Afrikaans is the third most spoken home language in South Africa, one of the country's 12 official languages.
| Part | Easier for English Speakers | Takes Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The past | Most verbs have no separate simple past, so het plus a ge- form does the job. | Verbs that split in two put ge in the middle, so opstaan (get up) becomes opgestaan. |
| Describing | After is, a describing word keeps its basic form, as in die skool is nuut (the school is new). | In front of a noun, some describing words change shape: die nuwe skool (the new school). |
| Plurals | Most plurals simply add -e or -s. | Some words change their spelling in the plural, so vraag (question) becomes vraë (questions). |
| “You” | Jy is the everyday “you” for one person. | With people you show respect to, you switch to u, as Riaan does with Meneer Van Wyk in the lesson below. |
For a study plan that changes as you go, read the fastest way to learn Afrikaans.
Each hard part of Afrikaans has a level where it starts to matter.
- Level 1
I'm just starting out or know only a few words.
Polite greetings come first: in the lesson below, Riaan asks Hoe gaan dit met u? (How are you?).
- Level 2
I can read simple sentences.
The double “not” starts to appear, and moet nie (must not) usually shortens to moenie, the way do not becomes don't.
- Level 3
I can read short stories and messages.
Longer stories often switch to the present tense, so a story about yesterday can sound like it's happening now.
- Level 4
I can read longer texts about everyday life.
After omdat (because), the verb moves to the end: Sy rus, omdat sy moeg is (She's resting because she's tired).
- Level 5
I can follow complex topics, but miss some details.
In the Western Cape, everyday Afrikaans borrows many words from South African English.
- Level 6
I can read almost anything.
Slang and poetry come last.
Goeiemôre en totsiens
Good morning.
How are you?
I am doing well.
Fine, thank you.
Goodbye.
This lesson comes from Bubblegum, where Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Afrikaans lessons for each level.
For easy Afrikaans to start with, read the easiest 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.
- Lessons fit your level, interests, and goals.
- 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.
- Your own Afrikaans books and articles can't become lessons. Paste a page into the chat, and Poppy explains it.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
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Does Any Afrikaans Verb Still Have a Simple Past?
Yes, a few. Wees (to be) has its own past form, was, and so do the helper verbs that mean things like can and must.
Is Bubblegum Free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Afrikaans (third most spoken home language among South Africa's 12 official languages; influence of South African English, especially in the Western Cape; longer stories usually told in the present tense)
- Wikipedia: Afrikaans grammar (no case and no grammatical gender for nouns; plural mostly -e or -s, vraag and vraë; die skool is nuut and die nuwe skool; moet nie becomes moenie; wees has the past form was, as do the modal verbs; the perfect with het replaces the preterite, Ek het dit gebreek; separable verbs, opstaan and opgestaan; Jy hoef nie tuis te bly nie; verb at the end after omdat, Sy rus, omdat sy moeg is)
- Wiktionary: u (formal “you”), jy (“you”), nuwe (attributive form of nuut)
