Drinks Start lesson

A few Afrikaans words and phrases to help you in a bar or cafe.

I'll have ...Ek wil graag ... hê
For meVir my
For himVir hom
For herVir haar
The bill, pleaseDie rekening, asseblief
Keep the changeHou die kleingeld
It´s my roundDie rondte is op my!
What would you like to drink?Wat wil jy drink?
Cheers!Gesondheid!
A black coffee, pleasen Swart koffie, asseblief
A white coffee, please'n Koffie met melk, asseblief
Two white coffees, pleaseTwee koffies met melk, asseblief
A tea with milk'n Tee met melk
A lemon tea'n Suurlemoentee
A lemonade, please'n Lemonade, asseblief
A beer, please'n Bier, asseblief
Two beerseTwee biere
A glass of red wine'n Glas rooiwyn
A glass of white winen Glas witwyn

These phrases are to do with ordering drinks in Afrikaans, and you can learn them with no further thought.

But even basic 'get by' type phrases are very useful for understanding and getting an idea about basic Afrikaans grammar if you look at their literal translation.

Often simple Afrikaans phrases have a literal word for word translation illustrating the similarities between Afrikaans and English.

For example, Wat wil jy drink? although translated as 'What would you like to drink' literally means 'what will you drink?".

Other phrases have been given one of several possible translations. If Die rondte is op my! is given its literal meaning it translates as 'the round is on me', and from that you can learn the op 'on'.