Hallo! Hello!

Hoi! Hi!

Goeiemôre! Good morning!

Goeiemiddag! Good afternoon!

Goeienaand! Good evening!

Nag! Good night!

Totsiens! Goodbye!

Sien jou later! See you later!

Sien jou môre! See you tomorrow!

Hoe gaan dit? How are you?

Hoe gaan dit met jou? How are you?

Dit gaan goed. I'm doing well.

Dit gaan baie goed. I'm doing very well.

Dit gaan sleg. I'm doing badly.

Ek is goed, dankie. I'm good, thank you.

En met jou? And you?

Wat gaan aan? What's going on?

Welkom! Welcome!

Lekker om jou te ontmoet. Nice to meet you.

Aangename kennis. Nice to meet you.

2. Politeness

Afrikaans English

asseblief please

dankie thank you

Baie dankie. Thank you very much.

Dankie vir jou hulp. Thank you for your help.

Geen probleem nie. No problem.

Dis reg. It's alright.

Jy is welkom. You're welcome.

Verskoon my. Excuse me.

Jammer. Sorry.

Ek is jammer. I'm sorry.

Moenie bekommerd wees nie. Don't worry.

Kan jy my asseblief help? Can you please help me?

3. Introducing yourself

Afrikaans English

Wat is jou naam? What is your name?

My naam is … My name is …

Ek is … I am …

Wie is jy? Who are you?

Waar kom jy vandaan? Where are you from?

Ek kom van … I come from …

Waar woon jy? Where do you live?

Ek woon in … I live in …

Hoe oud is jy? How old are you?

Ek is … jaar oud. I am … years old.

Wat doen jy? What do you do?

Ek is 'n student. I am a student.

Ek leer Afrikaans. I am learning Afrikaans.

Ek praat Engels. I speak English.

Ek praat 'n bietjie Afrikaans. I speak a little Afrikaans.

4. Questions

Afrikaans English

Wat? What?

Wie? Who?

Waar? Where?

Wanneer? When?

Hoekom? Why?

Waarom? Why?

Hoe? How?

Hoeveel? How much? / How many?

Watter? Which?

Wie is dit? Who is this?

Wat is dit? What is this?

Waar is dit? Where is it?

Wat beteken dit? What does this mean?

Hoe sê jy dit? How do you say that?

Kan jy dit herhaal? Can you repeat that?

Kan jy stadiger praat? Can you speak more slowly?

Verstaan jy? Do you understand?

Verstaan jy Afrikaans? Do you understand Afrikaans?

5. Yes / no / agreement

Afrikaans English

Ja. Yes.

Nee. No.

Miskien. Maybe.

Natuurlik. Of course.

Beslis. Definitely.

Absoluut. Absolutely.

Ek dink so. I think so.

Ek dink nie so nie. I don't think so.

Ek weet. I know.

Ek weet nie. I don't know.

Ek verstaan. I understand.

Ek verstaan nie. I don't understand.

Ek stem saam. I agree.

Ek stem nie saam nie. I don't agree.

Dis waar. That's true.

Dis nie waar nie. That's not true.

6. Everyday conversation

Afrikaans English

Wat doen jy? What are you doing?

Wat maak jy? What are you doing?

Waarheen gaan jy? Where are you going?

Waar was jy? Where were you?

Wat het gebeur? What happened?

Wat het jy gedoen? What did you do?

Wat wil jy hê? What do you want?

Wat het jy nodig? What do you need?

Ek weet nie wat om te doen nie. I don't know what to do.

Ek het geen idee nie. I have no idea.

Ek is besig. I'm busy.

Ek is gereed. I'm ready.

Wag 'n oomblik. Wait a moment.

Kom ons gaan. Let's go.

Kom saam met my. Come with me.

Bly hier. Stay here.

Kom hier. Come here.

Kyk hier. Look here.

Luister na my. Listen to me.

7. Feelings

Afrikaans English

Ek is gelukkig. I am happy.

Ek is hartseer. I am sad.

Ek is kwaad. I am angry.

Ek is moeg. I am tired.

Ek is bang. I am afraid.

Ek is senuweeagtig. I am nervous.

Ek is opgewonde. I am excited.

Ek is verveeld. I am bored.

Ek is bekommerd. I am worried.

Ek is verbaas. I am surprised.

Ek is honger. I am hungry.

Ek is dors. I am thirsty.

Ek voel goed. I feel good.

Ek voel sleg. I feel bad.

Ek voel beter. I feel better.

8. Likes and dislikes

Afrikaans English

Ek hou daarvan. I like it.

Ek hou baie daarvan. I like it a lot.

Ek hou nie daarvan nie. I don't like it.

Ek is mal daaroor. I love it.

Ek haat dit. I hate it.

Ek verkies dit. I prefer it.

Ek hou van musiek. I like music.

Ek hou van tale. I like languages.

Ek hou daarvan om te leer. I like learning.

Waarvan hou jy? What do you like?

Waarvan hou jy nie? What don't you like?

9. Family & people

Afrikaans English

my ma my mother

my pa my father

my broer my brother

my suster my sister

my vriend my friend (male)

my vriendin my friend (female)

my familie my family

jou familie your family

'n man a man

'n vrou a woman

'n seun a boy

'n meisie a girl

'n kind a child

'n persoon a person

mense people

10. School

Afrikaans English

Ek gaan skool toe. I am going to school.

Ek is by die skool. I am at school.

Waar is my boek? Where is my book?

Ek het my boek vergeet. I forgot my book.

Ek verstaan die vraag. I understand the question.

Ek verstaan nie die vraag nie. I don't understand the question.

Wat is die antwoord? What is the answer?

Kan jy my help? Can you help me?

Kan ek 'n vraag vra? Can I ask a question?

Ek het 'n vraag. I have a question.

Ek weet die antwoord. I know the answer.

Ek weet nie die antwoord nie. I don't know the answer.

Maak jou boek oop. Open your book.

Maak jou boek toe. Close your book.

Lees hierdie sin. Read this sentence.

Skryf dit neer. Write it down.

11. Food & drink

Afrikaans English

Ek wil eet. I want to eat.

Ek wil drink. I want to drink.

Ek is honger. I am hungry.

Ek is dors. I am thirsty.

Wat wil jy eet? What do you want to eat?

Wat wil jy drink? What do you want to drink?

Dit is lekker. It's delicious / enjoyable.

Dit smaak goed. It tastes good.

Dit smaak sleg. It tastes bad.

Ek hou hiervan. I like this.

Ek wil dit hê. I want this.

Ek wil dit nie hê nie. I don't want this.

Nog 'n bietjie, asseblief. A little more, please.

Net 'n bietjie. Just a little.

Baie. A lot / much.

12. Shopping

Afrikaans English

Hoeveel kos dit? How much does it cost?

Hoeveel kos hierdie? How much does this cost?

Dis te duur. It's too expensive.

Dis goedkoop. It's cheap.

Ek wil dit koop. I want to buy it.

Ek wil dit nie koop nie. I don't want to buy it.

Het julle dit in 'n ander kleur? Do you have it in another color?

Het julle 'n groter een? Do you have a bigger one?

Het julle 'n kleiner een? Do you have a smaller one?

Ek kyk net. I'm just looking.

Waar is die winkel? Where is the shop?

Waar is die toilet? Where is the bathroom?

13. Directions & travel

Afrikaans English

Waar is die lughawe? Where is the airport?

Waar is die stasie? Where is the station?

Hoe kom ek daar? How do I get there?

Hoe ver is dit? How far is it?

Gaan reguit. Go straight.

Draai links. Turn left.

Draai regs. Turn right.

Stop hier. Stop here.

Kom ons gaan. Let's go.

Ek is verlore. I am lost.

Kan jy my die pad wys? Can you show me the way?

Ek soek hierdie plek. I'm looking for this place.

14. Time

Afrikaans English

Vandag Today

Môre Tomorrow

Gister Yesterday

Nou Now

Later Later

Vroeër Earlier

Binnekort Soon

Altyd Always

Nooit Never

Soms Sometimes

Gereeld Often / regularly

Wanneer? When?

Hoe laat is dit? What time is it?

Dit is laat. It's late.

Ek sal later kom. I will come later.

Ek het dit gister gedoen. I did it yesterday.

Ek sal dit môre doen. I will do it tomorrow.

15. Weather

Afrikaans English

Hoe is die weer? How is the weather?

Dit is warm. It's hot/warm.

Dit is koud. It's cold.

Dit reën. It's raining.

Dit sneeu. It's snowing.

Die son skyn. The sun is shining.

Dit is bewolk. It's cloudy.

Dit waai. It's windy.

Dit is sonnig. It's sunny.

Dit is koel. It's cool.

Ek hou van hierdie weer. I like this weather.

Ek hou nie van die koue nie. I don't like the cold.

16. Phone & internet

Afrikaans English

Bel my. Call me.

Stuur vir my 'n boodskap. Send me a message.

Stuur dit vir my. Send it to me.

Ek sal jou later bel. I'll call you later.

Wat is jou nommer? What's your number?

Ek is aanlyn. I'm online.

Ek is vanlyn. I'm offline.

My internet werk nie. My internet isn't working.

Ek het geen sein nie. I have no signal.

Kan jy my hoor? Can you hear me?

Ek kan jou nie hoor nie. I can't hear you.

17. Problems & emergencies

Afrikaans English

Help! Help!

Help my asseblief! Please help me!

Ek het hulp nodig. I need help.

Daar is 'n probleem. There is a problem.

Wat is fout? What's wrong?

Ek weet nie wat om te doen nie. I don't know what to do.

Bel die polisie. Call the police.

Bel 'n ambulans. Call an ambulance.

Ek het my foon verloor. I lost my phone.

Ek het my beursie verloor. I lost my wallet.

Ek kan dit nie vind nie. I can't find it.

Is jy oukei? Are you okay?

Alles is oukei. Everything is okay.

Moenie bang wees nie. Don't be afraid.

18. Common conversational expressions

Afrikaans English

Regtig? Really?

Ernstig? Seriously?

Hoekom? Why?

Natuurlik! Of course!

Presies! Exactly!

Goed! Good! / Okay!

Oukei. Okay.

Dit maak sin. That makes sense.

Ek verstaan. I understand.

Ek verstaan wat jy bedoel. I understand what you mean.

Ek stem saam. I agree.

Ek stem nie saam nie. I disagree.

Dit hang af. It depends.

Ek dink so. I think so.

Ek dink nie so nie. I don't think so.

Ek hoop so. I hope so.

Ek hoop nie. I hope not.

Dit is moontlik. It is possible.

Dit is onmoontlik. It is impossible.

Geen idee. No idea.

Maak nie saak nie. It doesn't matter.

Dis okay. It's okay.

Dis goed. That's good.

Dis sleg. That's bad.

Dis interessant. That's interesting.

Dis snaaks. That's funny.

19. Very useful sentence patterns

These are especially useful because you can create thousands of Afrikaans sentences from them.

Pattern Meaning Example

Ek is … I am … Ek is moeg. — I am tired.

Ek het … I have … Ek het 'n boek. — I have a book.

Ek wil … I want … Ek wil eet. — I want to eat.

Ek kan … I can … Ek kan swem. — I can swim.

Ek moet … I must / have to … Ek moet gaan. — I have to go.

Ek sal … I will … Ek sal kom. — I will come.

Ek wil nie … nie I don't want to … Ek wil nie gaan nie. — I don't want to go.

Ek kan nie … nie I cannot … Ek kan nie kom nie. — I can't come.

Ek moet nie … nie I mustn't … Ek moet nie daar gaan nie. — I mustn't go there.

Ek hou van … I like … Ek hou van Afrikaans. — I like Afrikaans.

Ek hou nie van … nie I don't like … Ek hou nie van koffie nie. — I don't like coffee.

Daar is … There is / are … Daar is 'n probleem. — There is a problem.

Daar was … There was / were … Daar was 'n ongeluk. — There was an accident.

Daar sal … wees There will be … Daar sal môre 'n vergadering wees. — There will be a meeting tomorrow.

Ek gaan … I am going to … Ek gaan huis toe. — I'm going home.

Ek het … gedoen I did / have done … Ek het dit gedoen. — I did it.

Ek het … gesien I saw / have seen … Ek het hom gesien. — I saw him.

Ek sal … doen I will do … Ek sal dit doen. — I will do it.

Kan jy …? Can you …? Kan jy my help? — Can you help me?

Wil jy …? Do you want to …? Wil jy saamkom? — Do you want to come along?

Waar is …? Where is …? Waar is my foon? — Where is my phone?

Wat is …? What is …? Wat is dit? — What is it?

Hoekom …? Why …? Hoekom lag jy? — Why are you laughing?

20. Short natural dialogue

A: Hallo! Hoe gaan dit?

B: Dit gaan goed, dankie. En met jou?

A: Dit gaan baie goed. Wat doen jy?

B: Ek leer Afrikaans.

A: Regtig? Dis interessant!

B: Ja! Ek hou baie van tale.

A: Praat jy Afrikaans?

B: Ek praat 'n bietjie Afrikaans.

A: Jou Afrikaans is goed!

B: Baie dankie!

English:

A: Hello! How are you?

B: I'm doing well, thank you. And you?

A: I'm doing very well. What are you doing?

B: I'm learning Afrikaans.

A: Really? That's interesting!

B: Yes! I really like languages.

A: Do you speak Afrikaans?

B: I speak a little Afrikaans.

A: Your Afrikaans is good!

B: Thank you very much!