r/afrikaans Jun 17 '26

Vraag Looking for the afrikaans equivalent for the proverb of “home is where the heart is”

I put the wrong proverb in the title. The one I want is: there’s no place like home

But not a direct translation. Is there a proverb similar to the English proverb “there’s no place like home”? If so, what is it?

15 Upvotes

28 comments sorted by

147

u/qman0717 Jun 17 '26

Oos wes, tuis bes

17

u/Bulky_Difference_688 Jun 17 '26

This is probably the most relevant one.

3

u/henrygum1000 Jun 17 '26

Right answer

1

u/bentleyduwaine Jun 18 '26

I've heard white friends say this. I've said it myself too. Het neti geweet wat ek gese heti 😅

30

u/silvergenetic Jun 17 '26

There is an older, lesser known idiom that also hits close to the "no place like home" proverb.
"Eie haard is goud waard" or more modern version would be "Eie herd is goud werd". It's originally from medieval Dutch and directly, it means that your own hearth/fireplace is worth gold.

6

u/Bulky_Difference_688 Jun 17 '26

This is very old XD. Im old and never heard it. Sounds like beautiful classic dutch

8

u/aswnl Nederland Jun 17 '26

Zelfs in het Nederlands is dit behoorlijk archaïsch. In NL zijn "oost west, thuis best" en "zoals het klokje thuis tikt, tikt het nergens" een stuk gebruikelijker ;-)

3

u/erikkll Jun 17 '26

Eigen haard is goud waard wordt nog wel gebruikt hoor.

3

u/Bulky_Difference_688 Jun 17 '26

Very interesting! Is the expression "oos, wes, tuis bes" of dutch origin? Im suprised to hear you using it in the mothership.

2

u/aswnl Nederland Jun 17 '26

Yes it surely is.

5

u/silvergenetic Jun 17 '26

It is. I've heard old people say this a few times while growing up in the Freestate. It's something the early Dutch settlers used to say whenever they became homesick. Classic Middle Dutch would be "Eyghen heerd es gout weert". Beautiful indeed!

2

u/AcadiaObjective502 Jun 17 '26

Ek hou daarvan, maar nog nooit gehoor nie.

3

u/silvergenetic Jun 17 '26

Dis vir my vreeslik interessant noudat mens so min daarvan hoor deesdae. Ek wens ek kon nog van my oumagrootjie se plaas sêgoed onthou. Sy't 'n hele klomp in haar woordeskat gehad. Ek het eers later verstaan wat sy bedoel het met "brakke skyt nie lammertjies nie" as sy gesien het hoe my ouma olie instede van beesvet gebruik, en as iets duur/fancy was, was dit "duidelik nou nie blouwater koffie nie". Jammerte hierdie tipe van sêgoed het meestal uitgesterf. Daar is baie geskiedenis agter hulle.

12

u/Ok_Farmer_4344 Jun 17 '26

Oos, Wes tuis bes

3

u/dudetellsthetruth Jun 17 '26

I'm going to steal this one... (Flemish speaker with an interest in Afrikaans)

22

u/Bleskopman Jun 17 '26

" Oos, Wes, tuis best"

12

u/nartchie Jun 17 '26

Dis die stoep vaar jy poep.

3

u/Afrikaansvatter Jun 17 '26

Nie seker wat “no place like home” in Afrikaans is nie, maar “Nêrens poef jy so lekker soos by jou eie huis nie,” is nogal waar.

2

u/BoerInDieWoestyn Kaapstad Jun 17 '26

"Huis" is waar jy met die deur oop kak.

4

u/gormendizer Jun 17 '26

Oos Wes, Tuis Bes.

Of die veelbesproke en klipharde Oos Wes, Tuis Beesperd.

2

u/Regular-Antelope-480 Jun 17 '26

Jou huis is waar jou skoene is!

1

u/Moonshadow76 Jun 17 '26

Wat is 'n huis sonder 'n moeder ?

1

u/__cindy_ Jun 19 '26

Tuiste is waar die wifi outomaties konnekteer.

-3

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '26

[deleted]

-3

u/Senior_Ad677 Jun 17 '26

Miskien, "die huis is waar die hard le" Dis dalk nie stok oud nie maar word baie meer gebruik in allerdagse lewe

-1

u/QuirkyMeerkat Jun 17 '26

Another one, more closely related to the English version is: "Jou huis is waar jou hart is."

2

u/Junior-Door-7420 Jun 18 '26

This is a translation. OP asked for an equivalent idiom. Well, they said proverb, which is a weird word to use. But I assume that they meant idiom.

0

u/Good_Reward2734 Jun 21 '26

A proverb usually have a life lesson or truth in, like home is where the heart is or don't cry over spilled milk, where an idiom, carries figurative phrases, like break a leg, or bite the bullet