Fruits From the Afrikaans Garden Quiz

Answer: Guava

I could find no specific etymology for the Afrikaans word "koejawel", but if one splits the word up it does have a meaning. 'Koe' is Dutch for 'cow' and 'jawel' is a compound of 'ja'(yes) and 'wel'(well). I could imagine an early Afrikaner boer seeing overripe guavas having dropped from a tree and potentially likening them to cow pats in some way. The Dutch word for guava is 'guave'.

Answer: Banana

The word 'piesang' is derived from the Malay word 'pisang'. It is know as such in both Dutch and Swedish, as well as Indonesian. This is hardly surprising, considering the Dutch presence in the Indonesian archipelago, courtesy of the Dutch East India Company from the 1600s.

Answer: Orange

'Lemoen' is derived from the Dutch word 'limoen' which is Dutch for a lime. In Afrikaans a lime is a 'lemmetjie' and a lemon is a 'suurlemoen'. 'Suur' is the Afrikaans word for 'sour'. It is confusing and makes life interesting when ordering dessert and using direct translations. You could end up with a glass of lemon juice and an orange meringue tart.

Answer: Strawberry

'Aarbei' is derived from the Dutch word 'aardbei'. A 'bei' is a berry and 'aard' is a form of the Dutch word 'aarde' meaning 'soil or earth'. It is a very correct term for a strawberry, as strawberry plants grow fairly close to the ground.

Answer: Date

'Dadel' is the word for dates used in Dutch, Swedish and Danish. It was not changed in any way when Afrikaans was developed, unlike many other Dutch words that have had their spelling and pronunciation changed.

Answer: Grape

'Druif' in Afrikaans is the same word used in Dutch. It comes from the Proto-Germanic 'þrūbô'. The difference between Afrikaans and Dutch comes when one compares the plurals. In Dutch the plural of 'druif' is 'druiven'. In Afrikaans the plural is 'druiwe'. In Afrikaans the 'w' is pronounced as a 'v'.

Answer: Apricot

If one splits the word 'appelkoos' up, you get two meanings that could have been combined for the purposes of naming this fruit. 'Appel' is Dutch for 'apple' and 'koos' is a past indicative of the Dutch word 'kiezen' meaning 'to choose'. When combined, the English translation could be 'choice apple'.

The Dutch word for apricot is 'abrikoos' however, which is more than likely where the Afrikaans word comes from.

Answer: Mulberry

'Moerbei' is the Dutch word for mulberry. 'Moer' is taken from the Latin 'morus' meaning 'black mulberry'. 'Bei' is the German word for 'berry'. Interestingly enough, in Afrikaans the word 'moer' has more than one meaning. One meaning denotes the nut that fits onto a screw and the other is a slang term for hitting someone really, really hard.

Answer: Cherry

'Kersie' is taken from the diminutive of the Dutch word for cherry which is 'kers'. 'Kers' in Afrikaans means 'candle'. You could also use the word 'kersie' for a really small candle. In Afrikaans it is always safer to make the other person aware of the subject you are talking about, otherwise you may end up with a mouthful of candle wax.

Answer: Fig

'Vy' is taken from the Dutch 'vijg'. In Afrikaans the letter 'v' is pronounced as an 'f', where as the letter 'w' is pronounced as a 'v'. The letter 'f' interestingly enough, is pronounced as an 'f'.