praat
/prɑːt/
To talk in Afrikaans is praat.
The verb praat is the most common way to express the act of communicating by speech. When you want to say you are talking to someone, you typically use the preposition met (with) instead of na (to).
Meaning: to communicate by speech (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
The form praat is used for the infinitive and for the third-person singular (he/she/it talks). The past participle of the verb is gepraat.
How do you pronounce it?
/prɑːt/
Did you know?
- Using praat in the phrase praat dieselfde taal literally means 'speak the same language', but it is used idiomatically to mean two people are in agreement or think alike.
- The term praatjies is a common diminutive used to describe 'little talks' or gossip, showing how adding a suffix can change the social weight of the word.
- The Dutch ancestor of the word, praten, shares the same phonetic roots as the English 'prattle', though they have evolved into very different meanings in their respective languages.
Examples in context
- Moenie met Tom praat nie.Don't talk to Tom.This sentence shows how to use praat in a negative command.Tatoeba #2364380 by siener, translation #2261221 by CK
- Ons het gesukkel om te praat.We struggled to talk.This sentence uses praat to describe a struggle to communicate.Tatoeba #13585288 by Pietpetoors, translation #11440724 by Agestur
- Wanneer kan ek met haar praat?When do I get to talk to her?This sentence uses praat to ask about the opportunity to speak with someone.Tatoeba #13699218 by Pietpetoors, translation #3906194 by CH
- Ek wil met jou praat.I want to talk to you.
- Kan ons môre praat?Can we talk tomorrow?
- Ek moet 'n belangrike gesprek voer.I need to have an important talk/conversation.
- Ons moet 'n gesprek met die kliënt hê.We need to have a talk/conversation with the client.
- Kom ons gesels oor die nuwe fliek.Let's talk about the new movie.
- Ek wil net 'n bietjie met jou gesels.I just want to talk/chat with you for a bit.
- Ek wou net 'n pratjie met jou hê.I just wanted to have a talk/chat with you.
- 17 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Johan and Marelize are meeting for coffee.
- JohanEk wil graag met jou praat.I would like to talk with you.
- MarelizeWaaroor wil jy praat, Johan?What do you want to talk about, Johan?
- JohanOns moet oor die vakansie praat.We must talk about the holiday.
- MarelizeOns kan nou daaroor praat.We can talk about it now.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry praat, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
