KitsumiFree basic Afrikaans words
A seven-page printable PDF for your first weeks of Afrikaans: how it sounds, how words work, 236 everyday words and sentences to read aloud.
PDF · 7 pages · 253 KB · no sign-up · free to print and share
Next, meet these words in real videos: Kitsumi is free for Chrome and Firefox.
What's inside
- How Afrikaans soundsAfrikaans is read almost as it's written. One page covers the throaty g, v said as f and w as v, ui, ei and y, the glides in ee and oo, ê, ô and û, and the two dots in reën, with an example word for each.
- How words workNo gender: die for the and ’n for a. Verbs never change for the person (ek is, jy is, ons is), the past is het ge- (ek het gesien), plurals take -e or -s, and the famous double negative: Ek is nie moeg nie.
- 236 words, then show wordsHallo, Goeie môre, Dankie and Lekker, family, numbers, the braai, boerewors and biltong, places and verbs. Then Ag nee!, Eish! and Sjoe!, what nou-nou really means, why you call older people tannie and oom, and ten sentences to read before you check.
How to use it
- Read the sounds page aloud, one row at a time. Keep it next to you while you read the rest.
- Read the grammar page once. It's short, and the double negative will start to sound natural fast.
- Learn five words a day. Cover the grey English on the last page, read each sentence aloud, then slide the paper down to check.
- Watch something in Afrikaans with Kitsumi and catch the words you know. Lekker, baie and nie turn up in every scene.
Questions
Is it free?
Yes. It's a free PDF with no sign-up. Print it, keep it and share it.
Is Afrikaans hard to learn?
It's one of the easier languages for English speakers. There's no gender, verbs don't change for the person, and the spelling follows the sound. The throaty g takes a little practice.
Why does Afrikaans say nie twice?
That's the double negative: the second nie closes the sentence. Ek is nie moeg nie means I'm not tired. When nie is already the last word, one is enough: Ek weet nie.