At C1 the obvious errors are long gone; what remains is subtler and harder to hear. An English speaker can produce Afrikaans that is grammatically flawless and still subtly wrong — every word correct, but the sentence built on an English frame. These are anglicisms and translationese: calqued idioms, English word order, and English collocations dressed in Afrikaans vocabulary. This is the level of polish competitors never reach, because the problem isn't vocabulary — it's structure. You must learn the idiomatic shape of Afrikaans, not just its words. This page is descriptive about what's natural and honest about where purists and ordinary usage disagree.
Calqued idioms: right words, wrong idiom
A calque is a word-for-word translation of an idiom or fixed phrase. The result is intelligible but smells of English. The fix is almost never to translate harder — it's to reach for the Afrikaans expression that occupies the same slot.
maak seker (dat) is the textbook example. English "make sure that..." gets rendered literally as maak seker dat.... Many Afrikaans speakers now say this, but prescriptivists flag it as an anglicism, preferring sorg dat ("see to it that") or verseker dat ("ensure that").
❌ Maak seker dat die deur gesluit is.
Anglicism — a literal calque of 'make sure that'.
✅ Sorg dat die deur gesluit is.
See to it that the door is locked.
dit maak sin ("it makes sense") is a fascinating case because it has won the usage war. It is a direct calque of English, was condemned for decades, and is now so widespread that most speakers don't notice it. Purists still prefer dit is sinvol or dit gee sin, but in 2026 dit maak sin is firmly established in speech and most writing. This is the honest reality: some calques are simply errors, while others have naturalised and become the language. You have to learn which is which.
Dit maak sin — nou verstaan ek hoekom.
That makes sense — now I understand why.
A few more high-frequency calques to retrain:
| Anglicism (avoid in careful writing) | Idiomatic Afrikaans | English |
|---|---|---|
| ek het 'n goeie tyd gehad | ek het dit baie geniet | I had a good time |
| neem 'n besluit | 'n besluit neem / besluit | make a decision |
| aan die einde van die dag (figuratively) | uiteindelik / op stuk van sake | at the end of the day |
| ek waardeer dit (as thanks) | baie dankie / ek is dankbaar | I appreciate it |
| dit is op my (paying) | dit is my trakteer / ek betaal | it's on me |
Calqued prepositions and collocations
The most insidious anglicisms attach to the wrong preposition or pick the English partner verb. Afrikaans and English don't share a preposition map, and choosing the English one is a dead giveaway. See collocations for the broader picture.
❌ Ek is trots op om jou te ken. / Ek wag vir vir jou.
Mixed-up prepositions calqued from English patterns.
✅ Ek is trots daarop om jou te ken. Ek wag vir jou.
I'm proud to know you. I'm waiting for you.
A classic is gebaseer op, calqued from "based on," which careful writers replace with gegrond op or recast entirely (Die fliek berus op 'n ware verhaal — "the film is based on a true story"). Likewise in terme van ("in terms of") is heavily overused under English influence; wat ... betref ("as far as ... is concerned") is the idiomatic alternative.
❌ In terme van koste is dit te duur.
Anglicism — 'in terms of' calqued; overused in English-influenced Afrikaans.
✅ Wat koste betref, is dit te duur.
As far as cost is concerned, it's too expensive.
English word order leaking in
Afrikaans word order is genuinely different from English — verb-second main clauses, verb-final subordinate clauses, the negative bracket with closing nie. Under fatigue or speed, English speakers default to English order, and the sentence reads as translated.
❌ Ek dink dat hy is reg.
English order — in the subordinate clause the verb must go last.
✅ Ek dink dat hy reg is.
I think he's right.
❌ Gister ek het hom gesien.
English order — Afrikaans is verb-second, so the verb must come before the subject after a fronted adverb.
✅ Gister het ek hom gesien.
Yesterday I saw him.
The closing nie is another structural fingerprint. English has no equivalent, so learners drop it — and the omission instantly marks the sentence as non-native, even when everything else is perfect.
❌ Ek het nie geweet daarvan.
The closing nie is missing — the Afrikaans negative needs the bracketing second nie.
✅ Ek het nie daarvan geweet nie.
I didn't know about it.
Translated idioms: the deepest layer
The hardest anglicisms to catch are whole English idioms rendered literally. They parse, they're grammatical, and they're unmistakably foreign. Replace them with the native idiom — see false friends for related traps.
❌ Dit reën katte en honde.
A literal rendering of an English idiom; Afrikaans has its own.
✅ Dit reën dat dit giet.
It's pouring.
❌ Hou 'n oog op die kinders.
Calque of 'keep an eye on'; idiomatic Afrikaans uses a different verb.
✅ Hou die kinders dop.
Keep an eye on the children.
❌ Dit kos 'n arm en 'n been.
Direct calque of 'cost an arm and a leg'.
✅ Dit kos 'n fortuin. / Dit kos 'n boel geld.
It costs a fortune.
Purism vs natural usage: an honest note
There is real tension here, and pretending otherwise would mislead you. Afrikaans has a strong prescriptivist tradition (the Taalkommissie, language columns, style guides) that polices anglicisms vigilantly. At the same time, the spoken language — especially among younger and urban speakers — absorbs English freely, and much of what purists condemn is ordinary speech. Two practical guidelines: in formal or literary writing, prefer the historically Afrikaans form, since that's what your readers and editors expect; in casual speech, naturalised anglicisms like dit maak sin are unremarkable. The error to avoid is not "using any English-influenced form" — it's failing to control register, deploying calques where careful Afrikaans is expected.
Common mistakes
❌ Maak seker dat jy betyds is.
Flagged anglicism in careful writing — calque of 'make sure'.
✅ Sorg dat jy betyds is.
See to it that you're on time.
❌ Ek het 'n goeie tyd gehad by die partytjie.
Calque of 'had a good time'.
✅ Ek het die partytjie baie geniet.
I really enjoyed the party.
❌ Aan die einde van die dag, dit is jou besluit.
Figurative 'at the end of the day' calqued, plus English word order.
✅ Op stuk van sake is dit jou besluit.
At the end of the day, it's your decision.
❌ Ek waardeer dit. (as a thank-you)
Calque of 'I appreciate it'; sounds translated as a standalone thanks.
✅ Baie dankie, ek is regtig dankbaar.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.
❌ Sy het nie gekom.
Missing the closing nie — the structural anglicism that flags non-native Afrikaans most reliably.
✅ Sy het nie gekom nie.
She didn't come.
Key takeaways
- C1 polish lives at the level of structure and idiom, not vocabulary — a sentence can be word-perfect and still built on an English frame.
- Some calques are still flagged (maak seker dat → sorg dat); others have naturalised (dit maak sin). Knowing which is the real skill.
- Watch the prepositions (gegrond op not gebaseer op), the word order (verb-final in subordinate clauses, verb-second after a fronted adverb), and never drop the closing nie.
- The deepest anglicisms are whole translated idioms — replace them with native ones (dit reën dat dit giet, hou dop).
- Control your register: prefer historical forms in formal writing; naturalised anglicisms are fine in speech. See code-switching and false friends.
Now practice Afrikaans
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