soek ("to search, to look for") and vind ("to find") are the two ends of one process: you soek until you vind. English keeps "search/look for" and "find" neatly separate, and so does Afrikaans — but with one twist that surprises learners. In everyday speech, Afrikaans usually reaches for kry ("get") rather than vind to say that you located something. Ek kry dit nie is the natural way to say "I can't find it." This page gives the forms of all three, the soek na construction, and a clear sense of when each "find" verb is idiomatic. For kry's full range, see kry (to get).
The forms
All three are regular and have one present form per subject. The participles are gesoek, gevind, and gekry, each built with het. Note gevind keeps its d (it does not devoice in spelling), and gekry simply prefixes ge- to kry.
| Form | soek (search) | vind (find) | kry (find/get) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | soek | vind | kry |
| Perfect (past) | het gesoek | het gevind | het gekry |
| Future | sal soek | sal vind | sal kry |
| Infinitive | (om te) soek | (om te) vind | (om te) kry |
| Imperative | soek! | vind! | kry! |
Ek soek 'n huis naby die see.
I'm looking for a house near the sea.
Sy het dit uiteindelik in haar sak gevind.
She finally found it in her bag.
Ek kan dit nie kry nie — het jy dit dalk gesien?
I can't find it — have you maybe seen it?
soek — looking for something
soek covers both senses of English "look for" and "search." With a plain direct object it means you are trying to locate something specific: ek soek my sleutels ("I'm looking for my keys"). Crucially, you do not need a preposition for the thing you are looking for — soek takes it directly, unlike English "look for." Adding a stray vir here is a common English-transfer error.
Ek soek my sleutels — ek weet hulle was nou net hier.
I'm looking for my keys — I know they were here a moment ago.
Soek jy iets? Jy lyk verlore.
Are you looking for something? You look lost.
Die hond soek heeldag sy bal in die tuin.
The dog looks for his ball in the garden all day.
soek na — searching for something abstract or hard to reach
There is one construction where Afrikaans does add a preposition: soek na ("search for, seek after"). You meet it when the thing you are after is more abstract, more sought-after, or genuinely being searched for over time — work, a solution, meaning, the right words. The na gives the verb a "reaching toward" feel, the same na you find in streef na ("strive for") and verlang na ("long for"). For more on this directional na, see verbs with na and met.
Hy soek al maande na werk.
He's been looking for work for months.
Die wetenskaplikes soek na 'n oplossing vir die probleem.
The scientists are searching for a solution to the problem.
Sy het haar hele lewe na geluk gesoek.
She searched for happiness her whole life.
The line between bare soek and soek na is mostly one of concreteness and effort. For a physical thing right in front of you, plain soek is normal (ek soek my bril). For something abstract, distant, or pursued over time, soek na fits better (soek na waarheid, "search for truth"). Both are correct with many objects, but na adds weight and a sense of quest.
vind versus kry — the everyday truth about "find"
Here is the insight that textbooks skip. The "official" verb for "find" is vind, and it is perfectly correct: ek het dit gevind means "I found it." But in ordinary spoken Afrikaans, when you mean you located something — a lost object, a place, a parking spot — speakers overwhelmingly reach for kry ("get") instead. Ek kry dit nie is the everyday way to say "I can't find it." To an English ear this sounds like "I can't get it," but to an Afrikaans speaker it is the most natural phrasing for failing to locate something.
Ek kry nêrens parkering nie.
I can't find parking anywhere.
Het jy die plek maklik gekry?
Did you find the place easily?
Ek het my foon onder die kussing gekry.
I found my phone under the cushion.
So when do you use vind? vind leans more formal and more written, and it is the natural choice when "find" means discover or come to a conclusion rather than physically locate. You vind that something is the case (ek vind dit vreemd, "I find it strange"), you vind a solution in a report, a court vind someone guilty. For the homely "I located my keys," kry wins in speech.
Ek vind dit vreemd dat hy nie geantwoord het nie.
I find it strange that he didn't reply.
Die hof het hom skuldig bevind.
The court found him guilty.
The arc: soek, then kry or vind
The two verbs sit at opposite ends of one action, and it is worth seeing them in a single sentence. You soek (search) and then you either kry (find, in speech) or vind (find, more formally).
Ek het oral na my bril gesoek en hom toe op my kop gekry.
I looked everywhere for my glasses and then found them on my head.
Common mistakes
❌ Ek soek vir my sleutels.
Incorrect — soek takes a plain object for a concrete thing; the vir is intrusive English transfer.
✅ Ek soek my sleutels.
I'm looking for my keys.
❌ Ek kan die plek nie vind nie.
Stilted in casual conversation — for locating something, kry is the idiomatic verb: ek kan dit nie kry nie.
✅ Ek kan die plek nie kry nie.
I can't find the place.
❌ Hy soek na sy bril op die tafel.
Odd — for a concrete object right there, use plain soek; na suits abstract or long searches.
✅ Hy soek sy bril op die tafel.
He's looking for his glasses on the table.
❌ Ek het 'n goeie werk gevind.
Not wrong, but in everyday speech 'n werk kry is far more natural for landing a job.
✅ Ek het 'n goeie werk gekry.
I found a good job.
❌ Ek kry dit vreemd dat hy laat is.
Wrong verb for opinions — 'find it strange' is vind, not kry: ek vind dit vreemd.
✅ Ek vind dit vreemd dat hy laat is.
I find it strange that he's late.
Key takeaways
- All regular: present soek / vind / kry, perfect het gesoek / het gevind / het gekry.
- Plain soek takes a direct object for concrete things — no vir. Use soek na for abstract or long, effortful searches (soek na werk, soek na 'n oplossing).
- For locating something in everyday speech, use kry ("get"): ek kry dit nie = "I can't find it."
- Keep vind for the formal or abstract "find" — vind dit vreemd, skuldig bevind, finding a solution in writing.
- The whole arc: you soek, then you kry (speech) or vind (formal).
Now practice Afrikaans
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Start learning Afrikaans→Related Topics
- Verbs with na and met (luister na, praat met)B1 — A lookup table of Afrikaans verbs that govern na or met — luister na, kyk na, soek na, verlang na, praat met, trou met, begin met — with examples and the met-where-English-has-nothing traps.
- kry (to get/receive) — Full FormsA2 — All the forms of kry (get/receive) plus its huge collocational range — the experiencer pattern (kry koud, kry honger), reg kry for 'manage', and why you can't translate 'get' literally.