No. 17 in Afrikaans
maar
"Maar" in Afrikaans means "but" in English.
In a sentence
Ek hou van appels, maar ek is allergies daarvoor.
I like apples, but I am allergic to them.
In this sentence, 'maar' is used as a conjunction introducing a contrast or exception, showing the opposition between liking apples and being allergic to them.
Hy het gesê jy kan maar ingaan.
He said you may go in.
Here, 'maar' is used to indicate permission or allowance, stressing that it is acceptable to proceed.
Jy moet maar probeer jou bes doen.
You should just try your best.
In this example, 'maar' softens the imperative tone, suggesting a modest encouragement rather than a strict command.
Hear it in real podcasts
The recording above is a synthetic voice. Hear how people say “maar” in actual Afrikaans podcasts.
Find “maar” in podcastsLearn it from shows you like
LangTurbo plays Afrikaans podcasts with a transcript and the English under every line. Tap a word like this one and it tells you what it means right there. For iPhone, iPad and Android.
Afrikaans books and courses on Amazon (an affiliate link: a purchase through it supports this site).