Greetings and polite phrases
| Afrikaans | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| hallo | hello | HAH-loh | Hallo, hoe gaan dit?Hello, how are you? |
| goeiemôre | good morning | khoy-uh-MOH-ruh | Goeiemôre, pa.Good morning, dad. |
| goeienaand | good evening | khoy-uh-NAHNT | Goeienaand almal.Good evening, everyone. |
| dankie | thank you | DAHN-kee | Dankie vir jou hulp.Thank you for your help. |
| asseblief | please | AH-suh-bleef | Een koffie, asseblief.One coffee, please. |
| jammer | sorry | YAH-mer | Jammer, ek is laat.Sorry, I'm late. |
| totsiens | goodbye | TOT-seens | Totsiens, tot môre.Goodbye, see you tomorrow. |
| ja | yes | YAH | Ja, dit is reg.Yes, that's right. |
| nee | no | NEE-uh | Nee, ek hou nie daarvan nie.No, I don't like that. |
| welkom | welcome | VEL-kom | Welkom in Suid-Afrika.Welcome to South Africa. |
| baie dankie | thank you very much | BAI-uh DAHN-kee | Baie dankie vir die geskenk.Thank you very much for the gift. |
| goeienag | good night | khoy-uh-NAHKH | Goeienag, slaap lekker.Good night, sleep well. |
Numbers
| Afrikaans | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| een | one | EE-uhn | Ek het een hond.I have one dog. |
| twee | two | TVEE-uh | Ek koop twee kaartjies.I'm buying two tickets. |
| drie | three | DREE | Dit is drie-uur.It's three o'clock. |
| vier | four | FEER | Ons het vier kinders.We have four children. |
| vyf | five | FAYF | Ek het vyf rand nodig.I need five rand. |
| ses | six | SES | Sy het ses appels.She has six apples. |
| sewe | seven | SEE-vuh | Ek word om sewe-uur wakker.I wake up at seven. |
| agt | eight | AKHT | Die winkel maak om agtuur oop.The shop opens at eight. |
| nege | nine | NEE-khuh | Hy is nege jaar oud.He is nine years old. |
| tien | ten | TEEN | Ek tel tot tien.I count to ten. |
| honderd | hundred | HON-dert | Dit kos honderd rand.It costs a hundred rand. |
| duisend | thousand | DAUY-sent | Duisend mense woon hier.A thousand people live here. |
Colors
| Afrikaans | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| rooi | red | ROY | Die kar is rooi.The car is red. |
| blou | blue | BLOH | Die lug is blou.The sky is blue. |
| geel | yellow | KHEEL | Die son is geel.The sun is yellow. |
| groen | green | KHROON | Die gras is groen.The grass is green. |
| swart | black | SVART | Die kat is swart.The cat is black. |
| wit | white | VIT | Die sneeu is wit.The snow is white. |
| grys | gray | KHRAYS | Die lug is grys vandag.The sky is gray today. |
| bruin | brown | BRUYN | Die tafel is bruin.The table is brown. |
| oranje | orange | oh-RAHN-yuh | Haar trui is oranje.Her sweater is orange. |
| pienk | pink | PEENK | Die blom is pienk.The flower is pink. |
| pers | purple | PERS | Haar rok is pers.Her dress is purple. |
| goud | gold | KHOHT | Die ring is goud.The ring is gold. |
Family
| Afrikaans | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ma | mother | MAH | My ma is 'n onderwyser.My mother is a teacher. |
| pa | father | PAH | My pa woon in Kaapstad.My father lives in Cape Town. |
| broer | brother | BROOR | Ek het een broer.I have one brother. |
| suster | sister | SUS-ter | My suster is jonger.My sister is younger. |
| seun | son | SUH-uhn | Hulle het twee seuns.They have two sons. |
| dogter | daughter | DOKH-ter | Hulle se dogter is 'n dokter.Their daughter is a doctor. |
| vrou | wife, woman | FROH | Sy vrou is vriendelik.His wife is kind. |
| man | husband, man | MUN | Haar man werk by 'n bank.Her husband works at a bank. |
| ouma | grandmother | OH-mah | My ouma bak koek.My grandmother bakes cake. |
| oupa | grandfather | OH-pah | My oupa visvang gereeld.My grandfather fishes regularly. |
| familie | family | fah-MEE-lee | My familie is groot.My family is big. |
| kind | child | KUHNT | Die kind speel in die park.The child is playing in the park. |
Food and drink
| Afrikaans | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| brood | bread | BROHT | Ek koop brood by die winkel.I buy bread at the shop. |
| water | water | VAH-ter | Ek drink 'n glas water.I drink a glass of water. |
| melk | milk | MELK | Die kind drink melk.The child drinks milk. |
| koffie | coffee | KOF-ee | Ek drink koffie in die oggend.I drink coffee in the morning. |
| vis | fish | FIS | Ons eet vis op Vrydae.We eat fish on Fridays. |
| vleis | meat | FLAYS | Hy eet nie vleis nie.He doesn't eat meat. |
| aartappel | potato | AHRT-ah-pel | Ek kook aartappels.I'm cooking potatoes. |
| kaas | cheese | KAHS | Daar is kaas op die brood.There's cheese on the bread. |
| appel | apple | AH-pel | Ek eet elke dag 'n appel.I eat an apple every day. |
| sout | salt | SOHT | Voeg sout by die sop.Add salt to the soup. |
| suiker | sugar | SUY-ker | Daar is suiker in die koffie.There's sugar in the coffee. |
| kos | food | KOS | Die kos is gereed.The food is ready. |
Time and days
| Afrikaans | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| dag | day | DAKH | Vandag is 'n mooi dag.Today is a beautiful day. |
| week | week | VEEK | Daar is sewe dae in 'n week.There are seven days in a week. |
| Maandag | Monday | MAHN-dakh | Op Maandag gaan ek werk toe.On Monday I go to work. |
| Dinsdag | Tuesday | DINS-dakh | Ons ontmoet mekaar op Dinsdag.We're meeting on Tuesday. |
| Woensdag | Wednesday | VOONS-dakh | Dit reën op Woensdag.It's raining on Wednesday. |
| Donderdag | Thursday | DON-der-dakh | Daar is 'n vergadering op Donderdag.There's a meeting on Thursday. |
| Vrydag | Friday | FRAY-dakh | Op Vrydag vertrek ons op 'n reis.On Friday we leave for a trip. |
| Saterdag | Saturday | SAH-ter-dakh | Op Saterdag slaap ek laat.On Saturday I sleep in. |
| Sondag | Sunday | SON-dakh | Op Sondag rus ons.On Sunday we rest. |
| vandag | today | fun-DAKH | Vandag is die weer goed.Today the weather is good. |
| môre | tomorrow | MOH-ruh | Môre is dit Saterdag.Tomorrow is Saturday. |
| gister | yesterday | KHIS-ter | Gister het dit gesneeu.Yesterday it snowed. |
Travel and directions
| Afrikaans | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| lughawe | airport | LOKH-hah-vuh | Ons gaan na die lughawe.We're going to the airport. |
| trein | train | TRAYN | Die trein vertrek om agtuur.The train leaves at eight o'clock. |
| bus | bus | BUS | Ek ry met die bus skool toe.I take the bus to school. |
| hotel | hotel | hoh-TEL | Die hotel is in die middestad.The hotel is in the city center. |
| kaart | map | KAHRT | Ek kyk na die kaart.I'm looking at the map. |
| links | left | LINKS | Draai links.Turn left. |
| regs | right | REKHS | Die winkel is regs.The shop is on the right. |
| reguit | straight ahead | ruh-KHAYT | Loop reguit vorentoe.Go straight ahead. |
| reis | trip, journey | RAYS | Die reis het twee uur geneem.The trip took two hours. |
| paspoort | passport | PAS-poort | Wys jou paspoort.Show your passport. |
| kaartjie | ticket | KAHRT-yuh | Ek het 'n treinkaartjie gekoop.I bought a train ticket. |
| stad | city | STUT | Kaapstad is 'n groot stad.Cape Town is a big city. |
Common verbs
| Afrikaans | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| wees | to be | VEES | Ek is 'n Suid-Afrikaner.I am a South African. |
| gaan | to go | KHAHN | Ek gaan huis toe.I'm going home. |
| kom | to come | KOM | Kom hier.Come here. |
| eet | to eat | EET | Ek eet ontbyt.I'm eating breakfast. |
| drink | to drink | DRINK | Ek drink tee.I'm drinking tea. |
| sien | to see | SEEN | Ek sien 'n voël.I see a bird. |
| praat | to speak | PRAHT | Ek praat Afrikaans.I speak Afrikaans. |
| maak | to make, to do | MAHK | Ek maak kos.I'm making food. |
| wil | to want | VIL | Ek wil koffie hê.I want coffee. |
| kan | can, to know how to | KUN | Ek kan swem.I know how to swim. |
| liefhê | to love | LEEF-huh | Ek het jou lief.I love you. |
| woon | to live | VOH-uhn | Ek woon in Pretoria.I live in Pretoria. |
Adjectives
| Afrikaans | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| groot | big | KHROOT | Die huis is groot.The house is big. |
| klein | small | KLAYN | Die hond is klein.The dog is small. |
| goed | good | KHOOT | Die kos is goed.The food is good. |
| sleg | bad | SLEKH | Die weer is sleg.The weather is bad. |
| mooi | beautiful | MOH-ee | Die uitsig is mooi.The view is beautiful. |
| oud | old | OHT | Die gebou is oud.The building is old. |
| nuut | new | NUYT | My foon is nuut.My phone is new. |
| vinnig | fast | FIN-nikh | Die kar is vinnig.The car is fast. |
| stadig | slow | STAH-dikh | Die trein is stadig.The train is slow. |
| koud | cold | KOHT | Die water is koud.The water is cold. |
| warm | warm | VARM | Dit is warm in die somer.It's warm in summer. |
| gelukkig | happy | khuh-LUK-ikh | Ek is gelukkig.I am happy. |
Question words
| Afrikaans | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| wat | what | VUT | Wat maak jy?What are you doing? |
| wie | who | VEE | Wie is jy?Who are you? |
| waar | where | VAHR | Waar woon jy?Where do you live? |
| wanneer | when | vun-NEER | Wanneer vertrek die trein?When does the train leave? |
| hoekom | why | hoo-KOM | Hoekom is jy laat?Why are you late? |
| hoe | how | HOO | Hoe gaan dit?How are you? |
| hoeveel | how much, how many | hoo-FEEL | Hoeveel kos dit?How much does this cost? |
| watter | which | VUT-ter | Watter kleur is dit?Which color is it? |
Study tips for Afrikaans
- Afrikaans verbs do not change with the subject or tense the way English verbs do, so learning a form like 'is' or 'gaan' once covers almost every sentence.
- The letter 'g' is usually pronounced as a soft, guttural sound at the back of the throat, similar to the Dutch or Scottish 'ch'.
- Afrikaans commonly uses a double negative, adding 'nie' at the end of a negative sentence as well as after the verb, as in 'ek weet nie' (I don't know).
- Many Afrikaans words closely resemble Dutch and English, so look for familiar roots to guess the meaning of new vocabulary.
- Practice the vowel combinations 'oe', 'ui', and 'eu' early, since they represent single sounds that do not exist in English and take some ear-training.
Frequently asked questions
How many words are on this Afrikaans vocabulary list?
This page covers 116 essential Afrikaans words and phrases across ten everyday topics, including greetings, numbers, family, food, and travel.
Is Afrikaans easy to learn for English speakers?
Many learners find Afrikaans approachable because its verbs do not conjugate for person or tense and its grammar is simpler than Dutch or German, though its pronunciation and double negatives take some practice.
What script is Afrikaans written in?
Afrikaans is written in the Latin alphabet, the same script used for English and Dutch.