lees and skryf — to read and write | Afrikaans Grammar

lees ("to read") and skryf ("to write") are the two halves of literacy, and they travel together so often that it makes sense to learn them as a pair. Both are regular Afrikaans verbs with completely predictable forms — one form for every subject, the past built with het … ge-. The only thing that will catch an English speaker out is the preposition that skryf uses for the person you write to, so we will give that its own section. For the wider family of verbs of speaking and communicating, see communication verbs.

The basic forms

Neither verb has a single irregularity. Note only the spelling of the participles: gelees (with double e, because the stem already ends in -ees) and geskryf (with -yf, not -yw-; the w spelling belongs to derived nouns like skrywer, "writer").

Form	lees (read)	skryf (write)
Present	lees	skryf
Perfect (past)	het gelees	het geskryf
Future	sal lees	sal skryf
Infinitive	(om te) lees	(om te) skryf
Imperative	lees!	skryf!

Ek lees elke aand 'n bietjie voor ek slaap.

I read a little every evening before I sleep.

Het jy die boek al klaar gelees?

Have you finished reading the book yet?

Sy het 'n lang brief aan haar ouma geskryf.

She wrote a long letter to her grandmother.

Note that the perfect of lees is het gelees — one of the spellings learners most often get wrong, because the temptation is to write geleers or gelese. There is no r, and the past participle is not gelese (that spelling belongs to Dutch, not Afrikaans). The double e simply carries through from the stem.

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The participle of lees is het gelees (double e, no r) and of skryf is het geskryf (with -yf). These two are worth memorising as fixed shapes — they are among the most frequently miswritten participles for beginners.

lees — everyday collocations

lees behaves almost exactly like English "read", which makes it an easy verb to use once the forms are in place. You read a boek (book), a koerant (newspaper), an e-pos (email), or a boodskap (message). When you read aloud to someone, you use voorlees — a separable verb, ek lees vir die kinders voor ("I read to the children").

My pa lees die koerant met sy oggendkoffie.

My dad reads the newspaper with his morning coffee.

Lees gerus die instruksies voordat jy begin.

Do read the instructions before you start.

Ek het jou boodskap gelees, maar nie tyd gehad om te antwoord nie.

I read your message but didn't have time to reply.

There is no preposition trap with lees itself: you read iets (something), with a plain direct object, just as in English.

skryf — and who you write to

Here is the section that matters most. In English, "write" takes the recipient with to ("I wrote to my brother") or, in informal American English, with a bare object ("I wrote my brother"). Afrikaans marks the recipient with a preposition too, and it offers two: aan and vir.

skryf aan is the more written, slightly more formal choice — natural in letters, in journalism, and whenever the relationship is somewhat official.

Die kliënt het 'n klagte aan die maatskappy geskryf.

The customer wrote a complaint to the company.

Ons het aan die minister geskryf om te kla.

We wrote to the minister to complain.

skryf vir is the everyday, conversational choice — the one you will hear most in speech and in friendly messages. It treats the recipient as a beneficiary, "write for/to someone", much as vir marks the person you do many things for.

Skryf vir my as jy daar aankom, hoor.

Write to me when you get there, okay.

Hy skryf elke week vir sy ma.

He writes to his mum every week.

Both are correct; the difference is register, not grammar. What you must not do is drop the preposition entirely and treat the recipient as a bare object the way American English allows. Ek het my broer geskryf is wrong — you need aan or vir.

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After skryf, the person you write to needs a preposition: vir (everyday, informal) or aan (more formal, written). Never leave it out — ek skryf my broer is wrong; say ek skryf vir my broer or ek skryf aan my broer.

skryf — other common collocations

Beyond the recipient, skryf combines with the things you write: 'n brief (a letter), 'n e-pos (an email), 'n boek (a book), 'n toets or 'n eksamen. Note that last one carefully: in South African school usage you skryf 'n eksamen — that is, you sit or take an exam, not write it in the literal sense. English speakers expect "take an exam"; Afrikaans says skryf.

Ons skryf môre ons geskiedeniseksamen.

We're writing our history exam tomorrow.

Sy droom daarvan om eendag 'n boek te skryf.

She dreams of writing a book one day.

Skryf jou naam bo aan die bladsy.

Write your name at the top of the page.

The phrase opskryf (separable) means "to write down, jot down": skryf dit gou op ("jot it down quickly"). And aanteken is a close synonym for note-taking. These belong to the broader family of writing verbs, but skryf alone covers the everyday core.

Common mistakes

❌ Ek het my broer geskryf.

Incorrect — the recipient of skryf needs a preposition (American-English transfer).

✅ Ek het vir my broer geskryf.

I wrote to my brother.

❌ Sy het die hele boek geleer.

Wrong verb/participle — geleer means 'learned/taught'; the participle of lees is gelees.

✅ Sy het die hele boek gelees.

She read the whole book.

❌ Hy het 'n brief geskrywe.

Non-standard — the participle is geskryf, with -yf; the w spelling belongs to skrywer (writer).

✅ Hy het 'n brief geskryf.

He wrote a letter.

❌ Ons neem môre ons eksamen.

Wrong verb — in South African usage you skryf an exam, not 'take' it.

✅ Ons skryf môre ons eksamen.

We're taking our exam tomorrow.

❌ Ek lees vir die instruksies.

Incorrect — lees takes a plain object; the vir here is intrusive.

✅ Ek lees die instruksies.

I read the instructions.

Key takeaways

Both verbs are regular: present lees / skryf, perfect het gelees / het geskryf, future sal lees / sal skryf.
Watch the spellings: gelees (double e, no r) and geskryf (with -yf).
lees takes a plain object — no preposition trap.
skryf marks the recipient with vir (everyday) or aan (formal); never drop it.
In South African usage you skryf 'n eksamen — you sit/take an exam.

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