The Kappie (Circumflex)

Level 1

The kappie (^) sits on a vowel to show that it is long and drawn out: sê (say), môre (tomorrow), wêreld (world).

How It Works

The kappie makes a vowel long and open. You mostly meet it in a fixed set of everyday words:

  • ê sounds like the e in English bed, held longer: sê (say), lê (lie, lay), hê (have), wêreld (world), kêrel (guy), êrens (somewhere).
  • ô is a long, open o, close to the aw in English saw: môre (tomorrow, morning). You may also see more without a kappie, but môre is the usual spelling.
  • û and î are rare. They mostly appear in plurals where a g has dropped out: brug → brûe (bridges), wig → wîe (wedges).

The kappie can be the only difference between two words: sê (say) and se, the possessive word in Jan se kar (Jan's car). See noun + se.

Some verbs have a kappie in one form but not another. Hê (to have) has one, but the everyday form het does not: Ek het 'n hond, but Ek wil 'n hond hê. See het/hê.

Do not confuse the kappie with the two dots of the deelteken, which split a word into syllables instead of making a vowel long.

Examples (6)

  1. Wat sê jy?

    What are you saying?

    Word by Word: What say you?

    Sê (say) always has a kappie.

  2. Ek sien jou môre.

    See you tomorrow.

    Word by Word: I see you tomorrow.

    Môre has a long o marked with a kappie.

  3. Die boek lê op die tafel.

    The book is lying on the table.

    Word by Word: The book lies on the table.

    Lê (lie, lay) has a kappie.

  4. Ek wil 'n kat hê.

    I want a cat.

    Word by Word: I want a cat have.

    After wil, the verb have is hê, with a kappie.

  5. Sy wil die wêreld sien.

    She wants to see the world.

    Word by Word: She wants the world see.

    Wêreld has a long ê.

  6. Die brûe oor die rivier is oud.

    The bridges over the river are old.

    Brug becomes brûe in the plural. The g drops out and the u gets a kappie.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the kappie off sê.

    Wat se jy?
    Wat sê jy?

    Se without a kappie is the possessive word, as in Jan se kar. The verb say is always sê.

  • Using the two dots of the deelteken instead of the kappie.

    Ek sien jou möre.
    Ek sien jou môre.

    The two dots split a word into syllables. Môre has a long o, so it takes the kappie.

  • Leaving the kappie off hê.

    Ek wil 'n kat he.
    Ek wil 'n kat hê.

    The form hê, used after a modal verb, always has a kappie.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

The Kappie (Circumflex)Level 1

Learn This First

The kappie marks special long vowels, so learn the long-vowel spelling rule first.