South African
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South African
A male person who comes from South Africa or has South African citizenship.
Der neue Kollege ist Südafrikaner und erzählt oft von seiner Heimatstadt Kapstadt.
The new colleague is South African and often talks about his hometown, Cape Town.
The word is clearly structured: it consists of the country 'Südafrika' (South Africa) and the ending '-aner', which is often used for male inhabitants of countries or continents.
Mein Brieffreund ist Südafrikaner.
My pen pal is South African.
This word belongs to a family: 'Südafrika' (South Africa) is the country, and 'südafrikanisch' (South African) is the corresponding adjective. If you know one word, you can often derive the others.
Die südafrikanische Flagge hat viele Farben.
The South African flag has many colors.
When stating a person's profession or nationality with the verb 'sein' (to be), no article is often used. This also applies to 'Südafrikaner' (South African).
Nelson Mandela war Südafrikaner.
Nelson Mandela was South African.
African
'der Afrikaner' and 'der Südafrikaner' both refer to origin, but they are not equally specific. 'Afrikaner' means a man from the continent of Africa or of African origin. 'Südafrikaner' means a man from the country of South Africa or with South African citizenship. The words can be confused because South Africa is in Africa. But not every Afrikaner is a Südafrikaner. If the country South Africa is important, 'Südafrikaner' is more precise. If only the continent or general origin is meant, 'Afrikaner' fits.
Der Südafrikaner hat in Kapstadt studiert und lebt jetzt in Berlin.
The South African studied in Cape Town and now lives in Berlin.
Der Afrikaner erzählte im Kurs von verschiedenen Ländern seines Kontinents.
The African man told the class about different countries on his continent.