Afrikaans phrases for the braai.
A braai gives you chances to join in with familiar offers, thanks and simple questions: welcome, come and sit, would you like something to drink, would you like more, the food is lovely, thank you for a lovely evening.
Here they are, with the weekend-planning phrases that get you invited to the next one. Every phrase is from Praat’s free first level, where you can hear it, say it and practise it.
Start your first lesson, free →Five to ten minutes. Speaking is always optional.
Around the braai.
- Welkom!Welcome!The w is said like an English v, so this greeting opens with a vee sound.
- Kom sit hier.Come and sit here.Two commands can run straight together with no and between them: kom sit, kom kyk, kom eet.
- Wil jy iets drink?Would you like something to drink?Iets means something, and drink is pushed out behind it to the end because of wil.
- Water, asseblief.Water, please.The a is a short ah, nothing like the English aw, and the final r is lightly rolled.
- Wil jy nog hê?Would you like more?Nog here means more or another helping, not still, which is its sense elsewhere.
- Net ’n bietjie, asseblief.Just a little, please.Net means just or only, and ’n bietjie is the standard way to ask for a small amount.
- Die kos is lekker.The food is nice.Kos means food in general, and it is also the verb to cost, so the sentence tells you which.
- Dankie vir die lekker aand.Thank you for the lovely evening.Dankie vir introduces what you are grateful for, and lekker stretches easily to a whole evening.
Making plans.
- Wat doen ons Saterdag?What are we doing on Saturday?Days need no on in front of them, and they always take a capital: Saterdag, Sondag, Maandag.
- Kom ons gaan strand toe.Let us go to the beach.Toe follows the place instead of coming before it: strand toe, huis toe, dorp toe.
- Kom ons gaan stap.Let us go for a walk.Kom ons is the everyday let’s, and the verbs simply run on after it.
- Ek wil by die huis bly.I want to stay at home.By die huis is the set phrase for at home, and bly waits at the end because of wil.
- Hoe laat gaan ons?What time are we going?Hoe laat asks for a time on the clock; hoe lank asks how long something lasts.
- Om nege-uur.At nine o’clock.Clock times take om, and the hour joins onto -uur, hyphenated only where two vowels collide.
- Dit klink lekker.That sounds nice.Klink is for how something strikes you, whether a noise or an idea just put to you.
- Sien jou môre.See you tomorrow.The ek is simply dropped in this sign-off, the way English drops the I in see you soon.
How Praat works.
- 1Hear it. Real situations: the gate, the braai, the shop, the phone call home.
- 2Say it. Speaking is optional. Praat Plus adds AI feedback on your voice.
- 3Remember it. Short reviews bring the words back before you forget them.
Built by a South African in New Zealand.
Praat was made for a Kiwi partner who wanted to follow the conversation. Level 1, sixteen lessons, is free with a free account. Praat Plus opens the rest of the course and the voice coach.
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