Prepositions in Afrikaans (called voorsetsels), like those in English, have one function only: to clarify the relationship between different concepts or words in a sentence.
Look, for instance, at this one:
“The girl stood under the umbrella.”
Here, the relationship between the concepts “the girl stood” and “the umbrella” is explained by the preposition “under.” This is important, because prepositions impact meaning—the girl didn’t stand “on top of,” “next to,” or “over” the umbrella (all of these are prepositions, too); she stood “under” it.
In both English and Afrikaans, prepositions are easily confused with conjunctions (or voegwoorde). However, the differences between them are easy to discern once you know what to look out for.
Prepositions link together, or connect, mainly nouns with other nouns, verbs, etc. On the other hand, conjunctions can connect two sentences, words, concepts, or verbs.
In English, if the sentence contains two verbs or more, you’re most likely looking at a conjunction and not a preposition! Also note that prepositions or conjunctions don’t always stand between words or sentences, thus obviously “connecting” them. They can be found anywhere in a sentence, except right at the end.
See if you can spot the conjunction vs. the preposition in these sentences.
1) “After they ate, she went back to work.”
2) “After the movie, we decided to go ice-skating.”
3) “We didn’t leave, since the dishes still needed to be done.”
4) “They’ve been sitting there since this morning.”
Which two sentences have the prepositions? Let us know in the comments!
However, in Afrikaans, the above rule doesn’t always apply. Prepositions can be used to connect both verbs and nouns, and can even connect clauses with verbs or nouns. The best thing is to just practice until you master these!
For your easy reference, we’ve compiled an alphabetical, comprehensive list of prepositions in Afrikaans. We’ll also show you how to use them in sentences.
Table of Contents
- Prepositions in Afrikaans
- Why AfrikaansPod101 is an Excellent Choice to Study Prepositions in Afrikaans!
1. Prepositions in Afrikaans
| AFRIKAANS | ENGLISH |
|---|---|
| Aan Hy rapporteer aan my. Die prent hang aan die muur. Ons loop hand aan hand. Wie sit al aan tafel om te eet? Ek dink aan jou die hele tyd. Die ou man ly aan tering. |
To / On / In / At / About / From “He reports to me.” “The picture hangs on the wall.” “We walk hand in hand.” “Who already sits at the table to eat?” “I think about you all the time.” “The old man suffers from tuberculosis.” |
| Aangaande Sy weet niks aangaande die brief nie. |
Regarding “She knows nothing regarding the letter.” |
| Agter Die besem staan agter die deur. |
Behind “The broom stands behind the door.” |
| Anderkant Ons bly anderkant daardie koppie. |
Beyond “We live beyond that hill.” |
| Benede Dis benede sy waardigheid om so te praat. |
Beneath “It’s beneath his dignity to talk like that.” |
| Benewens Benewens boeke verkoop ons ook tydskrifte. |
Apart from “Apart from books we also sell magazines.” |
| Betreffende Daar is baie inligting beskikbaar betreffende aardskuddings in Okinawa. |
Regarding “There is a lot of information available regarding earthquakes in Okinawa.” |
| Binne Sy het die wedloop binne ‘n minuut afgelê. Note: This particular preposition (binne) is always followed by a determiner article: ‘n (“a” ) or die (“the” ). |
Within “She completed the race within a minute.” |
| Bo Enigiets bo $100 vir die kaartjies is te duur. Rocco verkies tee bo koffie. |
Above / Over “Anything above $100 for the tickets is too expensive.” “Rocco prefers tea over coffee.” |
| Bokant Die wild staan bokant die wind. |
Above “The game stands above the wind.” |
| Bo-op Klim bo-op die skool se dak. |
On top of “Climb on top of the school’s roof.” |
| Buite Dit is buite sy bereik. |
Out of “It is out of his reach.” |
| By Danie is by die haarsalon. |
At “Danny is at the hair salon.” |
| Deur Die kat kruip deur die gras. |
Through “The cat crawls through the grass.” |
| Duskant Die winkel is duskant die rivier. |
This side of “The shop is this side of the river.” |
| Digby Hy woon digby die strand. |
Close by “He lives close by the beach.” |
| Gedurende Hulle slaap gedurende die winter. |
During “They sleep during the winter.” |
| In Sy wag in die sitkamer. |
In “She waits in the sitting room.” |
| Jeens Die onderwyser is goedgesind jeens die kind. |
Towards “The teacher is kind towards the child.” |
| Kragtens Kragtens die mag aan my verleen beveel ek jou om op te staan. |
By “By the power vested in me, I order you to stand up.” |
| Langs Hy ontmoet my langs die pad. Hy kom sit langs my. |
By / Next to “He meets me by the roadside.” “He comes and sits next to me.” |
| Met Clint praat met my. Ons is met vakansie by die kus. Die hond groet my met sy poot. |
To / On / With “Clint talks to me.” “We’re on holiday at the coast.” “The dog greets me with its paw.” |
| Na Ons gaan vlieg na die eiland toe. Na ontbyt gaan ons oefen. Die au pair kyk na hom. Jy aard na jou pa. Ek verlang na jou. Dag na dag waai die wind. |
To / After / Of “We will fly to the island.” “After breakfast, we will exercise.” “The au pair is taking care of him.” “You take after your father.” “I miss you.” (No preposition here in English!) “Day after day, the wind blows.” |
| Naaste aan Die skons naaste aan my lyk lekker. |
Closest to “The muffin closest to me looks tasty.” |
| Namens Die kaptein het haar namens die hele span gelukgewens. |
On behalf of “The captain congratulated her on behalf of the whole team.” |
| Naby/Neffens Die gereg naby my ruik goed. Note: Neffens is no longer used very often. |
Close to “The dish close to me smells good.” |
| Nieteenstaande Nieteenstaande die feit dat dit hard reën, besluit hy om steeds te gaan draf. |
Notwithstanding “Notwithstanding the fact that it is raining hard, he decides to still go jogging.” |
| Om Die bal rol om die hoek. Daar is roosblare om die koek gestrooi. Wees om agtuur by die werk. Ons dra die kind om die beurt. |
Around / Round / At “The ball rolls round the corner.” “There are rose petals strewn around the cake.” “Be at work at eight o’clock.” “We take turns to carry the child.” (Nope, well spotted—translated to English, this sentence contains a conjunction, not a preposition!) |
| Omstreeks / Omtrent Ons verwag die vleigtuig omstreeks nege uur. Die groep is omtrent twintig in getal. |
Around / About “We are expecting the plane around nine o’clock.” “The group is about twenty in number.” |
| Ondanks Hy hardloop oor die besige pad ondanks haar waarskuwing. |
Despite “He runs across the busy road despite her warning.” |
| Onder Ek lê onder komberse. Onder daardie groep hulle sal jy ‘n goeie skrywer kry. Die polisie het die misdadiger onder skoot gehad. |
Under / Among / In “I am lying under blankets.” “Among that group, you’ll find a good writer.” “The police had the criminal in their crosshair.” |
| Ongeag Ons loop aan ongeag ons moegheid. |
Despite “We walk on despite our fatigue.” |
| Oorkant Hy bly net oorkant die pad. |
Across “He lives just across the road.” |
| Ongeveer Die prosedure sal ongeveer drie dae duur. |
Approximately “The procedure will take approximately three days.” |
| Oor Die hen loop oor die pad. Gooi die bal oor die net. Dis nou kwart oor tien. Ek is baie gelukkig oor die goeie uitslae. Hierdie pad loop oor Robertson na McGregor toe. |
Across / Over / Past / About / Over “The hen walks across the road.” “Throw the ball over the net.” “It’s now a quarter past ten.” “I’m very happy about the good results.” “This road goes over Robertson to McGregor.” |
| Op Die kind hop rond op een been. Op die ou end was dit ‘n baie aangename ete. Sy het musiek op skool geleer. Ek is trots op my seun. Die speurder skiet op die misdadiger. |
On / In / At / Of “The child hops around on one leg.” “In the end, it was a very pleasant meal.” “She learned music at school.” “I am proud of my son.” “The detective shoots at the criminal.” |
| Per Hy het die roomys per ongeluk laat val. Gaan jy per vliegtuig of per trein reis? |
By “He dropped the icecream by accident.” “Are you going to travel by air or by rail?” |
| Regoor Regoor ons bly ‘n homeopaat. |
Right across “Right across from us lives a homeopath.” |
| Rondom Hulle loop eenmaal rondom die huis. |
Around “They walk once around the house.” |
| Sedert Sedert jou vertrek het ek die kat nie weer gesien nie. |
Since “Since your departure, I have not seen the cat again.” |
| Sonder Jy kan nie vandag sonder jou jas aan buite gaan stap nie. |
Without “You can’t walk outside today without your coat on.” |
| Te Ons sal te vliegtuig reis. My motor is te koop. |
By / For “We’ll travel by air.” “My car is for sale.” |
| Teen Die slaperige kind loop teen die tafel vas. Teen watter tyd verwag jy hom terug? Jy kan hierdie teen ‘n beter prys by Starbucks kry. |
Into / By / At “The sleepy child walks into the table.” “By what time do you expect him back?” “You can get these at a better price at Starbucks.” |
| Teenoor Hy is baie vriendelik teenoor my. |
Towards “He is very friendly towards me.” |
| Ten Hy kon haar ten minste gebel het. |
At “He could have at least called her.” |
| Ter Ons het ter elfder uur daar opgedaag. Note: This is a fixed expression, as in English, to indicate that someone arrived very late for an event. Aangeheg, die brief ter insae. |
At “We arrived there at the eleventh hour.” Note: It’s not possible to translate this sentence directly, but it means: “Attached, find the letter for (your) information.” It’s used mostly in formal correspondence (such as legal letters, notices, etc.) and speech. |
| Tot Hulle het tot sesuur gespeel. Daardie restaurant was, tot ons verligting, nog oop. |
Till / To “They played till six o’clock.” “That restaurant was, to our relief, still open.” |
| Tussen Toe tref dit my tussen die oë – ek het die lotto gewen! |
Between “Then it hit me between the eyes—I won the lotto!” |
| Tydens Moenie tydens sy toespraak slaap nie. |
During “Don’t sleep during his speech.” |
| Uit Die boek is uit Afrikaans vertaal. Sy help hom uit die goedheid van haar hart. |
From / Because of “The book was translated from Afrikaans.” “She helped him because of the goodness of her heart.” |
| Van Ek het uiteindelik ‘n epos van hom gekry. Sy huil van blydskap. Hulle is van water en kos voorsien. |
From / With “At last I received an email from him.” “She’s crying with joy.” “They have been supplied with water and food.” |
| Verby Ons loop verby die wonderlikste winkels. |
Past “We’re walking past the most wonderful shops.” |
| Vir Ek het lank genoeg vir jou gewag. Die kind is kwaad vir sy ma. Sy is lief vir my. Vra vir my as jy iets nodig het. |
For / With “I waited long enough for you.” “The child is angry with his mom.” Note: In English, these Afrikaans vir prepositions examples don’t have prepositions! |
| Volgens Volgens Paul het dit baie gesneeu. |
According to “According to Paul, it snowed a lot.” |
| Voor Daar staan ‘n nuwe motor voor my huis. Ek wil gaan stort voor etenstyd. Ons moet kwart voor sewe daar wees. |
In front of / Before / To “There’s a new car standing in front of my house.” “I want to shower before mealtime.” “We must be there at a quarter to seven.” |
| Weens Weens ‘n kansellasie kon ons ‘n tafel kry. |
Because of “Because of a cancellation, we could get a table.” |
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