Afrikaans and German: 31 words that are the same
Among the two thousand words each language uses most, these are written identically and carry the same meaning in both. If you have one of the two, this is the part you do not have to learn.
A shared word is not proof of a shared root. Two languages can land on the same spelling by borrowing from a third — that is all tren and bomba are — and a word that looks the same can still be said quite differently. What this list is good for is the head start. The capital letters are the one difference in spelling allowed here: German writes every noun with one.
| Word | In English | Afrikaans | German |
|---|---|---|---|
| dieaf /di/de /diː/ | the | #1 | #7 |
| wegaf /vɛχ/de /vɛk/ | away | #95 | #128 |
| oaf /ˈʊə/de /ʔoː/ | O | #111 | #849 |
| geld / Geldaf /χɛlt/de /ɡɛlt/ | money | #180 | #190 |
| dinge / Dingeaf /ˈdəŋə/de /ˈdɪŋə/ | thing | #235 | #385 |
| familie / Familieaf /fɐˈmili/de /faˈmiːli̯ə/ | family | #249 | #299 |
| brief / Briefaf /brif/de /ˈbʁiːf/ | letter | #268 | #1,053 |
| a / Aaf /ˈɑː/de /ʔaː/ | A | #282 | #890 |
| idee / Ideeaf /iˈdiə/de /iˈdeː/ | idea | #302 | #426 |
| dame / Dameaf /ˈdɑːmə/de /ˈdaːmə/ | lady | #338 | #1,021 |
| ding / Dingaf /ˈdəŋ/de /dɪŋ/ | thing | #342 | #578 |
| tante / Tanteaf /ˈtɑ̃ntə/de /ˈtantə/ | aunt | #345 | #1,128 |
| minute / Minuteaf /məˈnytə/de /miˈnuːtə/ | minute | #369 | #1,037 |
| vieraf /fir/de /fiːr/ | four | #392 | #509 |
| bier / Bieraf /bir/de /biːr/ | beer | #471 | #987 |
| armaf /ˈɑr(ə)m/de [aʁm] | poor | #513 | #1,004 |
| probleme / Problemeaf /pruˈbliəmə/de /pʁoˈbleːmə/ | problem | #521 | #692 |
| tee / Teeaf /tɪə̯/de /teː/ | tea | #580 | #1,265 |
| glas / Glasaf /χlas/de /ɡlaːs/ | glass | #697 | #1,337 |
| bus / Busaf /ˈbœs/de /bʊs/ | bus | #725 | #1,534 |
| boot / Bootaf /bʊət/de /boːt/ | boat | #854 | #1,121 |
| engel / Engelaf /ˈɛŋəl/de /ˈɛŋl̩/ | angel | #864 | #1,568 |
| risiko / Risikoaf /ˈri.si.kʊə̯/de /ˈʁiːziko/ | risk | #927 | #1,672 |
| kamera / Kameraaf /ˈka.mə.ra/de [ˈkaməʁa] | camera | #948 | #1,324 |
| bad / Badaf [bɑt]de /baːt/ | bath | #979 | #1,740 |
| radio / Radioaf /ˈrɑː.di.ʊə̯/de /ˈraːdi̯o/ | radio | #987 | #1,843 |
| strand / Strandaf /strant/de /ʃtʁant/ | beach | #1,379 | #1,813 |
| restaurant / Restaurantaf /rɛstʊə̯ˈrant/de /rɛs.toˈrãː/ | restaurant | #1,496 | #1,725 |
| knie / Knieaf /kni/de /kniː/ | knee | #1,586 | #1,890 |
| eier / Eieraf /ˈəiər/de /ˈaɪ̯ər/ | egg | #1,645 | #1,454 |
| energie / Energieaf /ɛnərˈxi/de /eneʁˈɡiː/ | energy | #1,699 | #1,512 |
The speaker plays the voice the LangX app uses for that language — synthesised, not a native speaker, so treat it as a guide.
The overlap is the easy part.
The rest comes from using it with someone who speaks it.