Writing the date in Afrikaans asks an English speaker to adjust on two separate axes at once. First, days and months are capitalised — Maandag, Julie — unlike many languages that lowercase them. Second, the order is day-month-year, so the third of August is die derde Augustus, not "August third." Get both habits right and dates become easy, because the vocabulary itself is transparent and almost free of spelling traps. This page does not cover the time of day (half past, quarter to) — for that, see telling time.
Days of the week — all capitalised, all end in -dag
Every day of the week ends in -dag ("day"), which makes the list quick to learn. They are always capitalised, even mid-sentence.
| Afrikaans | English |
|---|---|
| Maandag | Monday |
| Dinsdag | Tuesday |
| Woensdag | Wednesday |
| Donderdag | Thursday |
| Vrydag | Friday |
| Saterdag | Saturday |
| Sondag | Sunday |
Ons sien mekaar Maandag.
We'll see each other on Monday.
Sy werk nie op Vrydae nie.
She doesn't work on Fridays.
op marks the day
To say something happens on a given day, Afrikaans uses op — the same preposition as "on a surface." With a bare day name you can often drop it (Maandag kom hulle = "they're coming on Monday"), but op is always correct and is required with a full date.
Die vergadering is op Donderdag.
The meeting is on Thursday.
My verjaarsdag is op Saterdag hierdie jaar.
My birthday is on Saturday this year.
Months — also capitalised
The twelve months are likewise always capitalised. They are close enough to their English cousins to recognise instantly, but watch the spellings that differ: Maart (March), Mei (May), Junie (June), Julie (July), and Desember (December, with an s, not a c).
| Afrikaans | English | Afrikaans | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Januarie | January | Julie | July |
| Februarie | February | Augustus | August |
| Maart | March | September | September |
| April | April | Oktober | October |
| Mei | May | November | November |
| Junie | June | Desember | December |
Die skole sluit in Desember.
Schools close in December.
In Julie is dit winter in Suid-Afrika.
In July it's winter in South Africa.
The date: ordinal + month, day first
To name a calendar date, Afrikaans uses an ordinal number ("first, second, third…") followed by the month — and crucially the day comes before the month. "The third of August" is die derde Augustus. The ordinals you need are on the ordinal numbers page; the first few are eerste (1st), tweede (2nd), derde (3rd), vierde (4th), vyfde (5th).
Vandag is die vyfde Mei.
Today is the fifth of May.
Haar troue is op die eerste Januarie.
Her wedding is on the first of January.
Die derde Augustus val op 'n Sondag.
The third of August falls on a Sunday.
You can also write the date numerically. In figures, Afrikaans uses an ordinal abbreviation with -ste or -de: die 1ste Januarie (the 1st of January), die 3de Augustus (the 3rd of August), die 5de Mei (the 5th of May). In running text you may also see the plainer 1 Mei (1 May), with the day simply preceding the month.
Vandag is die 5de Mei.
Today is the 5th of May.
Die fees begin op 16 Junie.
The festival begins on 16 June.
Years — read in pieces, not as one big number
Afrikaans years are read aloud the way English handles them — in two halves rather than as a single enormous number. 1992 is negentien twee-en-negentig ("nineteen ninety-two"), literally "nineteen" + "two-and-ninety." Note the Afrikaans habit, shared with Dutch and German, of saying the unit before the ten: twee-en-negentig is "two-and-ninety."
For 2000s dates, you say twee duisend ("two thousand") and then the rest: 2026 is twee duisend ses-en-twintig ("two thousand twenty-six").
| Year | Afrikaans (spoken) |
|---|---|
| 1992 | negentien twee-en-negentig |
| 1980 | negentien tagtig |
| 2008 | twee duisend agt |
| 2026 | twee duisend ses-en-twintig |
Sy is in negentien twee-en-negentig gebore.
She was born in 1992.
Die gebou dateer uit twee duisend agt.
The building dates from 2008.
Putting it all together
A full date, written out, stacks all of this: day name, then ordinal day, then month, then year.
Vandag is Sondag, die veertiende Junie 2026.
Today is Sunday, the fourteenth of June 2026.
Die kontrak is op 16 Junie 2026 onderteken.
The contract was signed on 16 June 2026.
Ons trek in op die eerste September.
We're moving in on the first of September.
Common mistakes
❌ Ons sien mekaar maandag in julie.
Incorrect — days and months are always capitalised: Maandag, Julie.
✅ Ons sien mekaar Maandag in Julie.
We'll see each other on Monday in July.
❌ Vandag is Mei die vyfde.
Incorrect order — Afrikaans is day-first: die vyfde Mei.
✅ Vandag is die vyfde Mei.
Today is the fifth of May.
❌ Die fees begin op Junie 16.
Incorrect — month before day is the English order; Afrikaans says 16 Junie.
✅ Die fees begin op 16 Junie.
The festival begins on 16 June.
❌ Sy is in Desember, c-spelling.
Incorrect spelling — it's Desember with an s, not 'December'.
✅ Sy is in Desember gebore.
She was born in December.
❌ Haar troue is op die een Januarie.
Incorrect — dates use the ordinal eerste, not the cardinal een.
✅ Haar troue is op die eerste Januarie.
Her wedding is on the first of January.
Key takeaways
- Days and months are always capitalised: Maandag, Desember — even mid-sentence.
- Dates are day-first: die derde Augustus, 16 Junie — flip the English "August third."
- Dates use ordinals (eerste, tweede, derde…), not cardinals: die eerste Januarie, not die een Januarie.
- op marks the day: op Saterdag; add -e for habitual plurals: op Saterdae.
- Years are read in pieces — negentien twee-en-negentig, twee duisend ses-en-twintig — with the unit before the ten.
- Watch spellings: Maart, Junie, Julie, Desember. For the time of day, see telling time; for capitalisation rules generally, capitalisation.
Now practice Afrikaans
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Start learning Afrikaans→Related Topics
- Ordinal NumbersA2 — How Afrikaans builds 'first, second, third' — the -de versus -ste split, the three small irregulars (eerste, derde, agste), and how ordinals are used for ranks and dates.
- Telling the TimeA2 — How to read the clock in Afrikaans — including the half-system, where half ses means 5:30 and not 6:30, the single biggest trap for English speakers.
- Cardinal NumbersA1 — Afrikaans cardinal numbers 0 to a million, built on one mechanical pattern: for 21 to 99 the unit comes before the ten, joined by en — een-en-twintig (21).
- Capitalisation RulesA2 — When Afrikaans uses capitals — sentence starts, proper nouns, the lowercase 'n that hands the capital to the next word, days and months, and language and nationality names (capitalised, unlike Dutch).