Mission—Team—FAQ—Privacy—Terms—Sponsors—Grammar—Typing Course—Donate

© 2026 Elon Automation B.V.

Learn Hardcore Afrikaans: Die heffing is verskuldig. - The service charge is due.

Hardcore Afrikaans
/Correcting a municipal utility account
/Die heffing is verskuldig.

Die heffing is verskuldig.

Die heffing is verskuldig.

The service charge is due.

Breakdown of Die heffing is verskuldig.

the service charge

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Afrikaans grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Afrikaans now

Questions & Answers about Die heffing is verskuldig.

Why is the sentence Die heffing is verskuldig and not something with het?

Because is is the normal verb to be, and verskuldig is describing the status of die heffing.

So the structure is:

Die heffing = the levy / the charge
is = is
verskuldig = due / payable / owed

This is a typical subject + is + adjective pattern.

You would not use het here, because het means have and does not fit this kind of statement.

What exactly does heffing mean?

Heffing usually means something like:

levy
charge
fee
sometimes tax or assessment, depending on context

It is often used in formal, legal, financial, or administrative language.

So in real-life use, heffing is not usually a casual everyday word like price. It often refers to an amount that is officially imposed or charged.

What does verskuldig mean exactly?

Verskuldig means something like:

due
owed
payable

It is often used in financial or formal contexts to say that money must be paid.

A useful way to think of it:

if an amount is verskuldig, someone owes it
if a payment is verskuldig, it is now due

So it is not just a general adjective; it has a strong sense of being owed or payable.

Why does the sentence start with Die?

Die is the definite article in Afrikaans, meaning the.

So:

die heffing = the levy / the charge

Afrikaans does not have different forms like English the vs. German-style articles. Die is used very broadly as the definite article.

In this sentence, it suggests a specific charge or levy that is already known from the context.

Is heffing a common everyday word?

Not especially in casual conversation. It is more common in:

government language
tax or municipal documents
contracts
invoices
legal or administrative notices

A native speaker would understand it, but it sounds more formal than many everyday payment-related words.

Why is verskuldig at the end of the sentence?

Because this is the normal word order for a simple main clause in Afrikaans:

subject
- verb
  - complement

So:

Die heffing = subject
is = verb
verskuldig = complement

This is very similar to English:

The levy is due

Nothing unusual is happening here.

Can verskuldig also come before the noun?

Yes, but then its form usually changes.

Before a noun, Afrikaans adjectives often take -e. So you may see:

die verskuldigde heffing = the payable / due levy

But in the original sentence, verskuldig comes after is, so it stays in its basic form:

Die heffing is verskuldig

So the difference is:

predicative position: Die heffing is verskuldig
attributive position: die verskuldigde heffing

Is verskuldig related to skuldig?

Yes. They are related, but they are not used in exactly the same way.

skuldig can mean guilty or owing
verskuldig is more specifically owed / due / payable, especially in money contexts

For example:

Hy is skuldig can mean He is guilty
Die bedrag is verskuldig means The amount is due

So verskuldig is often the safer choice in formal payment language.

How would an Afrikaans speaker pronounce heffing and verskuldig?

A rough guide:

heffing: HEF-ing
verskuldig: roughly fer-SKUL-dikh or ver-SKUL-dikh, depending on accent

A few pronunciation notes:

g in Afrikaans is usually a throaty sound, not the English g in go
v can sound close to English f in many Afrikaans accents
the stress in verskuldig is usually on skul

This is only an approximation, but it helps an English speaker get close.

Could I also say Die heffing moet betaal word?

Yes, but the meaning shifts slightly.

Die heffing is verskuldig = The levy is due / payable
Die heffing moet betaal word = The levy must be paid

The first focuses on the status of the charge: it is now owed. The second focuses on the required action: someone has to pay it.

So they are related, but not identical.

Is this a complete sentence on its own?

Yes. It is a complete, natural Afrikaans sentence.

It has:

a subject: Die heffing
a finite verb: is
a complement: verskuldig

Even though it is short, it works perfectly well, especially in formal writing such as bills, notices, or official documents.

Would this sentence sound natural in everyday conversation?

It can sound natural, but it is more likely in formal or administrative contexts than in casual speech.

In a conversation, people might choose wording that is a bit less official, depending on the situation. But on a statement, invoice, or municipal notice, Die heffing is verskuldig sounds very normal.

So it is grammatically simple, but stylistically quite formal.

What kind of grammar category is verskuldig here?

Here verskuldig is functioning as a predicate adjective.

That means it comes after is and describes the subject:

Die heffing → what is it like / what is its status?
verskuldig

This is similar to English sentences like:

The amount is due
The bill is payable
The account is overdue

So even though the word has a financial meaning, grammatically it behaves like an adjective in this sentence.

Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io