mooi meisie
/ˈmoːi̯ ~ muə̯j ˈməi.si/word by word
The English phrase beautiful girl is translated into Afrikaans as mooi meisie.
The phrase refers to a young female person who is physically attractive.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /ˈmoːi̯ ~ muə̯j ˈməi.si/. The stress is on the 1st of 3 syllables.
Did you know?
- Afrikaans uses mooi to describe a well-behaved or 'good' child, which would be an unusual use of 'beautiful' in English.
- Because Afrikaans evolved from Dutch, the word meisie shares a linguistic DNA with the English word 'maid', though the connection is no longer obvious to most speakers.
- In South African slang, the word mooi is sometimes used as an intensifier to mean 'very' or 'completely', rather than just 'beautiful'.
Examples in context
- Jy is 'n baie mooi meisie.You are a very beautiful girl.
- Sy is 'n regte pragtige wyfie, né?She's a real gorgeous chick, huh?
- Sy is 'n mooi meisie.She is a beautiful girl.
- Daardie mooi meisie dra 'n rooi rok.That beautiful girl is wearing a red dress.
Example conversation
Pieter and Marelize are talking about a family photo.
- PieterWie is die mooi meisie in die foto?Who is the beautiful girl in the photo?
- MarelizeDit is my niggie, Sarah.That is my cousin, Sarah.
- PieterSy is regtig 'n mooi meisie.She is really a beautiful girl.
- MarelizeJa, sy is baie vriendelik ook.Yes, she is very friendly too.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (mooi, meisie) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries meisie, mooi, CC BY-SA 4.0.
