Ek onttrek kontant.

• Ek = I
• onttrek = withdraw
• kontant = cash

So the sentence is built very directly: I withdraw cash.

In Afrikaans, the simple present tense usually does not need an extra verb like am/is/are.

So:

• Ek onttrek kontant = I withdraw cash

You only use is when the sentence needs to be:

• Ek is moeg = I am tired

But with an action verb like onttrek, you just say:

• Ek onttrek ...

No. One helpful feature of Afrikaans is that verbs usually do not change for person.

So you get:

• Ek onttrek kontant = I withdraw cash
• Jy onttrek kontant = You withdraw cash
• Hy onttrek kontant = He withdraws cash
• Ons onttrek kontant = We withdraw cash

Unlike English, there is no extra -s for he/she/it here.

Here, kontant is being used as a noun meaning cash.

It can also relate to the idea of cash as opposed to card payment. In this sentence, it simply means the money being withdrawn.

So:

• kontant = cash

Because kontant is being used like an uncountable noun, similar to English cash.

Compare:

• Ek onttrek kontant = I withdraw cash

You are talking about cash in general, not a cash or the cash.

If the context required something specific, Afrikaans could use a determiner, but in this basic sentence none is needed.

Yes, it is grammatical and understandable, but it can sound a bit formal or official.

In everyday speech, especially when talking about getting money from an ATM, speakers might also say things like:

• Ek trek kontant
• Ek haal kontant uit

So onttrek is correct, but it has a slightly more formal or banking-style feel.

The word order is the basic Afrikaans main-clause pattern:

• Ek = subject
• onttrek = verb
• kontant = object

So it follows Subject + Verb + Object:

• Ek onttrek kontant

This is very similar to English in a simple statement.

Afrikaans usually uses double negation.

So:

• Ek onttrek nie kontant nie = I do not withdraw cash

Pattern:

• subject + verb + nie
  • object + nie

That final nie is an important feature of standard Afrikaans negation.

The normal past tense in Afrikaans is often formed with het plus the past participle.

So:

• Ek het kontant onttrek = I withdrew cash / I have withdrawn cash

A useful detail: onttrek does not usually take ge- in the past participle, because it begins with the inseparable prefix ont-.

So it is:

• het onttrek not
• het geonttrek

Use sal:

• Ek sal kontant onttrek = I will withdraw cash

Notice that in the future tense, the main verb goes to the end:

• Ek sal ... onttrek

A rough guide is:

• onttrek ≈ ont-TREK

The stress is on trek.

A few helpful points:

• the tt is not pronounced as two separate strong t sounds; it sounds like a normal t
• trek rhymes roughly with English wreck, but with an Afrikaans r
• the o in ont- is short

A rough English-style approximation would be ont-trek.

No, onttrek is treated as a verb with the inseparable prefix ont-.

That matters especially in forms like the past participle:

• Ek het kontant onttrek

You do not split it apart, and you do not normally add ge-.

Not in a normal simple statement like this.

The basic neutral order is:

• Ek onttrek kontant

If you move kontant to the front, the sentence becomes more marked for emphasis, and the verb still has to stay in second position:

• Kontant onttrek ek

That is possible in some contexts, but it sounds much more emphatic or unusual. For a learner, the safest version is:

• Ek onttrek kontant