How to Learn Afrikaans With Comprehensible Input

Afrikaans changes the ends of words in small, useful ways. Most nouns add -e or -s for the plural, though some change more: kind (child) becomes kinders (children). Add -jie and you get kindjie (little child). A grammar table can list those endings for you. They start to feel normal after you've met them in many sentences you already understand. That is what comprehensible input means: reading and listening to Afrikaans you mostly follow, so each new word arrives with help all around it.

What Comprehensible Input Looks Like

Picture each row below as an Afrikaans sentence, with a bar for every word: gray for the ones you know, purple for the newcomer.

About one unfamiliar word per sentence, while you still follow the meaning.

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The rest of the sentence shows you what the new word means. At first, that means short lines about home, food, and family, often with a picture. Later, a whole Maroela Media article holds enough hints to guess a word by yourself. If you keep losing the story, pick something easier for a while.

Your Roadmap by Level

Bubblegum describes each of its six levels with a short sentence in a reader's own voice. Choose the one that fits you best. The storybooks, videos, and news in the rows don't follow these levels, so treat each row as a first guess.

1. Level 1

   I'm just starting out or know only a few words

   Watch listening practice made for total beginners, and read two-line scenes about things at home. Read the sentences further down this page, and notice the endings.

   ET Afrikaans →
2. Level 2

   I can read simple sentences.

   African Storybook has more than 200 free picture books in Afrikaans at five reading levels. Start with the easiest level, and let the pictures help you.

   African Storybook →
3. Level 3

   I can read short stories and messages.

   South Africa Reads has 40 stories with Afrikaans audio. Read one while it plays, then listen once more without the text.

   South Africa Reads →
4. Level 4

   I can read longer texts about everyday life.

   VivA's Lees-en-luister app reads stories aloud and lights up the text as it goes, up to longer short stories. Pick one from its higher levels.

   Lees-en-luister →
5. Level 5

   I can follow complex topics, but miss some details.

   Read Maroela Media's news on a story you already know from English news. Guess new words from the paragraph before you look them up.

   Maroela Media →
6. Level 6

   I can follow detailed arguments and different writing styles.

   Listen to talk shows on RSG, an Afrikaans radio station, and notice how two presenters argue about the same topic.

   RSG →

Once a row's books and audio go smoothly, try the row below. Head back up a row if you're checking almost every sentence.

Try It on a Sentence

Try these two short Afrikaans sentences. Die kinders speel buite means "The children are playing outside." In Die kindjie slaap, if you know kind, the -jie ending tells you it's a little child who is sleeping. When the rest of a sentence is familiar, a new ending like that teaches itself.

Bubblegum is a language app where Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Afrikaans lessons at your level and about things you like. You can hear every lesson with AI audio, check words in the dictionary, and ask her about grammar, while Regenerative Review™ mixes your saved words into later lessons.

Frequently Asked Questions About Comprehensible Input