Useful Afrikaans phrases

A collection of useful phrases in Afrikaans, a West Germanic language descended from Dutch and spoken mainly in South Africa and Namibia.

Jump to phrases

See these phrases in any combination of two languages in the Phrase Finder. If you can provide recordings, corrections or additional translations, please contact me.

Key to abbreviations: inf = informal, frm = formal, sg = singular (said to one person), pl = plural (said to more than one person)

English	Afrikaans
Welcome	Welkom
Hello (General greeting)	Haai (inf) Hallo Goeie dag (frm)
How are you?	Hoe gaan dit met jou? (inf) Hoe gaan dit met u? (frm)
Reply to 'How are you?'	Goed, dankie, en met jou/u? Baie goed dankie, en self?
What's your name?	Wat is jou naam? (inf) Wat is U naam? Hoe heet U? (frm)
My name is ...	My naam is ...
Where are you from?	Waarvandaan kom jy? (inf) Waarvandaan kom u? (frm)
I'm from ...	Ek kom van ... af
Pleased to meet you	Bly te kenne (frm) Aangename kennis (frm) Lekker om jou te ontmoet (inf)
Good morning (Morning greeting)	Goeiemôre Môre
Good afternoon (Afternoon greeting)	Goeie middag
Good evening (Evening greeting)	Goeienaand
Good night	Goeienag Nag
Goodbye (Parting phrases)	Totsiens Mooi loop (go/walk well)
Good luck!	Sterkte!
Congratulations!	Geluk!
Cheers! Good Health! (Toasts used when drinking)	Gesondheid!
Have a nice day	Lekker dag!
Bon appetit / Have a nice meal	Smaaklike ete! Lekker eet!
Bon voyage / Have a good journey	Veilige reis! Voorspoedige reis!
Do you understand?	Verstaan jy?
I understand	Ek verstaan
I don't understand	Ek verstaan nie
Yes	Ja
No	Nee
Maybe	Miskien
I don't know	Ek weet nie
Please speak more slowly	Praat stadiger asseblief
Please say that again	Sê dit weer, asseblief Herhaal dit, asseblief
Please write it down	Skryf dit neer asseblief!
Do you speak English?	Praat jy Engels? (sg/inf) Praat julle Engels? (pl/inf) Praat U Engels? (frm/sg) Praat Meneer Engels? (frm/>m) Praat Mevrou Engels? (frm/>f)
Do you speak Afrikaans?	Praat jy Afrikaans? (sg/inf) Praat julle Afrikaans? (pl/inf) Praat u Afrikaans? (frm/sg) Praat Meneer Afrikaans? (frm/>m) Praat Mevrou Afrikaans? (frm/>f)
Yes, a little (reply to 'Do you speak ...?')	Ja, 'n bietjie
I'm learning Afrikaans	Ek leer Afrikaans
Speak to me in Afrikaans	Praat met my in Afrikaans Jy kan Afrikaans met my praat
How do you say ... in Afrikaans?	Hoe sê u ... in Afrikaans? (frm) Hoe sê jy ... in Afrikaans? (inf)
Excuse me	Verskoon my! Ekskuus!
I would like ...	Ek wil graag ...
How much is this?	Hoeveel kos dit?
Sorry	Jammer!
Please	Asseblief
Thank you	Dankie Baie dankie
Reply to thank you	Dis 'n plesier
Where's the toilet / bathroom?	Waar is die toilet? Waa issie toilet? (slang)
This gentleman will pay for everything	Hierdie meneer sal alles betaal
This lady will pay for everything	Hierdie dame sal alles betaal
Would you like to dance with me?	Sal jy met my dans, asseblief?
I miss you	Ek mis jou
I love you	Ek's lief vir jou Ek het jou lief
Get well soon	Word gou gesond!
Go away!	Gaan weg!
Leave me alone!	Laat my met rus! Los my uit asseblief!
Help!	Help!
Fire!	Brand!
Stop!	Stop!
Call the police!	Bel die polisie!
Christmas greetings	Geseënde Kersfees
New Year greetings	Gelukkige Nuwe Jaar Voorspoedige Nuwe Jaar
Easter greetings	Geseënde Paasfees
Birthday greetings	Gelukkige Verjaarsdag
Congratulations!	Baie geluk!
One language is never enough	Een taal is nooit genoeg nie
My hovercraft is full of eels	My skeertuig is vol palings

Recordings by Therese Armstrong, Steph van Schalkwyk and Andre Combrinck

Download all the audio files (Zip format, 1.9MB)

Hear some Afrikaans phrases

If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.

Links

Other collections of Afrikaans phrases
http://www.exploresouthafrica.net/phrasebook.htm
http://www.downloadalanguage.com/downloadalanguage/Afrikaans_phrases.html
http://www.easyafrikaans.com/easyafrikaans/Useful_Phrases.html
http://miejipang.homestead.com/untitled4.html

Learn Afrikaans online with AfrikaansPod101
Learn Afrikaans with Ling

Afrikaans courses and other resources available on Amazon

Phrases in Germanic languages

Afrikaans, Alsatian, American Norwegian, Bavarian, Cimbrian, Danish, Dutch, Elfdalian, English (British), Faroese, Flemish (West), Frisian (North - Bökingharde), Frisian (North - Sylt), Frisian (Saterland), Frisian (West), German, Gothic, Icelandic, Limburgish, Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, Norwegian, Old English, Pennsylvania German/Dutch, Scots, Stellingwarfs, Swedish, Swiss German (Basel dialect), Swiss German (Chur dialect), Swiss German (Lucerne dialect), Värmlandic, West Jutlandic, Westrobothnian, Wymsorys, Yiddish

Phrases in other languages

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