Keeping your kids’ Afrikaans alive overseas.
Some children understand Afrikaans but answer in English. Short, familiar exchanges at home can give them more chances to respond in Afrikaans, alongside conversations with family.
Praat offers short lessons around everyday moments: breakfast, finding something at home and making a weekend plan. English explanations help learners understand the Afrikaans. A parent can practise alongside a child; speaking practice is optional.
Level 1 is free with a free account. A pay-once plan makes a good gift from a grandparent.
Start your first lesson, free →Five to ten minutes. Speaking is always optional.
Around the house.
- Waar is my sleutels?Where are my keys?Sleutels is plural, yet is stays exactly as it is; the verb never changes to match.
- Op die tafel.On the table.Op is for resting on a surface, and a short answer like this needs nothing built around it.
- Onder die stoel.Under the chair.Position words come first and the thing second: onder die stoel, onder die bed, onder die trap.
- Langs die deur.Next to the door.Langs is the everyday beside; naas means much the same but sounds decidedly formal.
- Ek kan dit nie kry nie.I cannot find it.The nie ... nie frame is the heart of Afrikaans negation, and the second nie closes the sentence.
- Kan jy my help?Can you help me?Kan opens the question and help drops to the end, leaving my in the middle.
- Hier is dit.Here it is.Hier is puts the verb ahead of the subject, which is how dit ends up last.
- Ek het dit gekry.I found it.Het plus a ge- word makes the past, and gekry waits at the end of the sentence.
At breakfast.
- Wat wil jy eet?What would you like to eat?Wil parks the second verb eet at the end, which is where Afrikaans likes to keep it.
- Ek wil eiers hê.I would like eggs.With wil the hê drops to the end, leaving the thing you want sitting in the middle.
- Ek wil brood hê.I would like bread.Brood needs no a or the in front of it, just as bread often stands bare in English.
- Ek is honger.I am hungry.Afrikaans pairs honger with is, so you say you are hunger rather than that you have it.
- Wil jy vrugte hê?Would you like fruit?Vrugte is already the plural; you would rarely hear the singular vrug at a breakfast table.
- Ek hou van appels.I like apples.Hou van is a fixed pair for liking, and the van can never be left out.
- Ek is vol, dankie.I am full.Adding dankie keeps this friendly; vol on its own can sound like a complaint about the portion.
- Dit proe lekker.It tastes good.Proe describes how something tastes. Dit smaak lekker is also correct; this course uses Dit proe lekker for everyday conversation.
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.
Try the first lesson →