If you’ve ever heard someone speak Afrikaans, the first thing you probably noticed was the “G”.

That distinct, guttural sound from the back of the throat is the trademark of the language.

But here’s the good news: Afrikaans is actually a very phonetic language.

Unlike English, where you have to guess how to read words like “tough”, “though” and “thought”, Afrikaans rules are consistent. Once you learn the sound a letter makes, it almost always makes that same sound, no matter where it’s in the word.

If you are just starting to learn Afrikaans, pronunciation might seem intimidating because of those hard sounds, but I promise you, it’s quite logical.

In this guide, I’m going to break down the alphabet, the tricky vowels, and how to master that rolling “R” and hard “G”.

The golden rule: what you see is what you get

In English, the letter “a” sounds completely different in “cat”, “car”, and “cake”.

In Afrikaans, we don’t really do that.

For the most part, Afrikaans is a phonetic language. This means you pronounce every letter you see. We don’t have many “silent” letters (like the ‘k’ in ‘knife’).

This makes reading Afrikaans much easier than other languages. If you can spell it, you can say it.

Vowels: short and long sounds

The vowels (a, e, i, o, u) are the foundation of your accent. In Afrikaans, we have short vowels and long vowels.

Short vowels

These are crisp and short.

Here is how you would say a simple sentence with short vowels:

Long vowels (double vowels)

When you see two vowels together (aa, ee, oo, uu), you simply hold the sound longer.

• aa: Like the ‘a’ in “father”.
• ee: Like the ‘ea’ in “bear” (but longer).
• oo: Like the ‘oo’ in “door”.
• uu: Like the ‘ew’ in “new”, but with your lips pursed tightly.

The tricky double vowels (diphthongs)

This is usually where English speakers struggle the most. A diphthong is a sound formed by the combination of two vowels in a single syllable.

There are three that are particularly unique to Afrikaans.

1. The “ui” sound

This is the hardest sound in Afrikaans. It is not pronounced like the English “oo”.

To make this sound:

1. Say the word “ate”.
2. Hold that ‘ay’ sound.
3. Now, round your lips tightly as if you are going to whistle, while still trying to say ‘ay’.

It is found in the word huis (house) or tuin (garden).

2. The “eu” sound

Despite looking like ‘Europe’, it is not pronounced that way. It sounds a bit like the ‘ea’ in “early”, but with your lips rounded. It is very similar to the ‘öö’ sound in German.

Examples: neus (nose), deur (door).

3. The “ou” sound

This one is easy! It sounds exactly like the “oa” in “coat” or the “ow” in “low”.

Examples: koud (cold), old (oud).

Consonants: mastering the G, R, and W

While vowels give the language its color, the consonants give Afrikaans its rhythm and “bite”.

The Guttural G

The Afrikaans G is similar to the Scottish loch or the Spanish j (jamón). It is a friction sound made at the back of your throat.

It is not a hard English G (like go) and it is not a soft J sound. You have to clear your throat!

Note: If a G is at the start of a word, it is guttural. If it ends in -ng (like “sing”), it is pronounced exactly like the English “sing”.

The Rolling R

Afrikaans speakers roll their R’s. It is a tap against the roof of the mouth.

If you cannot roll your R’s yet, don’t worry too much. You will still be understood, but rolling it makes you sound much more like a native.

The W, V and F

This confuses many beginners because the letters switch sounds compared to English.

1. V: Pronounced like an F.
   • Vis (fish) sounds like “fiss”.
2. F: Also pronounced like an F.
   • Fiets (bicycle).
3. W: Pronounced like a V.
   • Water sounds like “vah-ter”.

Exception: If a ‘w’ follows a consonant (like ‘kw’ or ‘sw’), it sounds like the English W. Example: swem (swim).

The J

The J is always pronounced like the English Y in “yes”. It is never a hard J like in “jam”.

Stress and emphasis

In Afrikaans, the stress (emphasis) almost always falls on the first syllable of the word.

• Wa-ter (water)
• Huis-vrou (housewife)
• Wink-el (shop)

There are exceptions, of course, specifically with prefixes like be-, ge-, ver-, and ont-. In these cases, the stress moves to the second syllable.

• be-taal (pay)
• ge-daan (done)
• ver-staan (understand)

Regional variations

Just like English has American, British, and Australian accents, Afrikaans has variations too.

Standard Afrikaans is what you will hear on the news and radio. It is clear and follows the rules above strictly.

Kaapse Afrikaans (Cape Afrikaans) is spoken heavily in the Western Cape. It is a vibrant, energetic dialect that often mixes with English.

• The pronunciation is often softer. The guttural “G” might be less harsh.
• Vowels might be elongated differently.
• You will hear lots of code-switching (mixing English and Afrikaans words in one sentence).

There is also Namibian Afrikaans, which includes words from German and local Namibian languages.

Don’t worry about picking a specific dialect when you start. Focus on Standard Afrikaans pronunciation first, as this is understood by everyone, everywhere.

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To summarize the most important points for sounding like a local:

1. V sounds like F.
2. W sounds like V.
3. J sounds like Y.
4. Don’t be afraid to clear your throat for the G.
5. Round your lips for ui and eu.

The best way to improve is to listen. Put on some Afrikaans music (artists like Spoegwolf or Refentse are great) or listen to the radio.

Sterkte! (Good luck!)