bedryf

Bedryf is a term that is primarily used in Afrikaans to denote economic activity, industry, or a sector of the economy. In Dutch, the corresponding standard noun for a company or enterprise is bedrijf; bedryf appears mainly in Afrikaans and in historical or dialectal Dutch usage.

In Afrikaans, bedryf can refer to the organized production and provision of goods and services, as well as to the broader set of activities within a particular economic sector. It is commonly found in compounds that name sectors, such as nywerheidsbedryf (industrial sector) or landboubedryf (agriculture industry). Depending on context, bedryf can describe either a specific enterprise within a sector or the sector as a whole.

Relation to other terms varies by language. In Dutch, ondernemings and ondernemingsleven refer to enterprises and the business community, while bedrijfsleven denotes the broad field of business activity. The term industrie is used for industry, and sector or bedrijfssector for a specific part of the economy. Thus, bedryf sits alongside these terms but is primarily an Afrikaans spelling; in Dutch contexts, bedrijf or bedrijfsleven are more common. Etymologically, bedryf reflects the same conceptual root as the Dutch woord bedrijf, adapted in Afrikaans spelling.