Afrikaans is written in Latin letters, so the spelling on this page is the reading, and the circumflex on ô is part of the spelling. Afrikaans changes its greeting with the time of day, the way English does. Every greeting was checked against the Wikivoyage Afrikaans phrasebook and Wiktionary.
| Afrikaans | English | Style | Where you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hello. | Casual | Friends and coworkers, at any time of day | |
| Goeie dag. | Hello, good day. | Polite | People you want to show respect to |
| Good morning. | Neutral | Until around midday | |
| Goeiemiddag. | Good afternoon. | Neutral | From midday until the evening |
| Goeienaand. | Good evening. | Neutral | When you meet someone in the evening |
| Goeienag. | Good night. | Neutral | When you say goodbye at night |
| Goodbye. | Neutral | Anyone, when you leave | |
| Baai. | Bye. | Casual | Friends and family |
| Sien jou later. | See you later. | Casual | Someone you will see again soon |
Answer a greeting with the same words, such as goeiemôre for goeiemôre. Goeienaand greets someone when you meet, and goeienag says goodbye to someone who is going to bed. Wikivoyage notes that goeienag is not a general evening greeting.
| Afrikaans | English | Style | Where you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| How are you? | Casual | The usual way to ask anyone | |
| Hoe gaan dit met jou? | How are you? | Casual | A friend or someone your age |
| How are you? | Polite | An older person or your boss | |
| Fine, thanks. | Neutral | The usual answer | |
| En met jou? | And you? | Casual | Turning the question back |
| Afrikaans | English | Style | Where you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dankie. | Thank you. | Neutral | Everyone |
| Baie dankie. | Thank you very much. | Neutral | Everyone |
| Dis 'n plesier. | You're welcome. | Neutral | The reply to thanks |
| Asseblief. | Please. | Neutral | Asking for something, or saying yes to an offer |
is the polite word for you. Use with your elders, your boss and grown-ups you have just met, and use with friends. Only the pronoun changes: Hoe gaan dit met jou? becomes
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Saying Asseblief to answer a thank you. | Asseblief means "please". Answer thanks with Dis 'n plesier. |
| Saying Goeienag when you arrive in the evening. | Use Goeienaand to greet and Goeienag to say goodnight. |
| Writing goeiemore without the circumflex. | Keep the accent on the o: goeiemôre. |
Hear a morning greeting between two coworkers in Morning Greetings and Workplace Hellos in Afrikaans. For the morning words alone, read how to say good morning in Afrikaans, or follow the fastest way to learn Afrikaans.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Afrikaans. You learn from Afrikaans you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Afrikaans lessons. If a sentence is hard to follow, ask Poppy to explain it.
With Regenerative Review™, words you save show up again in new lessons, so that you can review words in new contexts without having to use flashcards.
- Every lesson is written at your level, about things you like.
- Read and listen to news and stories in Afrikaans about things you care about.
- Ask Poppy about a sentence while you read.
- Saved words come back in new lessons through Regenerative Review™, and you can send them to Anki too.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- You can't turn your own Afrikaans books or articles into lessons. But you can paste a page in the chat, and Poppy will explain it.
- Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read.
- Regenerative Review™
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Is Tot Siens Written as One Word or Two?
Write it as one word, totsiens. Wiktionary lists the two-word tot siens only as an alternative form, and the Wikivoyage phrasebook also writes totsiens.
Which Afrikaans App Should a Beginner Choose?
If you are serious about learning Afrikaans, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. For other apps, see our Afrikaans app comparison.
Is Bubblegum Free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
