Afrikaans

Alternative forms

• gaat (dialectal)

Verb

gaan ‎(present gaan, present participle gaande, past participle gegaan)

1. to go
2. Used to express the future tense, often while implying nearness in time or certainty, like English going to.

Derived terms

Aukan

Etymology

From English grand.

Adjective

gaan

1. big, large

Derived terms

• gaanse ‎(“majority (of something, some group, etc)”, literally “big side”)

See also

• Gaaman (Gaanman)

References

• Aukan-English Dictionary (SIL), citing Vernon (1985)

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɣaːn/
• Rhymes: -aːn

Etymology

From Middle Dutch gaen, from Old Dutch gān, from Proto-Germanic *gāną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- ‎(“to leave”).

Verb

gaan

1. (intransitive) to go, to move from one place to another

   Ik ga naar het strand.‎

   I'm going to the beach.

   Die auto gaat nergens naartoe.‎

   That car isn't going anywhere.

2. (intransitive) to leave or depart, to move away

   Morgen gaan ze weer.‎

   They're leaving again tomorrow.

3. (intransitive) to lead (in a direction)

   Deze weg gaat helemaal naar Limburg.‎

   This road goes all the way to Limburg.

4. (intransitive) to proceed (well or poorly)

   Dat ging goed.‎

   That went well.

   Hoe gaat het?‎

   How is it going?

   Dat gaat niet.‎

   That won't work.

5. (auxiliary) Forms the future tense of a verb.

   Het gaat toch niet werken.‎

   It will not work anyway.

6. (auxiliary) to start to, begin to, to be going to

   De zon gaat weer schijnen.‎

   The sun is starting to shine again.

   Ik ga slapen.‎

   I'm going to sleep.

   Het gaat zo regenen.‎

   It's going to start raining soon.

Usage notes

• zullen is also used for the future tense, but sounds more formal
• The past tense ging in the sense of “to go” can be used to indicate the present tense as well. In Dutch, one can ask “Ging je nog naar die verjaardag vanavond?” which means Are you still going to that birthday party tonight?”. This is similar to moeten.

Inflection

Derived terms

• gaan over
• aangaan
• achteruitgaan
• afgaan
• begaan
• binnengaan
• doodgaan
• doorgaan
• ervanuit gaan
• gaande
• ingaan
• meegaan
• omgaan
• ondergaan
• opgaan
• overgaan
• tegengaan
• teloorgaan
• teruggaan
• uitgaan
• vergaan
• voortgaan
• weggaan

Anagrams

• ga na, naga

Navajo

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kɑ̀ːn]~[kɣɑ̀ːn]

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *-ɢa̓·ŋ-əʔ.

Cognates:

• Apachean: Western Apache -gan, Chiricahua -gan, Jicarilla -gan, Lipan -gąą’, Plains Apache -gąą
• Others: Tsuut’ina -gànὰ’, Hupa -ɢan-, Mattole, -gaane’, Galice gaaneʔ, Chilcotin -gán, Slavey -gǫ́’, Hare -góné’, Dogrib -gǫ̀, Dene Sųłiné -gané, Sekani -gòne’, Dunneza -góné’, Central Tanana -gonaʔ, Hän -gæ̀nn’, Ahtna -ɢaane’, Dena'ina -ɢuna, Eyak -ɢəla’, Tlingit jín ("hand")

Noun

-gaan (inalienable, e.g., shigaan "my arm", bigaan "her/his/its/their arm"), compound form: gąą-, gą-, gan-

1. arm, foreleg, limb, branch, front wheel

Derived terms

Scots

Etymology

From the Old English gān ‎(“to go”). An alternative (and arguably more phonetically neutral; see the pronunciations given) spelling of gan or gaun.

Pronunciation

• Phonetic transcriptions: IPA^(key): [ɡɑːn], [ɡɒːn]
• Phonemic transcription: IPA^(key): /ɡan/

The latter is the more traditional form.

In some compounds it frequently becomes IPA^(key): /ɡən/, e.g. gaan oot IPA^(key): /ɡən ut/, gaan in IPA^(key): /ɡən ɪn/.

Verb

gaan ‎(third-person singular present gaans, present participle gaan, past went or wett, past participle been)

1. (South Scots) to go

   Where div ee hink ee'r gaan at this time o night?