Afrikaner

See also: afrikaner and afrikáner

English

Alternative forms

• Africander (archaic)

Etymology

Borrowed from Afrikaans Afrikaner.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌæfɹɪˈkɑːnɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

Afrikaner (plural Afrikaners)

1. A member of an ethnic group of northwestern European ancestry and associated with southern Africa and the Afrikaans language.
   • 2025 May 12, Peter Smith, “Episcopal Church says it won’t help resettle white South Africans granted refugee status in US”, in Associated Press‎^[1]:

     “Despite the Administration’s actions, CWS remains committed to serving all eligible refugee populations seeking safety in the United States, including Afrikaners who are eligible for services,” he said. “Our faith compels us to serve each person in our care with dignity and compassion.”

   • 2025 May 12, Jennifer Hansler, “White South Africans granted refugee status by Trump administration arrive in US”, in CNN‎^[2]:

     In February, Trump suspended aid to South Africa, alleging discrimination against White farmers. In that same executive order, the president said the US would “promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, including racially discriminatory property confiscation.”

2. A breed of cattle; Afrikander.

Derived terms

• Afrikanerdom
• Afrikanerism
• Afrikanerness

Translations

member of ethnic group

• Afrikaans: Afrikaner (af)
• Arabic: أَفْرِيكَانِيّ m (ʔafrīkāniyy), أَفْرِيكَانِيَّة f (ʔafrīkāniyya)
• Basque: afrikaner (eu)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 阿非利卡人 (zh) (Āfēilìkǎ rén)

• Czech: Afrikánec (cs) m
• Danish: afrikaner (da)
• Dutch: Afrikaner (nl) m
• Finnish: afrikaaneri (fi)
• French: Afrikaner (fr) m or f
• German: (rare) Afrikaander (de) m, Bure (de) m, Kapholländer m
• Irish: Afracánach m
• Italian: afrikander m or f
• Japanese: アフリカーナー (Afurikānā)
• Khmer: ជនជាតិអាភ្វ្រិក (chɔɔn chiet aafrik)
• Korean: 아프리카너 (Apeurikaneo)
• Latvian: afrikands m, afrikandiete f
• Northern Sotho: Leburu
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: afrikander m

  Nynorsk: afrikandar m

• Polish: Afrykaner (pl) m, Afrykanerka (pl) f
• Portuguese: africânder (pt) m or f
• Russian: африка́нер (ru) m (afrikánɛr), африка́ндер (ru) m (afrikándɛr)
• Shona: Bhunu
• Slovak: Afrikánec m
• Sotho: Leburu
• Spanish: afrikáner (es) m
• Swedish: afrikand (sv) c
• Tswana: Leburu
• Welsh: Affricaner m or f
• Xhosa: iBhulu class 5/6
• Zulu: iBhunu

Boer — see Boer

breed of cattle — see Afrikander

See also

• Boer

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch Afrikaan + -er.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /afriˈkɑːnər/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Afrikaner (plural Afrikaners)

1. Afrikaner

   Synonym: (colloquial or historical) Boer

2. short for Afrikanerbees (zebu)

Alternative forms

• Afrikaander

Descendants

• → English: Afrikaner
• → Portuguese: africâner

See also

• Afrikaan (“African”)
• Afrikaanssprekende (“Afrikaans speaker”)

Dutch

Alternative forms

• Afrikaander (dated, historical)

Etymology

From Afrikaan +‎ -er. First attested in the 17th century. The sense “Afrikaner” is borrowed from Afrikaans.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aːfriˈkaːnər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Afri‧ka‧ner
• Rhymes: -aːnər

Noun

Afrikaner m (plural Afrikaners, diminutive Afrikanertje n)

1. Afrikaner [from late 19th c.]
2. (archaic) African [17th–19th c.]

   Synonym: Afrikaan

3. (archaic) Africanus [17th–19th c.]

German

Alternative forms

• Africaner (archaic)

Etymology

Possibly from Latin āfricānus + -er instead of -us

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔafʁiˈkaːnɐ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Austria):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Afri‧ka‧ner

Noun

Afrikaner m (strong, genitive Afrikaners, plural Afrikaner, feminine Afrikanerin)

1. African (person)
   • 1996, Sonja Fuchs, “Die haitianischen Tiersprichwörter und ihre Herkunft”, in Kreolische Bibliothek Band 17, Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag, page 58:

     Viele Historiker, die sich mit dem Sklavenhandel an den verschiedenen Küstenabschnitten Afrikas auseinandersetzen, weisen darauf hin, daß wesentlich mehr männliche als weibliche Afrikaner an die Europäer verkauft wurden.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

Declension of Afrikaner [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Afrikaner	die	Afrikaner
genitive	eines	des	Afrikaners	der	Afrikaner
dative	einem	dem	Afrikaner	den	Afrikanern
accusative	einen	den	Afrikaner	die	Afrikaner

Hyponyms

• Nordafrikaner, Südafrikaner
• Westafrikaner, Ostafrikaner
• Schwarzafrikaner, Weißafrikaner

Coordinate terms

• Amerikaner, Asiate, Australier, Europäer

Related terms

• Afrika, afrikanisch
• Hannoveraner, Indianer

Further reading

• “Afrikaner” in Duden online
• “Afrikaner” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache