To say where something is, Afrikaans uses a compact set of location prepositions. Most map cleanly onto English, so you can learn them quickly. Two points deserve real attention: the in / op contrast ("in" vs "on a surface"), and the surprisingly wide reach of by, which covers English "at" and "at someone's place." Get those two right and the rest fall into place.
The static location prepositions
These describe position, not movement. (For movement toward a place — "homewards," "to school" — Afrikaans uses a separate construction with toe; see the section at the end.)
| Afrikaans | English |
|---|---|
| in | in |
| op | on (a surface) |
| by | at / by / at (someone's) place |
| onder | under, below |
| langs | next to, beside |
| tussen | between, among |
| voor | in front of, before |
| agter | behind |
| naby | near, close to |
in vs op: inside vs on a surface
in means inside an enclosed or bounded space; op means resting on top of a surface. This is the same intuition as English in vs on, and it usually transfers — but watch the cases where the two languages disagree about whether something is a "container" or a "surface."
Die kos is in die yskas.
The food is in the fridge.
Die koppie staan op die tafel.
The cup is on the table.
Ek sit in die kamer.
I'm sitting in the room.
Sit op die stoel.
Sit on the chair.
by: the word that does the work of English "at"
by is the preposition English speakers most often mishandle, because English spreads its jobs across several words. by means "at," "by," and crucially "at someone's place / at the premises of." Where English says "at the doctor's," "at my mom's," "at the school," Afrikaans uses by for all of them.
Ek is by die skool.
I'm at the school.
Sy is by die dokter.
She's at the doctor's.
Kom eet vanaand by my ma.
Come eat at my mom's tonight.
Bly by die huis.
Stay at home.
onder, langs, tussen — transparent and easy
These three behave just as you would expect from their English glosses, so a couple of examples each is enough.
Die kat slaap onder die bed.
The cat is sleeping under the bed.
Kom sit langs my.
Come sit next to me.
Dit bly tussen ons.
This stays between us.
Note that tussen covers both "between" (two things) and "among" (several) — Afrikaans does not split them.
voor, agter, naby
Die kar staan voor die huis.
The car is parked in front of the house.
Hy kruip weg agter die deur.
He's hiding behind the door.
Ons woon naby die see.
We live near the sea.
One thing to flag: voor means both "in front of" (place) and "before" (time) — voor die ete "before the meal." Context tells them apart.
Direction is different: ... toe
Everything above is static — where something is. To express movement toward a place, Afrikaans does something English speakers find unusual: instead of a preposition in front of the place, it puts the little word toe after it. So "homewards / to home" is huis toe, not na huis.
Ek gaan huis toe.
I'm going home.
Hulle ry strand toe.
They're driving to the beach.
This ... toe directional is common and worth learning early; it has its own page — see direction with toe. The key takeaway here is simply: location prepositions like by and in tell you where something is; toe tells you where someone is going.
Common mistakes
❌ Sy is by die dokter se plek.
Incorrect — redundant; by die dokter already means 'at the doctor's'.
✅ Sy is by die dokter.
She's at the doctor's.
❌ Die koppie is in die tafel.
Incorrect — a cup rests on a surface, so it's op, not in.
✅ Die koppie is op die tafel.
The cup is on the table.
❌ Ek is in die skool. (meaning: I'm at the school)
Incorrect for 'at the school'; in die skool means physically inside the building. Use by for 'at'.
✅ Ek is by die skool.
I'm at the school.
❌ Ek gaan na huis.
Incorrect — direction 'home' uses the postposition toe, not na in front.
✅ Ek gaan huis toe.
I'm going home.
❌ Kom sit by my. (meaning: sit next to me)
Incorrect for 'next to me' — that's langs; by would mean 'at my place'.
✅ Kom sit langs my.
Come sit next to me.
Key takeaways
- in = enclosed inside; op = on a surface. Mostly like English, but check the mismatches.
- by is the big one: it covers English "at," "by," and "at someone's place." by die dokter = "at the doctor's."
- onder, langs, tussen, voor, agter, naby are transparent; tussen = "between" and "among," voor = place "in front of" and time "before."
- These are all static. For movement toward a place, use the postposed toe (huis toe) — see direction with toe.
- For the full preposition inventory, see the prepositions overview; for finer spatial distinctions, see fine-grained spatial prepositions.
Now practice Afrikaans
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Afrikaans→Related Topics
- Direction: na, toe, uit, deurA2 — How Afrikaans marks movement toward and away from a place — the distinctive postposition toe (huis toe), the preposition na, and the source markers uit and van … af.
- Afrikaans Prepositions: OverviewA1 — A map of the Afrikaans preposition system — invariant little words, many cognate with English, plus the destination postposition 'toe' and circumpositions English lacks.
- in vs op (in vs on/at)A2 — When to use in (inside) and when to use op (on a surface) — plus the idiomatic op cases where English would say 'at' or 'in': op skool, op die plaas, op pad, op die bus.
- Fine-Grained Spatial PrepositionsB1 — Beyond in and op, Afrikaans draws precise spatial distinctions — op vs aan vs teen, in vs binne-in, plus oorkant, regoor, rondom and dwarsdeur — many of them transparent compounds you can decode from their parts.