A small set of words does most of the work in everyday Afrikaans. Learn these hundred first and you can already follow simple conversations, menus, and signs. They are not glamorous words, but they are the ones you will use in almost every sentence you ever speak.
How to use this list
Do not work through this list top to bottom. Read down it and mark only the words you could not have produced yourself. Those are your list. The rest are already yours, and reviewing them is wasted effort better spent on words you actually meet in reading, conversation, or subtitles.
The 100 words
| # | Afrikaans | English | In use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | die | the | Die hond hardloop in die tuin.The dog is running in the garden. |
| 2 | 'n | a / an | Sy het 'n boek gelees.She read a book. |
| 3 | en | and | Ek en jy gaan saam.You and I are going together. |
| 4 | van | of / from | Hy kom van Kaapstad.He comes from Cape Town. |
| 5 | is | is | Dit is 'n mooi dag.It is a beautiful day. |
| 6 | in | in | Die kat slaap in die mandjie.The cat sleeps in the basket. |
| 7 | dat | that | Ek weet dat jy reg is.I know that you are right. |
| 8 | het | has / have | Ons het genoeg tyd.We have enough time. |
| 9 | nie | not | Ek verstaan dit nie.I don't understand it. |
| 10 | op | on | Die boek lê op die tafel.The book is lying on the table. |
| 11 | te | too | Dit is te duur.It is too expensive. |
| 12 | vir | for | Hierdie geskenk is vir jou.This gift is for you. |
| 13 | ek | I | Ek werk in die stad.I work in the city. |
| 14 | jy | you | Jy is baie slim.You are very smart. |
| 15 | hy | he | Hy speel elke dag sokker.He plays soccer every day. |
| 16 | sy | she | Sy hou van musiek.She likes music. |
| 17 | dit | it | Dit reën buite.It is raining outside. |
| 18 | ons | we | Ons gaan môre swem.We are going swimming tomorrow. |
| 19 | hulle | they | Hulle woon naby die see.They live near the sea. |
| 20 | was | was | Die fliek was baie goed.The movie was very good. |
| 21 | wat | what / which | Wat is jou naam?What is your name? |
| 22 | met | with | Ek praat met my ma.I am talking with my mom. |
| 23 | aan | on / to | Die skildery hang aan die muur.The painting hangs on the wall. |
| 24 | as | if | As dit reën, bly ons binne.If it rains, we stay inside. |
| 25 | maar | but | Ek is moeg, maar gelukkig.I am tired, but happy. |
| 26 | om | to | Ek probeer om vroeg te slaap.I try to sleep early. |
| 27 | na | to / after | Ons gaan na die winkel.We are going to the shop. |
| 28 | by | at | Sy werk by die hospitaal.She works at the hospital. |
| 29 | of | or | Wil jy tee of koffie hê?Do you want tea or coffee? |
| 30 | ook | also | Ek hou ook van lees.I also like reading. |
| 31 | so | so | Dit is nie so moeilik nie.It is not so difficult. |
| 32 | hier | here | Kom sit hier langs my.Come sit here next to me. |
| 33 | daar | there | Die winkel is daar oorkant.The shop is over there. |
| 34 | nou | now | Ek moet nou vertrek.I have to leave now. |
| 35 | kan | can | Jy kan dit maklik doen.You can do it easily. |
| 36 | sal | will | Ek sal jou later bel.I will call you later. |
| 37 | moet | must | Ons moet betyds wees.We must be on time. |
| 38 | wil | want | Sy wil 'n hond koop.She wants to buy a dog. |
| 39 | gaan | go | Ons gaan Sondag kerk toe.We are going to church on Sunday. |
| 40 | kom | come | Kom ons drink koffie.Let's drink coffee. |
| 41 | maak | make | Sy maak elke oggend ontbyt.She makes breakfast every morning. |
| 42 | sien | see | Ek sien 'n voël in die boom.I see a bird in the tree. |
| 43 | weet | know | Ek weet nie waar hy is nie.I don't know where he is. |
| 44 | dink | think | Ek dink dit gaan reën.I think it is going to rain. |
| 45 | sê | say | Wat het jy nou gesê?What did you just say? |
| 46 | gee | give | Kan jy my die sout gee?Can you give me the salt? |
| 47 | kry | get | Waar kan ek kaartjies kry?Where can I get tickets? |
| 48 | praat | talk | Ons praat elke dag oor die telefoon.We talk every day on the phone. |
| 49 | doen | do | Wat doen jy vanaand?What are you doing tonight? |
| 50 | staan | stand | Die kar staan voor die huis.The car is standing in front of the house. |
| 51 | loop | walk | Ons loop elke oggend in die park.We walk in the park every morning. |
| 52 | lewe | live | Hulle lewe gelukkig saam.They live happily together. |
| 53 | werk | work | Hy werk hard vir sy gesin.He works hard for his family. |
| 54 | speel | play | Die kinders speel buite.The children are playing outside. |
| 55 | hou | hold / like | Ek hou baie van jou.I like you very much. |
| 56 | vind | find | Ek kan my sleutels nie vind nie.I cannot find my keys. |
| 57 | voel | feel | Ek voel vandag baie beter.I feel much better today. |
| 58 | hoor | hear | Kan jy die musiek hoor?Can you hear the music? |
| 59 | lees | read | Sy lees elke aand 'n boek.She reads a book every evening. |
| 60 | skryf | write | Hy skryf 'n brief aan sy oupa.He is writing a letter to his grandfather. |
| 61 | eet | eat | Ons eet saam aandete.We eat dinner together. |
| 62 | drink | drink | Drink genoeg water elke dag.Drink enough water every day. |
| 63 | slaap | sleep | Die baba slaap heeldag.The baby sleeps all day. |
| 64 | man | man | Die man loop met sy hond.The man is walking with his dog. |
| 65 | vrou | woman | Die vrou werk as 'n dokter.The woman works as a doctor. |
| 66 | kind | child | Die kind lag hardop.The child is laughing loudly. |
| 67 | huis | house | Ons het 'n nuwe huis gekoop.We bought a new house. |
| 68 | dag | day | Dit was 'n lang dag.It was a long day. |
| 69 | jaar | year | Volgende jaar gaan ons reis.Next year we are going to travel. |
| 70 | tyd | time | Ons het nie baie tyd nie.We don't have much time. |
| 71 | plek | place | Dit is 'n mooi plek om te woon.It is a beautiful place to live. |
| 72 | mens | person | Elke mens maak foute.Every person makes mistakes. |
| 73 | wêreld | world | Die wêreld is baie groot.The world is very big. |
| 74 | water | water | Die water is baie koud.The water is very cold. |
| 75 | geld | money | Hy spaar geld vir 'n kar.He is saving money for a car. |
| 76 | skool | school | Die kinders gaan na skool.The children go to school. |
| 77 | boek | book | Hierdie boek is baie interessant.This book is very interesting. |
| 78 | naam | name | My naam is Pieter.My name is Pieter. |
| 79 | hand | hand | Was jou hande voor jy eet.Wash your hands before you eat. |
| 80 | oog | eye | Daar is stof in my oog.There is dust in my eye. |
| 81 | goed | good | Die kos smaak baie goed.The food tastes very good. |
| 82 | groot | big | Hulle het 'n groot tuin.They have a big garden. |
| 83 | klein | small | Die kombuis is baie klein.The kitchen is very small. |
| 84 | nuut | new | Ek het 'n nuwe fiets gekry.I got a new bicycle. |
| 85 | ou | old | Die ou man sit op die stoep.The old man sits on the porch. |
| 86 | mooi | beautiful | Die sonsondergang is baie mooi.The sunset is very beautiful. |
| 87 | baie | very / a lot | Dankie baie vir jou hulp.Thank you very much for your help. |
| 88 | min | little / few | Ons het min tyd oor.We have little time left. |
| 89 | altyd | always | Sy is altyd vroeg.She is always early. |
| 90 | nooit | never | Ek sal dit nooit vergeet nie.I will never forget that. |
| 91 | vandag | today | Vandag is dit warm.Today it is warm. |
| 92 | môre | tomorrow | Ons vertrek môre vroeg.We are leaving early tomorrow. |
| 93 | gister | yesterday | Gister het dit gereën.Yesterday it rained. |
| 94 | pad | road | Die pad is baie besig.The road is very busy. |
| 95 | stad | city | Kaapstad is 'n pragtige stad.Cape Town is a beautiful city. |
| 96 | land | country | Suid-Afrika is 'n mooi land.South Africa is a beautiful country. |
| 97 | kos | food | Die kos was heerlik.The food was delicious. |
| 98 | kar | car | Sy koop 'n nuwe kar.She is buying a new car. |
| 99 | hond | dog | My hond blaf snags.My dog barks at night. |
| 100 | kat | cat | Die kat slaap op die bank.The cat sleeps on the couch. |
The ones English speakers get wrong
het vs. is
Afrikaans uses 'het' as the helping verb for almost every perfect tense, unlike Dutch or German which split this job between 'hebben/haben' and 'zijn/sein'. So you say 'Ek het gegaan' (I have gone) with 'het', never 'is gegaan'. That single rule makes the Afrikaans perfect tense far simpler to build than in its close relatives.
double negation (nie ... nie)
A negative Afrikaans sentence usually needs two instances of 'nie'. 'Ek weet nie' (I don't know) only needs one because nothing follows it, but 'Ek weet dit nie' (I don't know that) needs a second 'nie' at the very end. Forgetting that second 'nie' is the most common slip English speakers make.
verbs don't conjugate
Unlike English, Dutch, or German, an Afrikaans verb keeps exactly the same form no matter who is doing the action. 'Ek loop', 'jy loop', and 'hulle loop' all use the identical 'loop', with no added -s or -t. It makes Afrikaans verb tables refreshingly short to learn.
'n vs. een
'n is the indefinite article ('a' or 'an') and is always pronounced as a quick, unstressed 'uh', almost swallowed. 'een' is the actual number one and is pronounced fully. English speakers used to seeing 'a' and 'one' as clearly different words sometimes mix the two up in writing.
word order after 'dat'
In a plain statement the conjugated verb sits in second position, so a time phrase can move to the front while the verb stays put: 'Môre gaan ek stad toe' (Tomorrow go I to town). After conjunctions like 'dat' (that), the verb jumps to the end of the clause instead, just as it does in Dutch and German.
What to do next
A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding Afrikaans and following it.