Get the appGet the app
Afrikaans frequency list

No. 53 in Afrikaans

moes

"Had to" or "must have."

In a sentence

  • Ek moes vroeg opstaan om die trein te haal.

    I had to get up early to catch the train.

    'Moes' expresses obligation or necessity in this sentence.

  • Sy sê sy moes gister gelukkig wees oor haar uitslae.

    She says she had to be happy about her results yesterday.

    'Moes' indicates a requirement to feel or act in a certain manner in the past.

  • Hulle moes die werk self voltooi voor die sperdatum.

    They had to complete the work themselves before the deadline.

    'Moes' conveys a duty or expectation to perform an action in this context.

Hear it in real podcasts

The recording above is a synthetic voice. Hear how people say “moes” in actual Afrikaans podcasts.

Find “moes” in podcasts

Learn it from shows you like

LangTurbo plays Afrikaans podcasts with a transcript and the English under every line. Tap a word like this one and it tells you what it means right there. For iPhone, iPad and Android.

Afrikaans books and courses on Amazon (an affiliate link: a purchase through it supports this site).