What does “aanwezig” mean in Dutch?

A one-minute mindfulness clip invites you to be helemaal aanwezig, “fully present.” The word is built from plain parts: aan (at, on) + wezen (to be) + the adjective ending -ig. So “aanwezig” literally describes being there, at a place, which is exactly what the clip asks of you: to be here, in this moment, instead of somewhere else in your head.

The opposite, afwezig (“absent”), swaps “aan” for “af” (off, away): being away instead of being there. Both words are everyday Dutch, from a teacher taking the register to a meeting’s list of who couldn’t come, and in meditation and yoga classes aanwezig zijn is the usual way to say “being present.”