Afrikaans/Pronunciation
Afrikaans uses the same alphabet as English. Notable differences include diacritics on the letters (like ê), while certain letters, such as c, exist but are infrequently used.
You'll soon find Afrikaans has a very phonetic (phonemic) spelling; that is, unlike in English, French or even its parent language Dutch, Afrikaans words are almost always spelled the way they sound.
This chart uses IPA - the international phonetic alphabet to show the exact Afrikaans pronunciation. You can read more about it here. The English words are only an approximate guide. Afrikaans pronunciation can be a bit tricky for English speakers because the language has quite a few sounds that don't exist in English. The best way to learn is to listen to native Afrikaans speakers. You can listen to streaming Afrikaans radio here and hear Afrikaans sound recordings at this site [dead link].
| Letter | IPA | English Approximation | Example Word |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | ʌ, a, ɑː | plus, jump, awesome | kap |
| aa | ɑː | awesome | daad |
| aai | aːɪ | why | laai |
| ai | aɪ | thai | baie |
| au | ou | goat | auditorium |
| b | b, p (final position) | bat, mapp | bevat |
| ch | x | loch | chemie |
| c | s (before e, i, and y), k | sun, kick | Celsius |
| d | d, t (final position) | dark, hat | daar |
| dj | c | justice | djihad |
| e | ɛ, iˑǝ, ə, æ | bed, erie, about, cat | bed |
| ê | ɛː (final position), æ | hair, cat | hê |
| ee | iˑe | eerie | een |
| eeu | iːu | east + took | leeu |
| ei | əi | play | seil |
| ey | əi | play | ceylon |
| eu | øː | few | euforie |
| f | f | fox | familie |
| g | x, g, ç | loch, golf, hue | geld |
| gh | g, k (final position) | golf, kick | gholf |
| h | h | high | hoe |
| i | i, ə | see, about | idee |
| ie | i | see | dankie |
| j | j | yes | ja |
| k | k | kick | kat |
| l | l | let | lughawe |
| m | m | mall | maak |
| n | n, ŋ (before c, k, q, and x) | nice, sing | van |
| ng | ŋ | sing | vang |
| ns | ns | barns | Afrikaans |
| o | ɔ, oˑǝ | bog, wisdom | obligasie |
| ô | ɔ | cause | môre |
| oe | u | loot | voet |
| oei | uiː | phooey | koei |
| oi | oj | row + yes | boikot |
| oo | uˑo | loot | soom |
| ooi | ɔiː | oil | strooi |
| ou | ɔʊ | tow | mou |
| p | p | map | paar |
| r | ɾ | rolled r | rooi |
| s | s | sun | sein |
| sj | ʃ | shin | sjoe |
| t | t | top | taal |
| tj | tʃ (initial position), kj | top + shin, kick + yes | tjek |
| u | ɵ | urn | uit |
| uu | y | breed | duur |
| û | œː | no English approximation | brûe |
| ui | œy | play | lui |
| uy | œy | urn + east | ly |
| v | f | fox | voël |
| w | v, w (after consonant) | visit, winter | water |
| y | əi | play | ys |
| z | z | zulu | zirkonium |