The Afrikaans Alphabet

Level 1

Afrikaans uses the 26 letters of the English alphabet. Some vowels carry marks, such as ê, ë and ô, and these marks are part of the spelling.

How It Works

The alphabet has the same 26 letters as English: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z. The difference is in how many of them sound.

  • Letters that surprise English speakers. G is a rough sound in the throat, v usually sounds like f, w usually sounds like v, and j sounds like the y in yes: ja (yes). See the g sound and v and w.
  • Two letters, one sound. Some sounds are written with two letters, such as ie, oe and ng. Y and ei spell the same sound. See ie oe eu ui ou and y and ei.
  • Rare letters. C, q, x and z are mostly found in names and loanwords, such as Zimbabwe or Xhosa. Ordinary words use k, s or sj instead: kultuur (culture), sirkus (circus), sjokolade (chocolate).

Vowels can carry marks. They are part of the spelling, not decoration:

  • The kappie (circumflex) marks a long, drawn-out vowel: sê (say), môre (tomorrow). See kappie.
  • The deelteken (two dots) shows that a vowel starts a new syllable: reën (rain), voël (bird). See deelteken.
  • An acute accent adds stress or marks a different word: dié (this, that) is not the same word as die (the). A grave accent appears in a few short words, such as nè (right?).

One small word has its own spelling: the article 'n (a, an) always starts with an apostrophe. See indefinite article 'n.

Examples (5)

  1. Die kinders eet sjokolade.

    The children are eating chocolate.

    Word by Word: The children eat chocolate.

    Sjokolade is spelled with sj and k, not with ch and c as in English.

  2. Ons hou van musiek en kultuur.

    We like music and culture.

    Word by Word: We hold of music and culture.

    Everyday loanwords use k where English uses c.

  3. Ek sien jou môre.

    See you tomorrow.

    Word by Word: I see you tomorrow.

    Môre is normally written with a kappie on the o.

  4. Die voël sit in die reën.

    The bird is sitting in the rain.

    Word by Word: The bird sits in the rain.

    Voël and reën both have a deelteken, which shows where a new syllable starts.

  5. Ja, ek woon in Zimbabwe.

    Yes, I live in Zimbabwe.

    The j in ja sounds like the y in English yes. The z appears in a place name.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the marks off vowels.

    Sy wil die wereld sien.
    Sy wil die wêreld sien.

    The kappie is part of the spelling of wêreld. Without it, the word is misspelled.

  • Using c where Afrikaans writes k.

    Ons hou van musiek en cultuur.
    Ons hou van musiek en kultuur.

    Ordinary Afrikaans words spell the k sound with k: kultuur, koffie, kat.

  • Writing ch for the sh sound.

    Die kinders eet chokolade.
    Die kinders eet sjokolade.

    Afrikaans spells the sh sound of everyday words with sj: sjokolade, sjampoe.

How It Connects

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The Afrikaans AlphabetLevel 1

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