word for are in the sentence?