Meaning of GUNNEN

[rhino514]

i come across this word alot. But the definitions in the dictionary don´t seem to make sense in most contexts i come across. It is usually translated as "to confer"
But a friend of mine the other day said she uses it often when people are nice and supportive, or perhaps "well-wishing?). She meant to say her work colleagues wanted her to do well and were supportive, and she used "gunnen" or "gunstig" in this respect. BTW she is vlaams so maybe they have yet another usage for this word.
Cn anyone tell me some of the more common usages of gunnen/gunstig?

bedankt

J

[Quetzal]

Yeah, "to confer" is really more a secondary meaning... the primary meaning is hard to translate with a single word in English, but it basically means "thinking someone deserves something", or "thinking it's right that someone should get something".

For instance: "Ik gun het hem wel, dat hij de loterij gewonnen heeft - hij heeft al zoveel pech gehad in zijn leven." = "I'm glad that he's won the lottery, he's had so much bad luck in his life."

Though it can also be used negatively, as in "Ze gunnen elkaar het licht in hun ogen niet" - "They begrudge each other the light in their eyes", i.e. they each don't want the other to have anything at all and begrudge him/her whatever he/she does have.

Or it can be used of oneself, e.g. "Na al die inspanningen gunde hij zich wel een pleziertje": "After all that effort, he thought he'd deserved some fun".

And then you get to the secondary meaning, where you don't merely think someone should have something, but also give/confer it to them.



So I guess the easiest definition in English is "the opposite of begrudge". Which I don't know any English word for...

[ngonyama]

I don't know a direct translation either.

Ik gun het hem -- I am happy for him/ he deserves it/ I gladly see him having it

Het is je van harte gegund -- You are most welcome to it.

[braaiwors]

Goedenavond.

I can only think of the word 'grant'.... Grant me the opportunity to.... 'Gunnen' me het 'geleentheid om'

Ik hopen het helpen.

[braaiwors]

'Hoop' in plaats van 'hopen'... Niet waar?:D