Afrikaans I Tutorial: Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar
Written by Selçuk Mert Köseoğlu
Proofread & recorded by Sarien
About the author: Hello! My name is Selçuk Mert Köseoğlu. I am 15 and from Turkey. I love languages. I can speak English, German, Swedish and Esperanto. I also have a conlang named Olesi. If you are interested in constructed languages you can visit my website. I learnt basic Swedish from this website so I am so glad that now I can help people who want to learn Afrikaans by themselves. Enjoy!
1. Basic Phrases 
| Goeie môre (often shortened to Môre!) | Haai / Hallo / Hoi |
| Good Morning | Hello / Good Day |
| Goeien aand | Goeie nag |
| Good Evening | Good Night |
| Totsiens | Asseblief |
| Goodbye | Please |
| (Baie) dankie | Nie te dankie / Dis 'n plesier |
| Thank you (very much) | Don't mention it / You're welcome |
| Ja / Nee | Meneer / Mevrou / Mejuffrou |
| Yes / No | Mister / Misses / Miss |
| Hoe gaan dit met jou? | Hoe voel jy? |
| How are you? | How are you? (How are you feeling?) |
| Goed, dankie | Nie so goed nie |
| Good, thank you | Not so good |
| Wat is jou naam? | My naam is ... |
| What's your name? | My name is... |
| Lekker om jou te ontmoet! / Aangename Kennis | Welkom! |
| Pleased to meet you! | Welcome! |
| Waar kom jy vandaan? | Ek kom van ... |
| Where are you from? | I'm from... |
| Waar woon jy? | Ek woon in ... |
| Where do you live? | I live in... |
| Hoe oud is jy? | Ek is ___ jaar (oud). |
| How old are you? | I am ____ years old. |
| Praat jy Afrikaans? | Ek praat [nie] Afrikaans [nie] |
| Do you speak Afrikaans? | I [don't] speak Afrikaans |
| Nederlands, Duits, Engels, Sweeds, Deens, Noors | |
| Dutch, German, English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian | |
| Frans, Italiaans, Spaans, Portugees, Russies, Japanees, Sjinees | |
| French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Chinese | |
| Ja, 'n bietjie | Nee, glad nie. |
| Yes, a little bit. | No, not at all. |
| Ek verstaan nie. | Ek weet [nie] |
| I [don't] understand. | I [don't] know. |
| Verskoon my / Pardon | Wees versigtig! |
| Excuse me / Pardon me | Take care! |
| Sien jou later | Sien jou gou |
| See you later | See you soon |
| Ek is lief vir jou. | Ek mis jou. |
| I love you. | I miss you. |
| Spelling | IPA | Approximate English pronunciation |
| a | /ɐ/ | short ah (sound like arr) |
| aa | /ɑː/ | long ah (sounds like arr) |
| ai | /aj/ | similar to diphthong in eye or high |
| ce, ci, cy | /s/ | as in soon |
| ca, co, ca | /k/ | as in kite |
| ch | /ʃ/ /k/ /x/ | as in shut, kite, or guttural Bach (mostly in loan words) |
| ë | /ə/ | schwa sound, as in sofa |
| ee | /iə/ | ee and uh together |
| ei | /ɛi/ | short eh and ih together; similar to play but shorter |
| eu | /eø/ | long eh and ih together, but with lips rounded for ih |
| g | /x/ | guttural Bach |
| gh | /g/ | as in go |
| i, ie | /i/ | as in eat |
| j | /j/ | as in yes |
| oe | /u/ | as in boot |
| oei | /ui/ | oo and ee together |
| oo | /uə/ | oo and uh together |
| ou | /ɵu/ | similar to oh |
| q | /k/ | as in kite |
| r | /r/ | rolled / trilled r |
| sj | /ʃ/ | as in shut |
| tj | /tʃ/ /k/ | as in chat; but also kite in the ending -tjie |
| u | /œ/ | long eh with rounded lips |
| ui | /œy/ | ay like bait |
| uu | /y/ | ee but with rounded lips |
| v | /f/ | as in fine |
| w | /v/ | as in vase |
| x | /ks/ | as in box |
| y | /ɛi/ | short eh and ih together; similar to play but shorter |
At the end of word, the /d/ and /b/ sounds become /t/ and /p/.
a |
ah |
j |
yee |
s |
ess |
b |
bee |
k |
kah |
t |
tee |
c |
see |
l |
el |
u |
oo |
d |
dee |
m |
em |
v |
fee |
e |
ee |
n |
en |
w |
vee |
f |
eff |
o |
oh |
x |
ehks |
g |
khee |
p |
pee |
y |
ay |
h |
hah |
q |
koo |
z |
zed |
i |
e |
r |
ehr |
||
The letters c, q, x and z are not native to Afrikaans but of course can be found in loan words.
Nouns in Afrikaans have no gender and no cases. To indicate possession, se is used just like 's in English.
Jack se boek Jack’s book
Piet se boek Piet’s book
Verbs in Afrikaans have no separate conjugated forms in the present tense. The infinitive is identical to the present tense as well as the imperative (command form), except for two verbs (wees - to be and hê - to have). Essentially you will only need to learn two forms for each verb: the infinitive/present/imperative form and the past form.
The definite and indefinite articles are quite easy to learn in Afrikaans. The is translated by die in both the singular and plural while a or an is translated by 'n. There is no plural indefinite article. ('n is pronounced as a schwa, i.e. "uh" as in the last syllable of sofa)
| die boek | the book | 'n boek | a book |
| die boeke | the books | boeke | books |
Die vrug is duur. The fruit is expensive.
Die seun sien ‘n meisie. The boy sees a girl.
Hy gee vir haar ‘n blom. He gives her a flower.
Demonstratives
| hierdie boek | this book | daardie boek | that book |
| hierdie boeke | these books | daardie boeke | those books |
| subject pronouns | object pronouns | ||
| ek | I | my | me |
| jy / u | you (singular / formal) | jou / u | you (singular / formal) |
| hy | he | hom | him |
| sy | she | haar | her |
| dit | it | dit | it |
| ons | we | ons | us |
| julle | you (plural of jy) | julle | you (plural) |
| hulle | they | hulle | them |
There are three forms of you in Afrikaans. Jy is used in informal situations and for people you know. U is used in formal situations, where you don't know the person well. Julle is the plural form of jy.
| possessive adjectives | possessive pronouns | ||
| my | my | myne | mine |
| jou / u | your (singular / formal) | joune / u s'n | yours (singular / formal) |
| sy | his | syne | his |
| haar | her | hare | hers |
| sy | its | syne | its |
| ons | our | ons s'n | ours |
| julle | your (plural) | julle s'n | yours (plural) |
| hulle | their | hulle s'n | theirs |
| wees - to be | |||
| I am | ek is | I was | ek was |
| you are | jy / u is | you were | jy / u was |
| he is | hy is | he was | hy was |
| she is | sy is | she was | sy was |
| it is | dit is | it was | dit was |
| we are | ons is | we were | ons was |
| you are | julle is | you were | julle was |
| they are | hulle is | they were | hulle was |
| hê - to have | |||
| I have | ek het | I had | ek het ... gehad |
| you have | jy / u het | you had | jy / u het ... gehad |
| he has | hy het | he had | hy het ... gehad |
| she has | sy het | she had | sy het ... gehad |
| it has | dit het | it had | dit het ... gehad |
| we have | ons het | we had | ons het ... gehad |
| you have | julle het | you had | julle het ... gehad |
| they have | hulle het | they had | hulle het ... gehad |
Wees and hê are the only two verbs that have irregular forms in the present tense. In speech, is and het are often reduced to 's and 't and fused to the preceding subject pronoun: ek's = ek is; sy't = sy het
The past tense included above is the simple past tense or preterite for wees and the present perfect tense for hê, which is also used for almost every other verb in Afrikaans. The present perfect tense uses the present tense of hê (het) and the past participle of the main verb, which is usually formed by adding the prefix ge- to the infinitive/present/imperative form. The verb hê, however, has an irregular past participle (gehad, not gehê!)
The major difference with word order in English is that the past participle is placed at the very end of the sentence.
Ons het 'n wonderlike dag gehad. We had a wonderful day.
For the future tense, use sal before the infinitive just as we use will before the infinitive in English. The infinitive of the main verb is placed at the very end of the sentence. Any objects must go before the infinitive.
Ek sal die boek lees. I will read the book. (literally: I will the book read)
For basic negation , add nie (not) after the verb and another nie at the end of the sentence. The second nie is not required if the sentence only contains a subject and verb or a subject, verb and personal object (either a pronoun or noun).
Ek weet nie. I don't know. (subject + verb; second nie not required)
Hy praat nie Russies nie. He doesn't speak Russian. (subejct + verb + non-personal object; second nie required)
| sometimes | soms | already | reeds |
| always | altyd | perhaps | dalk |
| never | nooit | both | beide |
| often | dikwels | some | ‘n paar |
| usually | gewoonlik | again | weer |
| now | nou | between | tussen |
| and | en | a lot, many | baie |
| but | maar | of course | natuurlik |
| or | of | a little | ‘n bietjie |
| very | baie | not at all | glad nie |
| here | hier | almost | amper |
| there | daar | really? | regtig? |
| with | met | it is | dit is |
| each other | mekaar | there is/are | daar is |
| what | wat | who | wie |
| why | waarom | whose | wie se |
| when | wanneer | how | hoe |
| where | waar | how much / many | hoeveel |
| where to | waarheen | how come / why | hoekom |
| which | watter | how often | hoe dikwels |
Waar was jy? Where were you?
Waar gaan jy? Where are you going?
Waar kom jy vandaan? Where do you come from?
Watter een is jou suster? Which one is your sister?
10. Cardinal & Ordinal Numbers
| 0 | nul | ||
| 1 | een | 1st | eerste |
| 2 | twee | 2nd | tweede |
| 3 | drie | 3rd | derde |
| 4 | vier | 4th | vierde |
| 5 | vyf | 5th | vyfde |
| 6 | ses | 6th | sesde |
| 7 | sewe | 7th | sewede |
| 8 | agt | 8th | agtste |
| 9 | nege | 9th | negende |
| 10 | tien | 10th | tiende |
| 11 | elf | 11th | elfde |
| 12 | twaalf | 12th | twaalfde |
| 13 | dertien | 13th | dertiende |
| 14 | veertien | 14th | veertiende |
| 15 | vyftien | 15th | vyftiende |
| 16 | sestien | 16th | sestiende |
| 17 | sewentien | 17th | sewentiende |
| 18 | agttien | 18th | agtiende |
| 19 | negentien | 19th | negentiende |
| 20 | twintig | 20th | twintigste |
| 21 | een-en-twintig | 21st | een-en-twintigste |
| 22 | twee-en-twintig | 22nd | twee-en-twintigste |
| 30 | dertig | 30th | dertigste |
| 40 | veertig | 40th | veertigste |
| 50 | vyftig | 50th | vyftigste |
| 60 | sestig | 60th | sestigste |
| 70 | sewentig | 70th | sewentigste |
| 80 | tagtig | 80th | tagtigste |
| 90 | negentig | 90th | negentigste |
| 100 | honderd | 100th | honderdste |
| 1,000 | duisend | 1000th | duisendste |
| million | miljoen | millionth | miljoenste |
| billion | biljoen | billionth | biljoenste |
| trillion | triljoen | trillionth | triljoenste |
| Monday | Maandag |
| Tuesday | Dinsdag |
| Wednesday | Woensdag |
| Thursday | Donderdag |
| Friday | Vrydag |
| Saturday | Saterdag |
| Sunday | Sondag |
| day | dag |
| morning | môre |
| afternoon | middag |
| evening | aand |
| night | nag |
| today | vandag |
| tomorrow | môre |
| day after tomorrow | oormôre |
| tonight | vanaand |
| yesterday | gister |
| day before yesterday | dag voor gister / eergister |
| last night | laas nag |
| week | week |
| weekend | naweek |
| daily | daagliks |
| weekly | weekliks |
To say "on" a certain day, use op before the day.
| January | Januarie |
| February | Februarie |
| March | Maart |
| April | April |
| May | Mei |
| June | Junie |
| July | Julie |
| August | Augustus |
| September | September |
| October | Oktober |
| November | November |
| December | Desember |
| month | maand |
| year | jaar |
| monthly | maandelikse |
| yearly | jaarlikse |
To say "in" a certain month, use in before the month.
| winter | winter |
| spring | lente |
| summer | somer |
| fall | herfs |
To say "in" a certain season, use in die before the month.
| north | noord | northeast | noord-oos |
| south | suid | northwest | noord-wes |
| east | oos | southeast | suid-oos |
| west | wes | southwest | suid-wes |
| right | regs | ||
| left | links | ||
| straight ahead | reguit vorentoe |
| orange | oranje |
| pink | pienk |
| purple | pers |
| blue | blou |
| yellow | geel |
| red | rooi |
| black | swart |
| brown | bruin |
| gray | grys |
| white | wit |
| green | groen |
| What time is it? | Hoe laat is dit? |
| It is 2 o'clock | dit is twee-uur |
| 6:20 | ses twintig / twintig minute oor ses |
| half past 3 | halfvier |
| quarter past 4 | kwart oor vier |
| quarter to 5 | kwart voor vyf |
| 20 to 7 | twintig-voor-sewe |
| noon | middag |
| midnight | middernag |
| in the morning | in die oggend |
| in the evening | in die aand |
| It's exactly... | dit is presies ... |
| about/around 8 | about / ongeveer agt |
| at 8 | om agt |
| early | vroeg |
| late(r) | laat / later |
| How's the weather today? | Hoe is die weer vandag? |
| It's cold | dit is koud |
| cool | dit is koel |
| hot | dit is warm |
| clear | dit is helder |
| icy | dit is ysige |
| warm | dit is warm |
| windy | dit is winderig |
| cloudy | dit is bewolk |
| hazy | dit is wasige |
| muggy | dit is bedompig |
| humid | dit is vogtige |
| foggy | dit is mistig |
| It's snowing | dit sneeu |
| It's raining | dit reën |
| It's freezing | dit is yskoud |
| parents | ouers | aunt | tannie |
| father | pa / pappa | nephew / cousin (m) | neef |
| mother | ma / mamma | niece / cousin (f) | niggie |
| children | kinders | cousin | oomskind |
| son | seun | boy | seun |
| daughter | dogter | girl | dogter / meisie |
| brother | broer | baby | baby |
| sister | suster | child | kind |
| grandparents | grootouers | twins | tweeling |
| (great) grandfather | oupa (grootjie) | triplets | drieling |
| (great) grandmother | ouma (grootjie) | adult | volwassene |
| grandchildren | kleinkinders | man / husband | man |
| grandson | kleinseun | woman / wife | vrou |
| granddaughter | kleindogter | friend (m) | vriend |
| uncle | oom | friend (f) | vriendin |
| to arrive | aankom | to lose | verloor |
| to become | word | to make | maak |
| to begin | begin | to meet | ontmoet |
| to build | bou | to play | speel |
| to buy | koop | to prefer | verkies |
| to carry / wear | dra | to put | sit |
| to close / shut | toemaak / sluit | to read | lees |
| to come | kom | to receive | ontvang |
| to do | doen | to remember | onthou |
| to drink | drink | to repeat | herhaal |
| to drive | ry | to see | sien |
| to earn | verdien | to sell | verkoop |
| to eat | eet | to send | stuur |
| to feel | voel | to sit | sit |
| to finish | klaarmaak | to smile | glimlag |
| to fly | vlieg | to speak | praat |
| to forget | vergeet | to spend | spandeer |
| to get up | opstaan | to study | studeer |
| to give | gee | to take | neem |
| to go | gaan | to teach | leer |
| to hate | haat | to tell | vertel |
| to hear | hoor | to think | dink |
| to invite | uitnooi | to throw | gooi |
| to know | ken / weet | to try | probeer |
| to learn | leer | to understand | verstaan |
| to leave | verlaat | to watch | kyk |
| to listen | luister | to work | werk |
| to live | woon | to write | skryf |
Remember that verbs in Afrikaans don't exactly conjugate as in other languages. The infinitive, present tense, and imperative are identical for all verbs (except wees and hê) regardless of the subject. Verbs with separable prefixes, such as aan-, op-, toe-, uit-, place this prefix at the end of the sentence in the present and imperative.
The verb to love has some pecularities in Afrikaans. The infinitive is liefhê and so it is conjugated with lief as a separable prefix: Ek het lief. However, is lief is much more commonly used for the present tense: Ek is lief (I love). The past tense (I loved) is ek het lief gehad. If using a personal pronoun or noun, the preposition vir is placed before it. Therefore, I love you is Ek is lief vir jou while I loved you is ek het jou lief gehad. (It is of course possible to say Ek het jou lief in the present tense as well, but it is not as common.)
The past tense is formed by using het and the past participle, which is usually created by adding the prefix ge- to the infinitive. The past participle is placed at the end of the sentence. Verbs beginning with inseparable prefixes, such as be-, er-, her-, ont- and ver-, do not add ge- to form the past participle. This means that there is only form of these verbs; the infinitive, present, imperative and past participle are identical. Verbs beginning with separable prefixes place the ge between the separable prefix and the verb stem.
The future tense uses sal where English uses will and places the infinitive at the end of the sentence. It is also possible to use gaan like in English, to express to be going to + infinitive.
Add an -e or -s to pluralize the noun in Afrikaans. In addition, some nouns add 's if they end in an accentuated a, o, or u.
As a general rule, -e is the most common plural marker. Some words ending in a consonant must double it before adding -e to reflect the short vowel sound, while others that have double vowels must drop one before adding -e.
If the noun ends in -l, -m or -r then adding an -s usually produces the plural, but this is not always the case. There are also some irregular plural forms that need to be memorized.
| Afrikaans singular - plural | English singular - plural |
| vriend - vriende | friend - friends (masc.) |
| kat - katte | cat - cats |
| hond - honde | dog - dogs |
| aap - ape | monkey - monkeys |
| leeu - leeus | lion - lions |
| foto - foto's | photo - photos |
| vrou - vrouens | woman - women |
| kind - kinders | child - children * |
| musikus - musici | musician - musicians |
| teoretikus - teoretici | theorist - theorists |
| aanbod - aanbiedinge | supply - supplies |
* not yet recorded
