Hoe gaan dit?
/ɦu ˈχɑːn dət/word by word
The English phrase "how are you doing?" is translated into Afrikaans as Hoe gaan dit?
Hoe gaan dit? is a common greeting used to ask someone about their general well-being.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase Hoe gaan dit? literally translates to "How goes it?"
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
While Hoe gaan dit? is used in both formal and informal settings and functions similarly to the English "How's it going?", you can adjust the level of formality by adding a pronoun. Use Hoe gaan dit met u? for formal situations and Hoe gaan dit met jou? for informal situations.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the question more personal, you can add met jou (with you) to the end of the phrase, resulting in Hoe gaan dit met jou?
How do you pronounce it?
/ɦu ˈχɑːn dət/
When do people say it?
A common and natural response to Hoe gaan dit? is Goed, dankie. (Good, thanks.).
Did you know?
- In very informal settings, Afrikaans speakers may shorten the response to just Lekker, which literally means 'tasty' or 'delicious'. In this context, it means everything is going great.
- In very casual settings, you might hear 'Hoe lyk dit?', which literally means 'How does it look?'
- The word gaan in Hoe gaan dit? shares a common ancestor with the English word 'go'. Both derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰengʰ, which described the act of stepping or walking.
Example conversation
Pieter and Nicola meet at a coffee shop.
- PieterHaai Nicola, hoe gaan dit?Hi Nicola, how are you doing?
- NicolaDit gaan baie goed, dankie!It is going very well, thank you!
- PieterEk is bly om dit te hoor.I am glad to hear that.
- NicolaEn met jou, Pieter?And with you, Pieter?
