Money and work generate some of the most vivid everyday idiom in any language, and Afrikaans is no exception — but the phrases rarely map word for word onto English, so learners who translate literally end up sounding stilted or simply wrong. This page covers the natural expressions for earning, spending, value and being short of cash: the things people actually say about work and money over a kitchen table. The mechanical transaction verbs — koop, verkoop, betaal, ruil — are handled separately on transaction verbs; here the focus is on idiom and collocation.
Getting and having work
The basic vocabulary first. 'n Werk is "a job"; werk without the article is "work" in general (and also the verb "to work"). You kry 'n werk (get a job), you soek werk (look for work), and you het 'n werk (have a job).
Sy het pas 'n nuwe werk by die bank gekry.
She just got a new job at the bank.
Ek soek al maande lank werk.
I've been looking for work for months.
Hy werk van die huis af deesdae.
He works from home these days.
Notice van die huis af ("from home", literally "from the house off") — the doubled van ... af frame is standard and the bare van die huis would sound incomplete. And deesdae ("these days") is the everyday adverb you want here, far more idiomatic than a calqued hierdie dae.
Earning a living
The verb for "earn" is verdien. But the warm, idiomatic way to say you earn your living is ek verdien my brood — literally "I earn my bread" — which carries exactly the homely weight of the English "breadwinner" image without sounding biblical.
Ek verdien my brood as onderwyser.
I earn my living as a teacher.
Sy verdien goeie geld in die mynbedryf.
She earns good money in the mining industry.
Hulle werk hard om die potjie aan die kook te hou.
They work hard to keep the pot boiling — to make ends meet.
That last one is a lovely everyday idiom: die potjie aan die kook hou ("keep the little pot boiling") means to keep the household running, to make ends meet. The diminutive potjie is doing the warm, domestic work the idiom needs.
Spending, cost and value
To say what something costs, the verb is kos: dit kos ("it costs"). For something expensive, the vivid idiom is dit kos 'n fortuin ("it costs a fortune") or, more colourfully, dit kos 'n boel geld ("it costs a load of money") and even dit kos 'n arm en 'n been ("it costs an arm and a leg" — a calque that has fully naturalised).
| Afrikaans | Literal | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| dit kos 'n fortuin | it costs a fortune | very expensive |
| dit kos 'n boel geld | it costs a load of money | expensive |
| spotgoedkoop | "mock-cheap" | dirt cheap, a steal |
| dit is die moeite werd | it is the trouble worth | it's worth it |
| weggooigeld | "throw-away money" | money down the drain |
Daardie kar het 'n fortuin gekos, maar dit is die moeite werd.
That car cost a fortune, but it's worth it.
Die kaartjies was spotgoedkoop — net vyftig rand elk.
The tickets were dirt cheap — only fifty rand each.
The phrase to memorise here is dit is die moeite werd ("it's worth it", literally "it is the trouble worth"). The word werd ("worth") comes after its complement: die moeite werd, die geld werd ("worth the money"), die wag werd ("worth the wait"). English puts "worth" before; Afrikaans puts werd after.
Die lang ry was die wag werd — die uitsig was asemrowend.
The long queue was worth the wait — the view was breathtaking.
Saving, owing and being broke
You spaar (save) money and you skuld (owe) it. Spaargeld is "savings"; skuld as a noun is "debt".
Ons spaar elke maand 'n bietjie vir 'n vakansie.
We save a little every month for a holiday.
Ek skuld my broer nog vyfhonderd rand.
I still owe my brother five hundred rand.
When the money runs out, Afrikaans has one of its most characteristic idioms: platsak — literally "flat-pocket" — meaning broke, skint, cleaned out. Ek is platsak is the everyday way to say "I'm broke", and it is far warmer and more native than any literal translation of "I have no money".
Ek is platsak tot aan die einde van die maand.
I'm broke until the end of the month.
Na die vakansie was ons almal heeltemal platsak.
After the holiday we were all completely broke.
Its cheerful opposite is geld soos bossies — "money like little bushes", i.e. money growing as thick and wild as scrub, meaning loads of cash. Use it for someone rolling in it.
Sedert hy die besigheid verkoop het, het hy geld soos bossies.
Since he sold the business he's got money to burn.
Paying: cash, card and the bill
At the till you pay kontant (cash) or met die kaart (by card). The bill in a restaurant is die rekening; to put something on the account or on the tab is op die rekening. A common request is to ask for the bill: Kan ek die rekening kry, asseblief?
Betaal jy kontant of met die kaart?
Are you paying cash or by card?
Sit dit maar op my rekening.
Just put it on my account.
Kan ek die rekening kry, asseblief? Ons is haastig.
Can I get the bill, please? We're in a hurry.
Note met die kaart ("by card") takes the definite article — met die kaart, not bare met kaart. And kontant stands alone as an adverb: kontant betaal ("pay cash").
Common mistakes
❌ Dit is werd die moeite.
Calque of English word order — 'worth' must come after its complement in Afrikaans.
✅ Dit is die moeite werd.
It's worth it / worth the trouble.
❌ Ek het geen geld.
Incomplete negative, and a flat literal phrasing where an idiom is natural.
✅ Ek is platsak.
I'm broke.
❌ Ek maak goeie geld.
Calque of English 'make money' — Afrikaans 'earns' money, it doesn't 'make' it.
✅ Ek verdien goeie geld.
I earn good money.
❌ Hoeveel kos dit geld?
Redundant 'geld' — 'kos' already means 'costs (money)'.
✅ Hoeveel kos dit?
How much does it cost?
❌ Ek het 'n job by die bank.
'Job' is an Anglicism in careful speech; the word is 'werk'.
✅ Ek het 'n werk by die bank.
I have a job at the bank.
Key takeaways
- You kry, soek and het a werk (job); to be employed is in diens wees. Avoid the Anglicism job.
- "Earn" is verdien; the warm idiom ek verdien my brood means "I earn my living", and die potjie aan die kook hou is "to make ends meet".
- Build "worth X" as die X werd, with werd last: die moeite werd, die geld werd, die wag werd.
- Broke is platsak ("flat-pocket"); rolling in it is geld soos bossies ("money like bushes"). These vivid idioms beat any literal translation.
- Pay kontant or met die kaart; ask for die rekening (the bill), and put a tab op die rekening. For the verbs of buying, selling and paying, see transaction verbs; for more everyday idiom, idioms in daily life.
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Start learning Afrikaans→Related Topics
- Transaction Verbs: koop, verkoop, betaal, kos, leen, ruilA2 — A lookup table of the core Afrikaans commerce verbs — koop, verkoop, betaal, kos, leen, ruil, bestel — with each one's participle, a natural example, and notes on the no-ge inseparables and the lend/borrow trap in leen.
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- Expressions and Idioms: OverviewA2 — A map of Afrikaans fixed expressions — social formulas, everyday idioms, proverbs and exclamations — and why so much of the imagery comes from the farm, the weather and the Dutch heritage.