This is the 116th most frequent Afrikaans word.
wou
The Afrikaans word "wou" means "wanted" in English.
In this sentence, 'wou' is used as the past tense and subjunctive form of 'wil', meaning 'wanted' (to want).
Ek wou die boek lees, maar ek het nie tyd gehad nie.
I wanted to read the book, but I did not have time.
In this usage, 'wou' expresses a hypothetical or conditional desire, indicating something that would have been a wish to do under specific circumstances.
As ek meer tyd gehad het, wou ek jou help met jou projek.
If I had more time, I would have wanted to help you with your project.
Here, 'wou' similarly acts as the past tense of 'wil', indicating the desire or intention to do something.