skryf ("to write") and teken ("to draw, to sign") are the two verbs of putting marks on a page, and pairing them shows off a neat feature of Afrikaans: a single verb, teken, covers both drawing a picture and signing a document, with the object telling you which is meant. Both verbs are regular, so the real content here is the preposition skryf needs for the person you write to, and the way teken's two senses sort themselves out. (For skryf paired with lees — the reading-and-writing duo — see lees and skryf; this page keeps the focus on the skryf/teken pairing.) For the wider family of communication verbs, see communication verbs.
The forms
Both are regular. Watch the spelling of the skryf participle: it is geskryf, with -yf — the w spelling belongs to the derived noun skrywer ("writer"), not to the verb. The teken participle is geteken, a plain ge- on the stem.
| Form | skryf (write) | teken (draw/sign) |
|---|---|---|
| Present | skryf | teken |
| Perfect (past) | het geskryf | het geteken |
| Future | sal skryf | sal teken |
| Infinitive | (om te) skryf | (om te) teken |
| Imperative | skryf! | teken! |
Ek skryf 'n brief aan my ma.
I'm writing a letter to my mum.
Sy teken 'n prent van haar hondjie.
She's drawing a picture of her puppy.
Hy het die kontrak gister geteken.
He signed the contract yesterday.
skryf — who you write to
In English you write to someone, or in casual American English you simply "write someone." Afrikaans always uses a preposition for the recipient, and it offers two: aan and vir.
skryf aan is the more written, slightly formal choice — natural for letters, journalism, and official relationships.
Ons het 'n brief aan die koerant geskryf.
We wrote a letter to the newspaper.
Sy skryf gereeld aan haar oudonderwyser.
She writes regularly to her old teacher.
skryf vir is the everyday, conversational choice — the one you hear in speech and friendly messages. It treats the recipient as a beneficiary, the same vir that marks the person you do many things for.
Skryf vir my sodra jy daar aankom.
Write to me as soon as you arrive there.
Hy skryf elke week vir sy ouma.
He writes to his grandmother every week.
Both are grammatical; the difference is register, not rule. What you must not do is drop the preposition and treat the recipient as a bare object the way American English allows — ek het my broer geskryf is wrong. You need aan or vir.
skryf — what you write
Beyond the recipient, skryf combines with the things you write: 'n brief (a letter), 'n e-pos (an email), 'n boek (a book), 'n storie (a story), and your own naam (name) on a form. Note one South African quirk worth keeping: you skryf 'n eksamen — that is, you sit or take an exam. English expects "take an exam"; Afrikaans says skryf.
Skryf jou naam bo aan die vorm.
Write your name at the top of the form.
Ons skryf môre ons wiskunde-eksamen.
We're sitting our maths exam tomorrow.
Hy droom daarvan om eendag 'n boek te skryf.
He dreams of writing a book one day.
teken — one verb, two jobs
This is where Afrikaans is tidier than English. The single verb teken does the work of two English verbs:
- to draw — making a picture, a sketch, a diagram;
- to sign — putting your signature on a document.
Afrikaans does not need separate words because the object disambiguates completely. You teken 'n prent (draw a picture) or teken 'n sketstekening (make a sketch); you teken 'n kontrak (sign a contract), teken 'n dokument (sign a document), or teken hier (sign here). A document cannot be "drawn" and a picture cannot be "signed into effect," so context resolves the sense instantly.
Die kind teken 'n son met 'n geel kryt.
The child draws a sun with a yellow crayon.
Teken asseblief hier onderaan die bladsy.
Please sign at the bottom of the page.
Sy het die huurkontrak sonder om te lees geteken.
She signed the lease without reading it.
If you ever need to be unmistakable about the "sign" sense — say, in a legal or formal register — there is the noun handtekening ("signature") and the phrase jou handtekening sit ("put your signature"), but in practice plain teken on a document is always understood as signing. For the drawing sense, the related noun is tekening ("a drawing").
Plaas asseblief jou handtekening langs jou naam.
Please place your signature next to your name.
Putting the pair together
In daily life the two verbs often appear back to back — you skryf something and then teken it. Seeing them in one breath fixes both the recipient preposition and the dual sense of teken.
Ek het 'n brief aan die bank geskryf en dit onderaan geteken.
I wrote a letter to the bank and signed it at the bottom.
Common mistakes
❌ Ek het my broer geskryf.
Incorrect — the recipient of skryf needs a preposition (American-English transfer).
✅ Ek het vir my broer geskryf.
I wrote to my brother.
❌ Hy het 'n brief geskrywe.
Non-standard participle — it is geskryf, with -yf; the w spelling belongs to skrywer (writer).
✅ Hy het 'n brief geskryf.
He wrote a letter.
❌ Sy het die kontrak gesign.
Incorrect — Afrikaans has no 'sign'; you teken a contract.
✅ Sy het die kontrak geteken.
She signed the contract.
❌ Die kind skryf 'n prent.
Wrong verb — you draw a picture with teken, not skryf.
✅ Die kind teken 'n prent.
The child draws a picture.
❌ Ons neem môre ons eksamen.
Wrong verb — in South African usage you skryf an exam, not 'take' it.
✅ Ons skryf môre ons eksamen.
We're sitting our exam tomorrow.
Key takeaways
- Both regular: present skryf / teken, perfect het geskryf / het geteken, future sal skryf / sal teken.
- Spell the participle geskryf (with -yf), not geskrywe.
- skryf marks the recipient with vir (everyday) or aan (formal); never drop it.
- South African usage: you skryf 'n eksamen — you sit/take an exam.
- teken covers both "draw" (teken 'n prent) and "sign" (teken 'n kontrak); the object decides the meaning.
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Start learning Afrikaans→Related Topics
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