AfrikaansPod101.com Blog

I love Cape Town (Kaapstad). Truly, this entire article can be summed up with the following quote, attributed to world-explorer Sir Francis Drake when he visited the Cape (circa 1580): "This Cape is the most stately thing and the fairest Cape we saw in the whole circumference of the earth." This is no exaggeration. I've visited some of the most beautiful cities on earth, but Cape Town and the Cape remain incomparable. Join me to learn why there's something for every traveler to love and enjoy here, and discover even more great reasons to visit Cape Town yourself.   Note: We natives refer to Cape Town and the surrounding area (sometimes the Western Cape Province, too) as "the Cape." We also call the city die Moederstad ("the... Show more

Imagine getting this message from your South African friend: "Hey! Come jol with us on Saturday afternoon; we are going to gooi something lekker on the braai. The party will be under the lapa." Do you have any idea what this message means? Let us know in the comments! At AfrikaansPod101.com, we love hearing your thoughts and opinions, so feel free to weigh in.  But if you’re not really sure what your friend just invited you to, no worries. That's ‘Afrikaan-lish,’ or rather, a blend of Afrikaans, English, and even one word appropriated from one of South Africa’s other languages! The example used above illustrates how languages cross-pollinate and influence one another. This is important, because nowhere in South Africa is... Show more

In dictionaries, "culture" is defined as the ideas, customs, and social behaviors of a particular society or group of people. These different cultures were all shaped, over many centuries, by people's shared experiences as natives of a specific country.  What is South African culture like? This is not an easy question to answer! Not surprising, really—looking at our demographics, we see that the official South African population comprises approximately 60 million people with very diverse origins, languages, cultures, and religions. For instance, we have 11 official languages! What is your country's culture like? Share with us in the comments. At AfrikaansPod101.com, we celebrate diversity because we understand that global... Show more

Food, food, food—who doesn't love it? Eating not only sustains us, but it's also one of the most pleasant and gratifying sensory experiences we can engage in. No wonder enjoying meals together is a favorite occasion around the world.  South Africans are no different, of course. Our cuisine is diverse and we love getting together to eat, drink, and enjoy each other's company. So, join us now for a wonderfully tasty investigation into South African foods! Table of Contents Why Should You Know About South African Foods? South African Foods Typical But Lesser-Known Afrikaans Foods Afrikaans Food Vocabulary & Phrases Get Cooking in Afrikaans with AfrikaansPod101! 1. Why Should You Know About South African Foods? ... Show more

Before we delve into this Afrikaans grammar guide, let’s get this out of our systems: Grammar in any language is a strange bird. Look at this joke in English, for instance: Question: What is the longest sentence in the English language?  Answer: "I do." Did you get it? If you didn't and you're an AfrikaansPod101 Premium PLUS student already, why not ask your tutor? If you’re not a member (or a punster), let me explain. "Sentence" means two things in English. This is how the online dictionary defines it: A "sentence" is: 1. a set of words in most languages that is complete in itself, usually containing a subject and a clause that states something about the subject (A clause is a phrase or a part of a sentence.) 2. the... Show more

Do you know what one of the best things about the Afrikaans language is? Its array of colorful sayings and quotes!  In this article, we’ll introduce you to the best Afrikaans quotes on every aspect of life. You’ll recognize some of these Afrikaans quotes, as they have equivalents in English; others will be unfamiliar to you because they’re unique to Afrikaans. Let us know in the comments which of them have equivalents in your language! At AfrikaansPod101, we aim to enhance your language learning experience at all times. Sayings and quotes are so particular to a language—knowing and using them will introduce you to Afrikaans and the Afrikaner culture in a unique, almost intimate way! Are you ready to up your Afrikaans game? Let’s... Show more

So, you're dealing with an Afrikaans client and really want to impress them. Excellent! You can do this instantly by speaking good business language in Afrikaans!  As you know, speaking someone's native language is a speedy and easy way to gain their favor. To Afrikaans business owners, this could demonstrate that you're serious about...well, business! It will also show that you've invested personal effort into the business relationship. Why not start straight away with our excellent video, "Learn Afrikaans Business Language in 15 Minutes," featured at the beginning of this article? Or read our blog post about How to Find a Job in South Africa! AfrikaansPod101 employs numerous means to support you while you learn business... Show more

Hopefully, you've gathered by now that at AfrikaansPod101, we love to keep things easy and fun for our learners! We also don't insist that you only stick to our site (which is crammed with a great amount of awesome goodies, of course!), but we encourage you to broaden your Afrikaans-learning horizons using one of the Internet's top video-sharing platforms. In this article, we’ll show you the best channels to learn Afrikaans on YouTube. Created in February 2005 by three guys, YouTube was bought over by Google just over a year later for more than a billion dollars, because people loved it. And we're still loving it. As you very probably know, the site is still being kept alive by the people, for the people, and it's choc-n-bloc full of... Show more

Time to say goodbye? In Afrikaans, this can be just as difficult to do as in any other language. Because hey, who likes goodbyes?! Wishing friends and loved ones farewell is never pleasant nor easy, especially if the parting is permanent or long-term. But even this depends on how you look at it. As Winnie the Pooh wisely says: "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." Not all goodbyes are terribly hard or sad, though. In this article, AfrikaansPod101 will show you several ways to say goodbye in Afrikaans and how to use the right one for every occasion.  As a complement, you can also learn How to Say Hello in Afrikaans in our dedicated blog post before continuing with this one. It's super-easy!  Like... Show more

This is not an easy question to answer! How hard it is to learn Afrikaans depends on a few things, really. Afrikaans is the world’s youngest official language. Known as "Cape Dutch" or "Colonial Dutch" back in the day, Afrikaans was only considered a "real language" in the previous century. Over the years, it has been influenced by many other languages, including Arabic, French, and Russian. So it can appear pretty daunting to learn! However, AfrikaansPod101 is an easy way to learn Afrikaans because we simplify the learning steps for you. We introduce many simple but effective ways to learn Afrikaans while having fun at the same time! And our blog posts are informative and culturally relevant, such as this one on Afrikaans Etiquette... Show more