mens / 'n mens

People in General: Mens

Level 3

'n Mens = one, anybody, people in general: 'n Mens moet water drink. (You need to drink water.) Mens weet nooit. (You never know.)

How It Works

1. Meaning. 'n Mens or mens means anyone, people in general:

  • 'n Mens moet water drink. (One must drink water.)
  • Mens weet nooit. (You never know.)

2. Words that refer back. The object, possessive and reflexive for 'n mens is jou:

  • In die winter moet 'n mens jou warm aantrek. (In winter you have to dress warmly.)
  • 'n Mens moet na jou gesondheid kyk. (One must look after one's health.)

3. The same idea with jy and hulle. In speech, jy often means anyone: Jy weet nooit. Hulle can mean people in charge or people in general: Hulle sê dit gaan reën. (They say it's going to rain.)

4. Spelling at the start. The article 'n is never capitalised. At the start of a sentence, the next word gets the capital: 'n Mens.

5. Mens as a noun. Die mens can also mean "the human being" or "mankind", and mense means "people": Daar is baie mense hier.

Tip: compare iemand, which means one particular unknown person.

Examples (6)

  1. 'n Mens moet elke dag water drink.

    You need to drink water every day.

    Word by Word: A person must every day water drink.

  2. Mens weet nooit.

    You never know.

    Word by Word: One knows never.

  3. 'n Mens kan nie alles hê nie.

    You can't have everything.

    Word by Word: A person can not everything have not.

  4. In die winter moet 'n mens jou warm aantrek.

    In winter you have to dress warmly.

    Word by Word: In the winter must a person you warm dress.

    Jou refers back to 'n mens.

  5. 'n Mens moet na jou gesondheid kyk.

    One should look after one's health.

    Word by Word: A person must to your health look.

  6. Jy weet nooit wat môre bring nie.

    You never know what tomorrow brings.

    Word by Word: You know never what tomorrow brings not.

    In speech, jy is often used for people in general.

Common Mistakes

  • Capitalising 'n at the start of a sentence.

    'N mens moet water drink.
    'n Mens moet water drink.

    'n is never written with a capital. At the start of a sentence the next word gets the capital: 'n Mens.

  • Using the plural mense after 'n.

    'n Mense moet water drink.
    'n Mens moet water drink.

    'n goes only with a singular noun. For people in general use 'n mens, or say mense without 'n.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

mens / 'n mensLevel 3People in General: Mens

Learn This First

Mens means one or people in general, and it is referred back to with jou.

Words in This Pattern

mens