wel

Wel for Contrast and Emphasis

Level 4

Wel is the positive partner of nie: Ek het nie geld nie, maar ek het wel tyd. (I don't have money, but I do have time.)

How It Works

1. Insisting against a negative. The main job of wel is to turn a negative around. It takes the place where nie would stand, and it is usually stressed:

  • Ek het nie geld nie, maar ek het wel tyd. (I don't have money, but I do have time.)
  • Jy gaan seker nie vandag ry nie? — Ek gaan wel vandag ry. (Surely you're not leaving today? — I am leaving today.)

Compare Ek het die boek nie gelees nie with Ek het die boek wel gelees (I did read the book). A wel sentence is positive, so it never gets a closing nie. For where the first nie goes, see where the first nie goes.

2. Confirming something doubted. Sy het wel gebel. (She did call.) The speaker answers a doubt, spoken or not.

3. Admitting a point. Wel can grant something before a maar: Dit is wel duur, maar dit is die moeite werd. (It is expensive, admittedly, but it is worth it.)

4. A likely guess with sal. Hy sal wel moeg wees. (He's probably tired.) This matches the guessing use of sal.

5. Wel at the start of a reply. Set off by a comma, Wel works like English well when you pause or think: Wel, ek weet nie. (Well, I don't know.)

Watch out: English well after a verb, as in she sings well, is goed: Sy sing goed. Saying Sy sing wel means She does sing. Adjectives such as goed work as adverbs without a change (see adjectives used as adverbs).

Examples (6)

  1. Ek het nie geld nie, maar ek het wel tyd.

    I don't have money, but I do have time.

    Word by Word: I have not money not, but I have indeed time.

    The first half is negative; wel turns the second half positive, in the spot where nie would be.

  2. Sy het wel gebel, maar jy was nie tuis nie.

    She did call, but you weren't home.

    Word by Word: She has indeed called, but you were not home not.

  3. Jy eet nie vleis nie, nè? — Ek eet wel vis.

    You don't eat meat, right? — I do eat fish.

    Word by Word: You eat not meat not, right? — I eat indeed fish.

  4. Hy sal wel moeg wees na die lang rit.

    He'll probably be tired after the long drive.

    Word by Word: He will indeed tired be after the long drive.

    With sal, wel turns the sentence into a likely guess.

  5. Dit is wel duur, maar dit is die moeite werd.

    It is expensive, admittedly, but it's worth it.

    Word by Word: It is indeed expensive, but it is the trouble worth.

  6. Wel, ek weet nie wat om te sê nie.

    Well, I don't know what to say.

    Word by Word: Well, I know not what to say not.

Common Mistakes

  • Using wel for well in the sense of in a good way.

    Hy het baie wel gespeel.
    Hy het baie goed gespeel.

    The intended meaning is that he played well. Afrikaans uses goed for that. Wel only insists that something happened, so it cannot describe how well he played, and baie wel is not Afrikaans.

  • Adding a closing nie to the wel part of the sentence.

    Ek het nie geld nie, maar ek het wel tyd nie.
    Ek het nie geld nie, maar ek het wel tyd.

    Wel makes its clause positive. Only the negative half gets nie ... nie; the wel half ends without nie.

How It Connects

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

welLevel 4Wel for Contrast and Emphasis

Learn This First

Wel contrasts with a negative or adds emphasis.

Words in This Pattern

welwel