You already know that verbs can lock to a fixed preposition — wag vir (wait for), dink aan (think of). Adjectives do exactly the same thing, and learners systematically overlook them. To be proud of something in Afrikaans you are trots op it; to be fond of someone you are lief vir them; to be used to something you are gewoond aan it. These adjective-preposition pairs are as fixed and as non-derivable as the verb ones, and they diverge from English just often enough to trip you on nearly every sentence. This page is a reference for the most common ones. For verb-preposition pairs specifically, see verb + preposition; here the head word is an adjective.
The core principle: the preposition is part of the word
Treat trots op as a single lexical unit, the way you would treat an English phrasal verb. The preposition is not chosen by logic — it is simply the one this adjective demands. You would never reason your way from "proud" to "of"; you just know it. Afrikaans adjectives carry their own prepositions in exactly the same arbitrary way, and the only reliable strategy is to learn the adjective and its preposition together as one item.
Sy is trots op haar werk.
She is proud of her work.
Ek is lief vir jou.
I am fond of you / I love you.
Hy is gewoond aan die hitte.
He is used to the heat.
In each case the preposition is unpredictable from English. Proud takes of, but trots takes op (literally "on"). Fond takes of, but lief takes vir (literally "for"). Used takes to, and here gewoond does take aan ("to") — but that is luck, not a rule. You cannot transfer the English preposition and hope.
The high-frequency reference table
Here are the adjective-preposition collocations you will meet constantly. The right-hand column flags where English uses a different preposition — those are the dangerous ones.
| Afrikaans | English | English preposition differs? |
|---|---|---|
| trots op | proud of | yes — Afrikaans "on", English "of" |
| lief vir | fond of / loving toward | yes — Afrikaans "for", English "of" |
| kwaad vir | angry at / cross with | yes — Afrikaans "for", English "at/with" |
| jaloers op | jealous of | yes — Afrikaans "on", English "of" |
| bang vir | afraid of | yes — Afrikaans "for", English "of" |
| bewus van | aware of | no — both "of/van" |
| seker van | sure of / certain of | no — both "of/van" |
| gewoond aan | used to / accustomed to | no — both "to/aan" |
| geïnteresseerd in | interested in | no — both "in" |
| verlief op | in love with | yes — Afrikaans "on", English "with" |
| tevrede met | satisfied with / content with | no — both "with/met" |
| vol van | full of | no — both "of/van" |
| ryk aan | rich in | yes — Afrikaans "to", English "in" |
| arm aan | poor in / lacking in | yes — Afrikaans "to", English "in" |
| verantwoordelik vir | responsible for | no — both "for/vir" |
| afhanklik van | dependent on | yes — Afrikaans "of", English "on" |
The pattern worth noticing: roughly half match English and half do not, and there is no way to predict which half a given adjective falls into. That is the honest situation — there is no rule, only the list.
The op group: trots, jaloers, verlief, kwaad
A cluster of emotional-stance adjectives takes op where English uses of or with. It is tempting to look for logic in "directing your feeling onto a target", and that image may help you remember, but do not trust it as a rule — bang (afraid) directs feeling at a target too, yet takes vir.
Moenie so jaloers op jou broer wees nie.
Don't be so jealous of your brother.
Hulle is smoorverlief op mekaar.
They are head over heels in love with each other.
Sy was kwaad vir my omdat ek laat was.
She was angry at me because I was late.
Note that kwaad breaks the op group and takes vir — a reminder that the groupings are mnemonic conveniences, not laws.
The vir group: lief, bang, kwaad, verantwoordelik
A second cluster takes vir (for). English speakers find bang vir (afraid of) and kwaad vir (angry at) especially slippery, because English picks "of" and "at" respectively, while Afrikaans uses one preposition for both.
Die kind is bang vir die donker.
The child is afraid of the dark.
Wie is verantwoordelik vir hierdie gemors?
Who is responsible for this mess?
Ek is baie lief vir my ouma.
I am very fond of my grandma.
The van group: bewus, seker, vol, afhanklik
The van adjectives are the friendliest to English speakers, because van maps neatly onto of. Bewus van (aware of), seker van (sure of), vol van (full of) all behave as you would hope — but watch afhanklik van (dependent on, not of), where English jumps to a different preposition.
Ek was nie bewus van die probleem nie.
I wasn't aware of the problem.
Is jy seker van jou antwoord?
Are you sure of your answer?
Die hele dorp is afhanklik van die myn.
The whole town is dependent on the mine.
The aan group: gewoond, ryk, arm
A final cluster takes aan (to/on). Gewoond aan (used to) lines up with English, but ryk aan (rich in) and arm aan (poor in) do not — English says in, Afrikaans says aan.
Mens raak gou gewoond aan die roetine.
One quickly gets used to the routine.
Hierdie kos is ryk aan proteïen.
This food is rich in protein.
Why English transfer fails here
The single biggest source of error is importing the English preposition wholesale: trots van for proud of, bang van for afraid of, kwaad op for angry at. These produce sentences that are instantly recognisable as learner Afrikaans. The cure is not a rule — there isn't one — but a habit: never use one of these adjectives without consciously recalling its fixed preposition. Over time the pairs become automatic, exactly as English phrasal verbs did for you. For the parallel set of verb pairs, see verbs with prepositions, and for prepositions in their abstract uses, abstract and figurative prepositions.
Common mistakes
❌ Sy is trots van haar werk.
Incorrect — trots takes op, not van (English transfer of 'proud of').
✅ Sy is trots op haar werk.
She is proud of her work.
❌ Die kind is bang van die donker.
Incorrect — bang takes vir, not van.
✅ Die kind is bang vir die donker.
The child is afraid of the dark.
❌ Sy was kwaad op my.
Incorrect — kwaad takes vir, not op; here op is English-style transfer.
✅ Sy was kwaad vir my.
She was angry at me.
❌ Die dorp is afhanklik op die myn.
Incorrect — afhanklik takes van, not op, even though English says 'dependent on'.
✅ Die dorp is afhanklik van die myn.
The town is dependent on the mine.
Key takeaways
- Afrikaans adjectives govern fixed prepositions just as verbs do — trots op, lief vir, gewoond aan — and the choice is non-derivable.
- Roughly half of these match the English preposition and half do not; there is no rule for which, only the list.
- Watch the high-divergence pairs: trots op (proud of), bang vir (afraid of), kwaad vir (angry at), jaloers op (jealous of), afhanklik van (dependent on), ryk aan (rich in).
- The reliable strategy is to learn the adjective and its preposition as one chunk and to ask "which preposition?" the moment you meet a new adjective.
- English transfer is the chief error source — never assume the English preposition carries over. See the parallel verb + preposition collocations.
Now practice Afrikaans
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Start learning Afrikaans→Related Topics
- Verb-Preposition CollocationsB2 — Many Afrikaans verbs demand a specific, fixed preposition — wag vir, dink aan, reken op — and the preposition rarely matches the English one, so the safest strategy is to learn the verb and its preposition as a single chunk.
- Verbs with Fixed Prepositions (Reference)B1 — A frequency-ordered reference of Afrikaans verbs that govern a fixed, unpredictable preposition — wag vir, dink aan, hou van — that must be learned as a unit.
- Fixed Prepositional PhrasesB1 — Set phrases like op pad, te koop, in die geheim and aan die brand, where the preposition is idiomatic, the article is often dropped, and the whole phrase must be learned as a unit.
- Collocations and Phraseology: OverviewB2 — Collocations are the word-partnerships that make Afrikaans sound native — which verbs, adjectives and nouns habitually go together — and why learning them in chunks beats learning words alone.
- Abstract and Figurative PrepositionsB2 — How Afrikaans prepositions extend from space into abstract meaning — in gevaar, op grond van, met betrekking tot — and why the compound ones are a formal-register resource you learn as fixed chunks.