Hallo, hoe gaan dit?
/ɦaləu ɦu ˈχɑːn dət/word by word
The English phrase "hello how are you" is expressed in Afrikaans as Hallo, hoe gaan dit?
This phrase is a common greeting used to say hello and ask about someone's well-being.
What does it mean word for word?
The component hoe gaan dit? literally translates to "how goes it?" in English.
Which one should you use?
While Hallo, hoe gaan dit? is a standard greeting, you can use the more informal Haai, hoe gaan dit? by replacing the greeting with Haai. For an even more casual approach, you might say Hoe lyk dit?, which means "How's it going?"
Is it said differently in some regions?
The variation Hoe lyk dit nou?, meaning "How's it going now?", is heard more frequently in the Western Cape.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the question more specific to the person being addressed, you can add met jou (with you) to the end of the phrase, resulting in Hoe gaan dit met jou? which means "How is it going with you?"
How do you pronounce it?
/ɦaləu ɦu ˈχɑːn dət/
When do people say it?
A standard and polite response to the question Hoe gaan dit? is Goed, dankie.
Did you know?
- While Hoe gaan dit? asks how things are going, the casual alternative Hoe lyk dit? literally asks 'how does it look?'
- The phrase Hoe gaan dit? is so ingrained that it functions more like a ritualized social script than a genuine inquiry into your medical or emotional state.
- The word gaan shares the same Proto-Indo-European root as the English word 'go', making the phrase 'how goes it' a distant linguistic cousin to 'how goes it' in English.
Examples in context
- Goeiemiddag, hoe gaan dit met u?Good afternoon, how are you?
- Baie goed, dankie. En met u?Very well, thank you. And you?
- Haai, hoe gaan dit?Hi, how are you?
- Hallo, hoe gaan dit?Hello, how are you?
