wat

Meaning

Pron

1. (interrogative) what: e.g. (1) asking for a subject complement; (2) asking for a sentence object
2. (relative) what: e.g. (1) as the object of a sentence; (2) ditto
3. (relative) that: e.g. (1) modifying an indefinite pronoun like iets, niets, alles or het enige; (2) modifying an adjective that is used as a noun, usually a superlative
4. (relative) which: e.g. (1) modifying the demonstrative pronouns dat and datgene; (2) referring back to an entire sentence
5. (indefinite) something: e.g. (1) as subject; (2) as subject complement

Det

1. some
2. what (a), such

Adv

1. a bit, somewhat
2. how, so

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ʋɑt/

Etymology

From Middle Dutch wat, from Old Dutch wat, from Proto-West Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷód, *kʷod, compare West Frisian wat, English what, German was, Danish hvad.

Sentences

Ik ga nog even wat water halen .

I'm going to get some more water.

Jullie draaien dat helemaal om en jullie weten wat jullie doen !

You are turning the thing on its head, and you know what you are doing.

Stelt u zich eens voor wat daar gebeurt .

We have to imagine what is happening over there.

Mij werd gevraagd wat deze landen zouden verliezen .

In this case, I was asked what they stood to lose.

De geschiedenis is in de eerste plaats gewoon datgene wat mensen doen .

History is first and foremost just what people do.

U hebt meerdere malen gevraagd wat dan de volgende stappen zijn .

What are the next stages, you asked several times?

Ze zouden eens wat meer liedjes moeten draaien op de radio in plaats van altijd die commentaar .

They should play some more songs on the radio instead of always commenting.

Wat we wel weten , is dat er iets heel vreemds is aan deze uitbraak .

What we do know is that there is something very strange about this outbreak.