Afrikaans food vocabulary starts with the words you can use immediately: kos means food, water means water, brood is bread, eier is an egg, vleis is meat, groente are vegetables, vrugte are fruits and spyskaart is a menu. At a restaurant, Kan ons ’n spyskaart kry, asseblief? means “Can we have a menu, please?” This guide explains the vocabulary alongside full sentences rather than assuming word-for-word translation is enough.
Food is one of the quickest ways to need a new language. You may be reading a menu, shopping at a market, asking about a dish, ordering something without an ingredient, or checking the total bill. The same English word can mean different things in these situations. A good food vocabulary guide therefore distinguishes ingredients, meals, cooking methods, restaurant requests and dietary information—and shows how the words change what you can actually do.
- Find a food: use the English–Afrikaans tables below for fruits, vegetables, drinks and meals.
- Order clearly: start with Ek wil hierdie gereg hê, asseblief (“I would like this dish, please”).
- Ask the cost: Hoeveel kos dit? means “How much does it cost?”
- Check an ingredient: ask Bevat hierdie gereg neute? (“Does this dish contain nuts?”). For a serious allergy, obtain explicit staff confirmation and do not rely on a phrase alone.
- Practise: cover the translation, choose a new dish, and build a complete request.
Quick food vocabulary: 30 Afrikaans words worth knowing first
| English meaning | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| food | kos |
| menu | spyskaart |
| meal | ete |
| dish | gereg |
| breakfast | ontbyt |
| lunch | middagete |
| dinner | aandete |
| water | water |
| tea | tee |
| coffee | koffie |
| milk | melk |
| juice | sap |
| bread | brood |
| butter | botter |
| cheese | kaas |
| egg | eier |
| eggs | eiers |
| meat | vleis |
| chicken | hoender |
| fish | vis |
| vegetables | groente |
| fruit | vrugte |
| salad | slaai |
| rice | rys |
| potato | aartappel |
| apple | appel |
| banana | piesang |
| orange (fruit) | lemoen |
| delicious / nice | lekker |
| bill / account | rekening |
This is a practical starter set, not a formally ranked list of the 30 highest-frequency Afrikaans food words. The words were selected because they help in ordinary decisions. Lekker, for example, can refer to tasty food but also to an enjoyable activity. Rekening can mean an account or a bill. The situation determines the translation that sounds natural in English.
Fruit in Afrikaans: the important difference between lemoen and oranje
| English | Singular Afrikaans | Plural Afrikaans |
|---|---|---|
| apple | appel | appels |
| banana | piesang | piesangs |
| pear | peer | pere |
| orange (fruit) | lemoen | lemoene |
| strawberry | aarbei | aarbeie |
| pineapple | pynappel | pynappels |
| peach | perske | perskes |
| cherry | kersie | kersies |
| avocado | avokado | avokado’s |
| kiwi fruit | kiwi | kiwis |
| mango | mango | mango’s |
| fruit in general | vrug | vrugte |
Notice that lemoen is an orange fruit whereas oranje names the colour orange. An English reader can easily assume the same word has both jobs because English uses “orange” for fruit and colour. Afrikaans usually makes the distinction explicit. You might ask for ’n lemoen and describe its peel as oranje. Understanding the difference prevents a mistake on a shopping list or menu.
A second pattern is how singular and plural nouns can differ. Appel becomes appels, but peer becomes pere, and vrug becomes vrugte. Do not form every plural by attaching -s. Learn the noun together with a common plural and one example. You do not need to memorise a grammar chapter before buying fruit, but knowing which form is correct makes your request easier to understand.
Imagine a market stall with apples, pears and bananas. Point at one fruit and say its Afrikaans name. Then ask a partner to name the plural. Next turn away from the stall: can you still retrieve the correct word when someone says “pear” unexpectedly? A list that you can read but cannot use without looking down needs a different kind of practice.
Vegetables in Afrikaans: aartappel, ui, knoffel and more
| English | Afrikaans word | Common plural |
|---|---|---|
| potato | aartappel | aartappels |
| tomato | tamatie | tamaties |
| onion | ui | uie |
| garlic | knoffel | knoffels |
| mushroom | sampioen | sampioene |
| cucumber | komkommer | komkommers |
| pea | ertjie | ertjies |
| bean | boontjie | boontjies |
| spinach | spinasie | spinasies |
| cabbage | kool | kole |
| cauliflower | blomkool | blomkole |
| carrot | wortel | wortels |
| vegetables | groente | — |
A menu may list an ingredient you can recognise but not tell you how it is prepared. Aartappel is potato, but baked potato, mashed potato and fried potato are different dishes. Ui is an onion, but onion rings or a sauce containing onion may not be identifiable by the noun alone. If a specific ingredient matters, ask for the full dish description rather than judging the food solely by the title.
Try a shopping scenario. You need two potatoes, an onion and a tomato. Use the written words aartappels, ui and tamatie as cues, then count using the previously published Afrikaans Numbers 1 to 100 guide. The goal is to move from individual labels to an understandable quantity without confusing a singular noun with a plural one.
Drinks in Afrikaans: what to ask for at a café
| English drink or ingredient | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| water | water |
| tea | tee |
| coffee | koffie |
| milk | melk |
| juice | sap |
| orange juice | lemoensap |
| apple juice | appelsap |
| milkshake | melkskommel |
| sugar | suiker |
| ice | ys |
| hot | warm |
| cold | koud |
Kan ek asseblief ’n glas water kry? means “Can I have a glass of water, please?” It is a useful complete request because it includes the polite opening and the final verb kry. You can substitute a different drink without changing the overall request structure: Kan ek asseblief ’n koppie tee kry? or Kan ek asseblief ’n koppie koffie kry?. Listen to an Afrikaans speaker to check the rhythm rather than pronouncing each word as English.
A literal translation of a drink request can sound abrupt or incomplete. The words tee and koffie are easy enough to spot on a menu, but conversation requires a whole utterance. A short accurate request often gives you more usable language than twenty additional nouns. If you do not catch the response, use Herhaal dit, asseblief (“Please repeat that”).
Meals and menu words: breakfast, lunch, dinner and courses
| English | Afrikaans | What the term usually identifies |
|---|---|---|
| breakfast | ontbyt | First meal of the day |
| lunch | middagete | Midday meal |
| dinner / evening meal | aandete | Evening meal |
| menu | spyskaart | List of food and drink options |
| dish | gereg | A prepared food item |
| starter / appetiser | voorgereg | Course before the main dish |
| main course | hoofgereg | Principal course |
| side dish | bygereg | Food accompanying a main course |
| dessert | nagereg | Final sweet or other dessert course |
| restaurant | restaurant | Place serving meals |
| table | tafel | Where diners sit |
| bill | rekening | Amount owing for the meal |
Do not mistake meal timing for a guaranteed restaurant schedule. Some places serve breakfast all day, others stop early, and opening hours can change. If you need breakfast, ask whether ontbyt is still available. A word list tells you what the sign says; it does not establish the opening hours or ingredients of any particular business.
Courses provide context. Voorgereg is a starter, hoofgereg a main dish and nagereg a dessert. If you need to decide how much food to order, recognising the course can matter more than knowing a rarely used ingredient. Read the section heading first, then identify which dish you want.
How to order food in Afrikaans without translating word by word
| Your intention | Afrikaans sentence |
|---|---|
| Can we have a menu, please? | Kan ons ’n spyskaart kry, asseblief? |
| I’d like this dish, please. | Ek wil hierdie gereg hê, asseblief. |
| Which dish can you recommend? | Watter dis kan jy aanbeveel? |
| How much does it cost? | Hoeveel kos dit? |
| Do you have vegetarian dishes? | Het julle vegetariese geregte? |
| I don’t eat meat. | Ek eet nie vleis nie. |
| I would like water, please. | Ek wil graag water hê, asseblief. |
| May I see the dessert menu, please? | Kan ek die nageregspyskaart sien, asseblief? |
| Can I have the bill, please? | Kan ek die rekening kry, asseblief? |
| Thank you very much. | Baie dankie. |
Choose the phrase that matches the actual task. If you want the menu, say the first line. If you already know the dish, use the second. If your concern is price, ask the cost before agreeing to buy. These are separate social actions. A language learner who has memorised “please” but not the kind of request they need may still be misunderstood.
In the question Kan ons ’n spyskaart kry, asseblief?, the opening kan ons means “can we”; ’n spyskaart is the menu; kry completes the request; and asseblief makes it polite. Keeping the model intact is a simple way to avoid arranging the words according to English syntax.
It helps to practise a changed order. If the friend asks for a menu, you respond with the exact request. If the friend later asks for dessert options, change to nageregspyskaart. If the friend only wants water, use the drink request instead. The point is not to repeat a single memorised exchange but to choose the correct language when the situation changes.
Dietary requirements and allergies: precision matters more than fluency
For a dietary preference, a simple statement such as Ek eet nie vleis nie (“I do not eat meat”) can begin the conversation. If someone wants vegetarian food, a question about vegetariese geregte is helpful. But a vegetarian label does not necessarily answer questions about dairy, eggs, cross-contact or a specific ingredient. Ask the restaurant for details relevant to the actual requirement.
A serious food allergy is different from a dislike. A phrase such as Ek is allergies vir neute means “I am allergic to nuts”; Bevat hierdie gereg neute? asks whether the dish contains nuts. These sentences may help start the conversation, but a beginner’s translation cannot guarantee the dish is safe. Ask staff to verify ingredients and preparation, and get competent interpretation where needed. If there is uncertainty, do not consume the food.
A further issue is cross-contact in the kitchen. A dish that does not list an allergen as a main ingredient may still have been prepared on shared equipment. Do not treat a staff member’s friendly nod as written confirmation of safe preparation. The purpose of learning these words is to ask a clearer question and recognise when further verification is essential.
Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, mild and spicy: describing how food tastes
| Meaning | Afrikaans | Example use |
|---|---|---|
| sweet | soet | soet nagereg — sweet dessert |
| salty / salt | sout | sout kos — salty food |
| sour | suur | suur smaak — sour taste |
| bitter | bitter | bitter koffie — bitter coffee |
| tasty / nice | lekker | lekker kos — tasty food |
| hot (temperature) | warm | warm kos — warm food |
| cold | koud | koue water — cold water |
| spicy / hot in flavour | pittig | pittige kos — spicy food |
| fresh | vars | vars groente — fresh vegetables |
| ripe | ryp | ryp vrugte — ripe fruit |
A taste word can carry different information from a temperature word. Someone may call a curry pittig because it contains strong spices, while warm describes its temperature. English “hot” can mean either. A literal one-word translation risks confusing the two. If you cannot tolerate very spicy food, ask specifically about the flavour rather than using the temperature term.
Adjectives sometimes change form before a noun. Koud is cold, but the example koue water has a different form. A beginner should learn useful complete phrases instead of believing that every dictionary headword can be placed before any noun unchanged. Save a few reliable constructions from actual menus or recordings.
Five real restaurant situations and what to say
1. You arrive and need the menu
Say: Kan ons ’n spyskaart kry, asseblief? Why it helps: Ask for the document, then read the courses before choosing. The exercise is to use a complete sentence and then listen to the reply. Change one detail—dish, amount or request—and try again without copying the model.
2. You like a dish but need its price
Say: Hoeveel kos dit? Why it helps: Listen for the amount and confirm it numerically if you are unsure. The exercise is to use a complete sentence and then listen to the reply. Change one detail—dish, amount or request—and try again without copying the model.
3. You want a drink rather than a meal
Say: Kan ek asseblief ’n glas water kry? Why it helps: Keep the full polite request and change only the item when appropriate. The exercise is to use a complete sentence and then listen to the reply. Change one detail—dish, amount or request—and try again without copying the model.
4. You need to avoid a particular allergen
Say: Bevat hierdie gereg neute? Why it helps: Ask for staff confirmation and preparation details; do not rely on a translation alone. The exercise is to use a complete sentence and then listen to the reply. Change one detail—dish, amount or request—and try again without copying the model.
5. You have finished and need to settle up
Say: Kan ek die rekening kry, asseblief? Why it helps: Compare the bill with what was ordered and ask about unclear charges. The exercise is to use a complete sentence and then listen to the reply. Change one detail—dish, amount or request—and try again without copying the model.
The grammar you need: ’n, the two-part negative and word order
’n is the indefinite article, equivalent to “a” or “an.” It appears in ’n spyskaart, ’n glas water and ’n koppie tee. Do not confuse the written article with the number een (“one”). If you are counting drinks, the number and the article have different jobs.
Afrikaans frequently uses a two-part negative, as in Ek eet nie vleis nie (“I do not eat meat”). This is not two negatives cancelling each other out. It is a normal sentence pattern. There are exceptions, so avoid the simplistic claim that every negative sentence always has exactly two instances of nie. Learn the complete model you actually need.
Requests also involve their own word order. Compare Ek wil hierdie gereg hê with the English “I want this dish.” In Afrikaans, the final verb or verbal element can appear at the end. Simply translating each English word and keeping the English order will not always produce a valid sentence. Our Afrikaans Quick Notes guide teaches that structure with a changeable drink request.
A practical menu-reading method: choose by information, not by guessing
First identify the course: starter, main, side or dessert. Then identify the main food item. Next look for preparation, sauces and ingredients. Only then decide whether you need to ask about a dietary requirement or price. This short sequence makes the menu more useful than looking up a hundred isolated nouns.
Consider an invented menu line mentioning hoender (chicken), rys (rice) and groente (vegetables). You know the general components, but not whether the chicken is fried, grilled or served with a sauce containing an ingredient you avoid. A responsible reader does not fill the missing details with confidence. They ask.
If the menu offers an unfamiliar regional dish, ask staff what it contains and how it is prepared. South Africa’s cuisines are diverse, and one Afrikaans label cannot stand for every household or cultural tradition. Braai, for instance, identifies grilling and associated gatherings, but each braai can include different foods. The specific ingredients matter.
Twenty questions to test understanding rather than recognition alone
| Prompt | Model answer |
|---|---|
| What is ‘menu’ in Afrikaans? | spyskaart |
| What is ‘breakfast’? | ontbyt |
| What is ‘dinner’? | aandete |
| What is ‘dish’? | gereg |
| What is ‘water’? | water |
| What is ‘an orange’ (fruit)? | lemoen |
| What is orange (colour)? | oranje |
| What is an apple? | appel |
| What is a banana? | piesang |
| What is a potato? | aartappel |
| What is an onion? | ui |
| What is ‘vegetables’? | groente |
| What is ‘eggs’? | eiers |
| What is ‘the bill’? | die rekening |
| What does ‘lekker kos’ suggest? | tasty or enjoyable food |
| Translate ‘How much does it cost?’ | Hoeveel kos dit? |
| Translate ‘Can we have a menu, please?’ | Kan ons ’n spyskaart kry, asseblief? |
| Translate ‘I don’t eat meat.’ | Ek eet nie vleis nie. |
| What does ‘Bevat hierdie gereg neute?’ ask? | Whether this dish contains nuts |
| What should you do if allergy information is uncertain? | Ask for verification; do not rely on the phrase or assume the food is safe |
Cover the answer column and reply before checking. If you know lemoen but confuse it with oranje, create a two-item contrast card. If you know all the nouns but cannot ask for the menu, work on the complete request. If a safety question is not clear, practise asking for clarification rather than attempting a longer, unverified translation.
A seven-day practice plan for food vocabulary
| Day | What to practise | Independent test |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meals and menu headings | Identify breakfast, lunch, dinner and main course from Afrikaans cues. |
| 2 | Fruit | Name five fruits and distinguish lemoen from oranje. |
| 3 | Vegetables | Read an invented shopping list and supply the English meanings. |
| 4 | Drinks | Ask for water, tea or coffee using complete polite requests. |
| 5 | Restaurant questions | Ask for a menu, recommendation, price and bill without looking down. |
| 6 | Food properties and restrictions | Distinguish flavour, temperature and dietary-safety questions. |
| 7 | Mixed dialogue | Role-play a menu choice, verify an ingredient and finish with the bill. |
Short practice sessions work best when they reveal what you can retrieve without the table. Start with the question, attempt the answer, check and correct. A large food vocabulary is only useful if you know which words apply in the actual scene. Learn a small number of accurate sentences before trying to perform a complex restaurant conversation.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say food in Afrikaans?
Kos is the ordinary word for food. Ete means a meal; gereg refers to a dish.
What is the Afrikaans word for menu?
Spyskaart.
What is breakfast in Afrikaans?
Ontbyt. Lunch is middagete, and the evening meal is aandete.
How do you say bread and cheese?
Brood en kaas.
How do you say apple and banana?
Appel en piesang.
Is the colour orange the same word as an orange fruit?
No. The colour is oranje; the fruit is lemoen.
How do you order a glass of water?
Kan ek asseblief ’n glas water kry?
How do you ask for the bill?
Kan ek die rekening kry, asseblief?
How do you ask how much something costs?
Hoeveel kos dit?
How do you say ‘I don’t eat meat’?
Ek eet nie vleis nie.
What does lekker mean on a food page?
It can mean tasty or enjoyable, depending on the full sentence.
What is the word for vegetables?
Groente.
Can a short Afrikaans phrase guarantee an allergen-free dish?
No. Confirm ingredients and cross-contact directly with qualified restaurant staff or an appropriate interpreter.
Are these the most frequently searched Afrikaans food terms?
They are a practical selection for common situations, not a verified search-volume or corpus-frequency ranking.
Continue learning Afrikaans
- Afrikaans Vocabulary for Beginners — the first 100 words
- How to Say Hello in Afrikaans — openings and polite replies
- Afrikaans Numbers 1 to 100 — prices and quantities
- Afrikaans Slang Words — including lekker and braai
- eduKateSG Vocabulary Learning Hub
References and language verification
Food labels and selected plural forms were checked against Pinhok’s Afrikaans food and drinks vocabulary and book2’s Afrikaans food vocabulary. Restaurant requests and dietary questions were compared with AfrikaansPod101’s restaurant phrase guide. Sentences and practice scenarios here are original teaching examples. Real menus, recipes and dietary accommodation vary.