Basic Nouns

1. Water

   Usage

   Ask for drinking water; pair it with “bottle” if you want sealed water

2. Kos

   Food

   Usage

   The general word for food; useful when hunting for somewhere to eat

3. Geld

   Money

   Usage

   The base word for paying and changing currency

4. Toilet

   Usage

   Combine it with the “where” question

5. Sneesdoekie

   Tissue

   Usage

   Many toilets have no paper — use this word to buy some

   Grammar Note

   "Sneesdoekie" is the diminutive of "sneesdoek."

6. Medisyne

   Medicine

   Usage

   At a pharmacy; combine it with gestures for your symptom

7. Bagasie

   Luggage

   Usage

   For checking in, carrying on, or reporting lost bags

8. Sleutel

   Key

   Usage

   At hotel reception when collecting or returning it

9. Kaartjie

   Ticket

   Usage

   Covers both transport tickets and admission tickets

10. Paspoort

    Passport

    Usage

    Comes up at check-in, currency exchange, and any police check

11. Telefoon

    Phone

    Usage

    When you need to borrow one or ask for a number

12. Laaier

    Charger

    Usage

    To borrow one at a hotel or café, or buy one in a shop

    Grammar Note

    "Laaier" is derived from the verb "laai" (to charge) — not a loanword.

13. Stasie

    Station

    Usage

    A landmark word when asking for directions

14. Hospitaal

    Hospital

    Usage

    The first word you need if you fall ill

15. Polisie

    Police

    Usage

    For theft or accidents; combine it with “where?”

16. Winkel

    Shop

    Usage

    When looking for somewhere to buy something

17. Kamer

    Room

    Usage

    Use it when asking a hotel about vacancies

18. Pad

    Road

    Usage

    The base word when asking the way

19. Familie

    Family

    Usage

    A guaranteed small-talk topic; showing photos goes a long way

20. Naam

    Name

    Usage

    For introductions and for giving your name at a counter

21. Kop

    Head

    Usage

    To point out where it hurts, e.g. a headache

22. Oog

    Eye

    Usage

    To point out an eye problem; both eyes is "oë"

23. Tand

    Tooth

    Usage

    To point out a toothache; the plural is "tande"

24. Keel

    Throat

    Usage

    To point out a sore throat; the outside of the neck is "nek"

25. Maag

    Stomach

    Usage

    To point out stomach ache or an upset stomach

26. Rug

    Back

    Usage

    To point out back pain

27. Onderrug

    Lower back

    Usage

    For lower-back pain; Afrikaans has no single word for the Japanese "koshi", so it is "lower back"

28. Voet

    Foot

    Usage

    To point out foot pain; the word "been" (leg) also means "bone", so it is avoided here

29. Hand

    Usage

    To point out hand pain or injury

30. Borskas

    Chest

    Usage

    For chest pain; "bors" can also mean breast, so "borskas" (ribcage) is used instead

31. Hotel

    Usage

    To show a taxi driver where you are going; pair it with the name of your hotel

32. Lughawe

    Airport

    Usage

    To show your destination to a taxi driver or at an information desk

33. Bushalte

    Bus stop

    Usage

    When asking where the bus stop is

34. Moltrein

    Metro / underground train

    Usage

    For the underground railway; in South Africa this means the Gautrain

35. Ambassade

    Embassy

    Usage

    When you need to reach your embassy, e.g. after losing a passport

36. OTM

    ATM

    Usage

    When asking where an ATM is; the English "ATM" is also widely understood

37. Wisselkantoor

    Currency exchange

    Usage

    When asking where you can change money

38. Wassery

    Laundromat

    Usage

    When looking for a place to do laundry

39. Konsulaat

    Consulate

    Usage

    To show that you need to reach your consulate

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