Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
In this lesson we’ll look at a very useful phrase meaning "I don't understand." It’s useful because there may be situations in which you don't immediately understand what people are saying.

Lesson focus
In Afrikaans, “I don’t understand” is Ek verstaan nie. Let's break it down by syllable.
(slow) Ek verstaan nie
Now let's hear it one more time.
Ek verstaan nie
First we have the word ek, which means “I” in this context.
(slow) ek
ek
Next, we have verstaan, which means “to understand.”
(slow) verstaan
verstaan
With these two words you can say ek verstaan meaning “I do understand.”
To say “I don’t understand” you simply need to add one extra word meaning “not.” nie.
(slow) nie
nie
Therefore “I don’t understand” in Afrikaans is..
(slow) Ek verstaan nie
Ek verstaan nie
To make your sentence polite, you can add “I’m sorry” at the beginning of the sentence, which is Ek is jammer in Afrikaans.
So the whole phrase will be "I'm sorry, I don't understand." In Afrikaans, this is
Ek is jammer, ek verstaan nie.
When you don't understand something, you can also be more proactive and say "What does it mean?" This phrase in Afrikaans is Wat bedoel dit? Let's break it down by syllable.
(slow) Wat bedoel dit?
Once again..
Wat bedoel dit?
The first word, wat, means "what."
(slow) wat
wat
The second word is bedoel, the verb meaning "to mean."
(slow) bedoel
bedoel
Lastly, we have the pronoun dit, meaning “that.”
(slow) dit
dit
All together, once again “What does it mean?” is..
Wat bedoel dit?

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