waar gaan jy heen?
The Afrikaans phrase for "where are you going?" is waar gaan jy heen?
This phrase is a question used to ask someone about their destination.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally translated, the phrase means "where go you thither?" The word heen functions as a directional particle meaning "to" or "towards", which is why it is placed at the end of the sentence.
Which one should you use?
You can use waarheen gaan jy? as a more formal or concise way to ask the question by combining waar and heen into the single word waarheen at the beginning of the sentence.
How does it change in a sentence?
To ask the question to more than one person, change the pronoun jy to julle to form waar gaan julle heen?
Did you know?
- In casual conversation, South Africans often drop the directional heen entirely and simply ask waar gaan jy?
- The pronoun jy is used for 'you', but in many formal or traditional South African contexts, speakers switch to u to show respect to elders.
- Afrikaans uses the word gaan for 'go', which shares a common ancient root with the English word 'gang' in the sense of a group walking together.
Examples in context
- Waar gaan u heen, Mevrou?Where are you going, Madam?
- Waar gaan jy heen, my vriend?Where are you going, my friend?
- Waar gaan julle heen, kinders?Where are you all going, kids?
- Waar gaan julle nou heen, ouens?Where are you going now, guys?
- Waar heen gaan jy nou, Tannie?Where are you going now, Auntie?
