This page lists the Afrikaans verbs that take van or vir as their fixed preposition — the liking, asking, caring, and fearing verbs. None of these prepositions reliably matches English, and one of them (bang vir) is a classic Dutch-transfer trap. Use this as a lookup; for the underlying principle that the preposition is an unpredictable property of the verb, see the verbs-with-prepositions overview.
One clarification up front, because it matters for the whole guide. The vir on this page is the prepositional-object vir — the preposition a verb governs, as in sorg vir (care for), bang vir (afraid of), wag vir (wait for a person). That is a different vir from the dative-recipient vir that marks who receives something (gee dit vir my — give it to me). The recipient vir lives on its own reference page, ditransitive verbs with vir. Same little word, two different jobs — keep them apart.
The reference table
| Verb + preposition | Meaning | vs English |
|---|---|---|
| hou van | to like (lit. "hold of") | no "of" in English |
| dink van | to think of / about (have an opinion) | "of/about", not "van" |
| vra vir | to ask (someone) | often no preposition in English |
| sorg vir | to care for / take care of / provide for | "for", not "vir" |
| wag vir | to wait for (a person) | matches "for" |
| bang wees vir | to be afraid of | "of", not "vir" |
The van verbs
hou van — to like
The single most common verb on this page, and a guaranteed early error. Hou by itself means "hold" or "keep"; "to like" is hou van, literally "hold of". Drop the van and the sentence simply does not mean "like" any more.
Ek hou baie van jou nuwe kapsel.
I really like your new haircut.
Hou jy van die plek waar ons gaan eet het?
Did you like the place where we ate?
dink van — to think of / about (an opinion)
This is the meaning-split worth its own paragraph. Dink van asks for an opinion — "what do you make of it?", "how do you rate it?". It is not the same as dink aan, which means to call something to mind (think of a person, remember a task) and lives on verbs with aan and op. The preposition alone carries the difference:
| Frame | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| dink aan | call to mind, remember, picture | Ek dink aan my ouma. |
| dink van | have an opinion of, rate | Wat dink jy van die film? |
Wat dink jy van die nuwe baas?
What do you think of the new boss?
Ek weet nie wat om van sy plan te dink nie.
I don't know what to make of his plan.
Get these two confused and you say something subtly wrong: dink aan die baas means you are thinking about the boss (he is on your mind), not asking what someone's opinion of him is.
The vir verbs
vra vir — to ask (someone)
Vra vir introduces the person you ask. English usually asks someone with no preposition at all ("ask the waiter"), so the vir feels like an extra word — but it is standard, especially in speech.
Vra vir die kelner of hulle nog 'n tafel het.
Ask the waiter if they still have a table.
Het jy al vir jou ma gevra?
Have you asked your mum yet?
sorg vir — to care for / provide for
Sorg vir means to look after, take care of, or provide for someone or something — children, a sick relative, the arrangements, the food for a party. The preposition is vir, matching English "for" by coincidence rather than rule.
Sy sorg al jare vir haar bejaarde pa.
She's been caring for her elderly father for years.
Moenie bekommerd wees nie — ek sorg vir die kos.
Don't worry — I'll take care of the food.
wag vir — to wait for (a person)
Wag vir is "wait for", and the natural mapping to English "for" makes it easy — but mind the two traps. First, the Dutch-looking voor ("in front of") is wrong; the form is wag vir. Second, and this is the deeper point, wag vir is specifically for waiting for a person. When you await an event or outcome (a result, the bus, the rain), Afrikaans switches to wag op, covered on verbs with aan and op. English's single "wait for" hides this split.
Wag vir my by die hek — ek is amper daar.
Wait for me at the gate — I'm almost there.
Ons wag vir die kinders; hulle wag op die bus.
We're waiting for the children; they're waiting for the bus.
bang wees vir — to be afraid of
Bang wees vir is "to be afraid of". The preposition is vir, and this is the single most common Dutch-transfer error in the whole prepositional-verb system: Dutch says bang voor, and Dutch speakers reflexively carry voor into Afrikaans. In standard Afrikaans, fear takes vir, full stop.
My dogtertjie is bang vir die donker.
My little daughter is afraid of the dark.
Is jy bang vir spinnekoppe?
Are you afraid of spiders?
Common mistakes
❌ Sy is bang van die hond.
Incorrect — Dutch-style; 'afraid of' takes vir: bang vir die hond.
✅ Sy is bang vir die hond.
She's afraid of the dog.
❌ Sy is bang voor die hond.
Incorrect — voor is Dutch transfer (bang voor); use vir.
✅ Sy is bang vir die hond.
She's afraid of the dog.
❌ Ek hou koffie in die oggend.
Incorrect — 'like' is hou van, never hou alone; missing van.
✅ Ek hou van koffie in die oggend.
I like coffee in the morning.
❌ Wat dink jy aan die nuwe baas?
Incorrect — for an opinion use dink van; dink aan means 'call to mind'.
✅ Wat dink jy van die nuwe baas?
What do you think of the new boss?
❌ Wie sorg die kinders vandag?
Incorrect — sorg needs vir: sorg vir die kinders.
✅ Wie sorg vandag vir die kinders?
Who's looking after the children today?
Key takeaways
- hou van (like) is the highest-frequency pair here — never drop the van.
- dink van = have an opinion of; dink aan = call to mind. The preposition alone splits the meaning — see verbs with aan and op.
- bang wees vir (afraid of) takes vir, not Dutch voor — this is the classic Dutch-transfer error.
- wag vir = wait for a person; wag op = await an event — keep them apart.
- The vir on this page is the prepositional-object vir; the recipient-marking vir of gee dit vir my is a different job, treated on ditransitive verbs with vir.
Now practice Afrikaans
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Start learning Afrikaans→Related Topics
- Verbs with aan and op (dink aan, wag op)B1 — A lookup table of Afrikaans verbs that govern aan or op — dink aan, glo aan, wag op, reken op, let op, antwoord op — with the meanings, examples, and the wag op / wag vir split that English hides.
- Verbs with Fixed Prepositions (Reference)B1 — A frequency-ordered reference of Afrikaans verbs that govern a fixed, unpredictable preposition — wag vir, dink aan, hou van — that must be learned as a unit.
- Talking About Likes and DislikesA2 — How to say what you like, love and can't stand in Afrikaans — hou van, graag, lus wees vir, gaande/mal wees oor, and the negative hou nie van ... nie.