01
der Afrikaner
African man
A male inhabitant of the continent of Africa or a male person of African origin.
example
Der Marathon wurde von einem Afrikaner aus Kenia gewonnen.
The marathon was won by an African from Kenya.
der Afrikaner
African
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Meanings
Usage tips
Word structure
The word is derived from the continent 'Afrika' (Africa). The ending '-aner' is often used for male inhabitants of continents or countries.
EXAMPLE
Er ist Afrikaner und kommt ursprünglich aus Ghana.
He is African and originally comes from Ghana.
Word family
This noun belongs to a word family with the continent 'Afrika' (Africa) and the adjective 'afrikanisch' (African). You can use the adjective to describe culture, food, or other things.
EXAMPLE
Ich interessiere mich sehr für afrikanische Musik.
I am very interested in African music.
Usage note
The term 'Afrikaner' (African) is very general, since Africa is a huge continent with over 50 countries. If the country of origin is known, it is often more precise to name it (e.g., 'ein Mann aus Nigeria' — a man from Nigeria).
EXAMPLE
Mein neuer Kollege ist Ägypter.
My new colleague is Egyptian.
Compare with
Afrikaner vs afrikanisch
African
'afrikanisch' and 'der Afrikaner' both refer to Africa, but they are grammatically different. 'afrikanisch' is an adjective and describes origin, culture, or something connected with Africa. 'der Afrikaner' is a noun and means a male person from Africa or of African origin. Learners may confuse the words because they both have the same reference. Before a noun, you often use 'afrikanisch', for example 'afrikanische Musik' (African music). For a person, you say 'Afrikaner', or 'Afrikanerin' for a woman.
Afrikaner
Der Afrikaner erzählt im Büro, wie er nach Deutschland gekommen ist.
The African man explains at the office how he came to Germany.
afrikanisch
Im Kurs hören wir morgen afrikanische Musik und sprechen über verschiedene Länder.
In the course tomorrow, we will listen to African music and talk about different countries.
In real life
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