Afrikaans for partners of South Africans.
You know the feeling: the family switches to Afrikaans, everyone laughs, and you smile along. Start with useful phrases for greeting, asking and answering. They give you a way into the conversation while you keep building your listening and speaking.
Praat starts there. The first lessons cover hello, how are you, coffee and the braai. You hear each phrase, practise your response and revisit it later. Speaking is optional; Praat Plus adds AI feedback when you want to try it aloud.
Sixteen lessons are free with a free account. Try one now; it takes five minutes.
Start your first lesson, free →Five to ten minutes. Speaking is always optional.
What to say at 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.
And when you arrive.
- Hallo!Hello!Start with the familiar Hallo, then keep the conversation going with Hoe gaan dit? (How are you?).
- Goeiemôre!Good morning!The ô marks a longer vowel, and the g is the throaty Afrikaans sound. In typed practice, goeiemore is accepted too.
- Hoe gaan dit?How are you?It asks how things are going, which is why the answer talks about dit rather than about you.
- Dit gaan goed, dankie.It’s going well, thank you.Literally, “It’s going well, thank you.” Dit gaan echoes the question Hoe gaan dit? and is a natural way to say you are well.
- Ek is Holly.I am Holly.Ek is covers I am in every situation; Afrikaans has no separate am, is and are to choose between.
- Wat is jou naam?What is your name?Jou is the everyday your; u naam is the formal version, kept for elders and officials.
- Lekker om jou te ontmoet.Nice to meet you.Lekker is the all-purpose word for anything pleasant, from food to weather to meeting someone.
- Tot siens!Goodbye!Tot means until, so this parting quietly promises a next time.
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 →