INTRODUCTION |
There will be many times when Afrikaans is coming at you, and it can be fast and furious, so you may not catch any or all of it. In instances such as this, asking the speaker to say something again can prove the difference between understanding a crucial piece of information and spending the rest of the day trying to figure out what they’ve just said. The following phrases will not only give you a better sense of the language, but they will also help you tune your ears as well! |
Lesson focus
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In Afrikaans, "Could you repeat that, please?" is Kan u dit asseblief herhaal? Let's break it down by syllable. |
(slow) Kan u dit asseblief herhaal? |
Now let's hear it one more time. |
Kan u dit asseblief herhaal? |
First we have kan u, which means “can you” in Afrikaans. |
(slow) kan u |
kan u |
Then we have dit. The literal meaning is “this” |
(slow) dit |
dit |
Next, we have asseblief meaning “please,” then it’s followed by the word herhaal, meaning “to repeat.” |
(slow) herhaal |
herhaal |
Altogether, “Could you repeat that, please?" in Afrikaans is.. |
(slow) Kan u dit asseblief herhaal? |
Kan u dit asseblief herhaal? |
Sometimes you might want to ask someone to repeat something one more time. “Could you repeat that once again?” in Afrikaans is Kan u dit asseblief nog een keer herhaal? |
(slow) Kan u dit asseblief nog een keer herhaal? |
Kan u dit asseblief nog een keer herhaal? |
Let’s break it down. |
First, we have the phrase Kan u dit asseblief meaning “Can you please..?” |
(slow) Kan u dit asseblief |
Kan u dat asseblief |
Next, we have nog een keer which means “once again.” |
(slow) nog een keer |
nog een keer |
At the end, we have the verb herhaal meaning “to repeat.” |
(slow) herhaal |
herhaal |
Let's say the whole phrase one more time. “Could you repeat that once again?” |
(slow) Kan u dit asseblief nog een keer herhaal? |
Kan u dit asseblief nog een keer herhaal? |
At times even repeating the words isn't enough to understand the speaker. This is often due to how fast the person is speaking. In this case you can use the phrase, "Can you speak slower, please?" In Afrikaans, that’s Kan u asseblief stadiger praat? |
(slow) Kan u asseblief stadiger praat? |
Kan u asseblief stadiger praat? |
I’m sure that part of this expression sounds familiar to you. First we have Kan u asseblief, which means “Can you please?” |
(slow) Kan u asseblief |
Kan u asseblief |
Next, we have stadiger, meaning “slower.” |
(slow) stadiger |
stadiger |
At the end, we have praat, which means “to speak.” |
(slow) praat |
praat |
Altogether, we have “Can you speak slower, please.” |
(slow) Kan u asseblief stadiger praat? |
Kan u asseblief stadiger praat? |
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