Basic Afrikaans Words and Phrases
Looking for some basic Afrikaans words and phrases? This is the page for you!
This page contains 25 essential translations to help you communicate in Afrikaans. Includes such phrases as "please" and "thank you", "who are you?", "what is your name?", and "do you speak English?"
Note: Words in bold added during the last update. You can also view this list of common words and phrases from English to Afrikaans.
Common Afrikaans Words and Phrases:
Yes and No
Ja ➔ Yes
Nee ➔ No
Miskien ➔ Maybe
Please and Thank you
Asseblief ➔ Please
Dankie. ➔ Thank you.
Baie dankie. ➔ Thank you very much.
Jy is welkom. ➔ You're welcome.
Jy is baie welkom. ➔ You're very welcome.
How Are You?
Hoe gaan dit? ➔ How are you?
Ek gaan goed. ➔ I'm fine.
Ek is oke. ➔ I'm okay.
Goed, en met jou? ➔ Fine, and you?
What is Your Name?
Wat is jou naam? ➔ What is your name?
My naam is (name). ➔ My name is (name).
Haar naam is (name). ➔ Her name is (name).
Do You Speak English?
Ek verstaan jou nie. ➔ I don't understand you.
Kan jy langsaam praat? ➔ Can you speak slowly?
Praat jy Engels? ➔ Do you speak English?
Kan jy afrikaans praat? ➔ Can you speak Afrikaans?
My Afrikaans is sleg. ➔ My Afrikaans is bad.
Other Useful Questions and Phrases:
Ek kom uit... ➔ I come from...
Ek weet nie. ➔ I don't know.
Hoe laat is dit? ➔ What is the time?
Hoe oud is jy? ➔ How old are you?
Waar is die badkamer? ➔ Where is the bathroom?
*Basic words list last updated: March 14, 2018.
Comprehension:
Can you answer these beginner questions about Afrikaans?
1. What is the meaning of kan jy afrikaans praat in English?
2. How do you say you're welcome in Afrikaans?
3. How do you say I'm fine in Afrikaans?
4. How do you say I don't know in Afrikaans?
5. What is how are you in Afrikaans?
Next Up
Numbers: Learn how to say numbers in Afrikaans.
Perhaps you want to learn common words and phrases in these other languages?
Afrikaans, Arabic, Bengali, Bosnian, Dutch, Filipino, French, Gaelic, German, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Irish, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Lithuanian, Malay, Mandarin, Maori, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Somali, Spanish, Swedish, Ukrainian, Urdu, and Vietnamese.