This is the 591st most frequent Afrikaans word.
van
"Van" in Afrikaans means "of" or "from."
In this sentence, 'van' indicates possession, showing that the flowers belong to the color.
Ek is lief vir die kleur van die blomme.
I love the color of the flowers.
Here, 'van' is used to indicate origin, stating that the person originates from Pretoria.
Hy kom van Pretoria af.
He comes from Pretoria.
In this instance, 'van' expresses a starting point in time, implying that the work started at the beginning.