Afrikaans
South Africa's youngest language — and one of the most accessible for English speakers.
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About Afrikaans
Afrikaans grew out of 17th-century Dutch brought to southern Africa by settlers, enslaved people, and migrant communities. Over three centuries it simplified dramatically in grammar while absorbing vocabulary from Malay, Khoisan, Bantu and English — becoming a genuinely new language, and officially recognised as such in 1925.
For English-speaking learners, Afrikaans is unusually easy to start: there are no verb conjugations for person, no grammatical gender for nouns, and much of the core vocabulary is close enough to English to be readable on first sight. Pronunciation has its quirks (the guttural 'g' and rolled 'r'), but children typically find the language welcoming.
Afrikaans is the first language of a diverse population — in South Africa it is spoken by the Coloured, Afrikaner and Khoisan communities; in Namibia it remains an everyday lingua franca. Teaching it alongside its history is a valuable lesson in how languages and people move together.
'Braai' is not just a barbecue — it is an institution. Vocabulary around food, family and the outdoors is the fastest route into real Afrikaans.
A handful of Afrikaans to take away
These appear across our puzzles — every word in the app is paired with a translation and a spoken voice.
- •Read children's books in Afrikaans aloud — the simplified grammar lets beginners finish a book in a sitting.
Pick a theme to play
Each theme gathers 40–80 words, phrases and idioms. Every puzzle type teaches the same vocabulary in a different way — children absorb the words faster because they meet them again and again from new angles.
Word Search is free in Shona. Sign up to unlock the other puzzle types and every other language.
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