wanneer
The English word "when" is translated into Afrikaans as wanneer.
wanneer is used both as an interrogative to ask a question and as a conjunction to link clauses, meaning "as soon as" or "at the time that".
Meaning: as soon as, at the time that (conj)
Which one should you use?
wanneer serves a dual purpose: it can be used to ask a question (interrogative) or to connect clauses (conjunction) to express "at the time that".
Did you know?
- While wanneer means 'when', Afrikaans often uses the word toe to describe a specific single event in the past, such as 'when I was a child'.
- The word wanneer is actually a contraction of the Old Dutch words 'wan' and 'eer', which originally meant 'before' or 'prior to'.
- Afrikaans speakers may use wanneer to imply a conditional 'if' in certain colloquial contexts, blurring the line between time and requirement.
Examples in context
- Wanneer eet Tom ontbyt?When does Tom eat breakfast?Tatoeba #2784107 by Diablofire, translation #2543285 by CK
- Wanneer is haar operasie?When is her surgery?Tatoeba #13577988 by Pietpetoors, translation #12522175 by mak
- Wanneer kan ek met haar praat?When do I get to talk to her?Tatoeba #13699218 by Pietpetoors, translation #3906194 by CH
- Wanneer is die vergadering?When is the meeting?
- Op watter tydstip begin die konsert?At what time does the concert start?
- Wanneer gaan jy na die fliek?When are you going to the movie?
- 29 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Liezel and Andries are discussing a meeting at work.
- LiezelWanneer begin die vergadering?When does the meeting start?
- AndriesDit begin wanneer die bestuurder aankom.It starts when the manager arrives.
- LiezelSal jy daar wees wanneer hy kom?Will you be there when he comes?
- AndriesJa, ek sal gereed wees.Yes, I will be ready.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry wanneer, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries wanneer, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
