Wat van Saterdag?

Here Wat van means what about or how about.

So Wat van Saterdag? is a natural way to suggest Saturday or ask whether Saturday would work.

It is not usually understood word-for-word as what of Saturday in normal English. It works as an idiomatic expression.

Yes. This is completely natural Afrikaans.

Just like English can say What about Saturday?, Afrikaans can say Wat van Saterdag? without adding a verb such as is. It is a short, conversational question used when making a suggestion or bringing up an option.

Normally van often means of, from, or about, depending on context. In this pattern, wat van + noun/time/day is a fixed and common way to mean what about ... ?

So in this sentence, it is best to learn wat van as a chunk:

• Wat van Maandag? — What about Monday?
• Wat van later? — What about later?
• Wat van koffie? — What about coffee?

In Afrikaans, days of the week are usually used without an article when you simply mean the day in general.

So:

• Saterdag = Saturday
• op Saterdag = on Saturday

You would only add die if you mean a specific Saturday in a more definite sense, depending on context.

In Afrikaans, the names of the days of the week are capitalized.

So you write:

• Maandag
• Dinsdag
• Woensdag
• Donderdag
• Vrydag
• Saterdag
• Sondag

That is why Saterdag begins with a capital letter here.

A rough guide for an English speaker is:

vuht fan SAH-tər-dakh?

A few helpful points:

• w in Afrikaans often sounds more like an English v
• v in van is often pronounced like f
• the first syllable of Saterdag is stressed: SA-
• the final g in Saterdag is the guttural Afrikaans g/ch sound, not an English g

It does not sound exactly like English Saturday.

You use it when suggesting Saturday or checking whether Saturday is a good option.

For example:

• deciding when to meet
• choosing a day for an event
• responding to someone who asked for another possibility

It can mean things like:

• How about Saturday?
• What about Saturday?
• Would Saturday work?

The exact nuance depends on the conversation.

Most often, it is a suggestion or proposal.

However, depending on context, it can also mean What about Saturday? in the sense of And Saturday? or What is the plan for Saturday?

So the sentence itself is short and flexible. The surrounding conversation tells you whether it is:

• suggesting Saturday
• asking if Saturday is possible
• bringing Saturday into the discussion

Yes. This is a very useful pattern.

You can replace Saterdag with many other words:

• Wat van môre? — What about tomorrow?
• Wat van vanaand? — What about tonight?
• Wat van Maandag? — What about Monday?
• Wat van volgende week? — What about next week?

So Wat van + time/day/option? is a productive and common structure in Afrikaans.

Not usually.

Wat van Saterdag? is the normal way to say What about Saturday?

If you say Wat van die Saterdag?, it sounds more like What about that/the Saturday?, referring to a specific Saturday already identified in the conversation.

So for a simple suggestion, Wat van Saterdag? is the better form.