Afrikaans Typing Speed Test
Free Online Afrikaans Keyboard – Type Afrikaans Anywhere in the World
Welcome to the most convenient Afrikaans keyboard online! Our free virtual keyboard gives you every accented character Afrikaans needs — the circumflex, diaeresis, acute, and grave vowels — so you can type from any computer, tablet, or smartphone without installing software or changing your system language. Whether you are in Cape Town, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Windhoek, or part of the Afrikaans diaspora in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, or the Netherlands, AnyKeyboard puts correct Afrikaans a click away.
Why do 17+ million people need an Afrikaans keyboard? Afrikaans has around 7 million first-language speakers and roughly 10 million more who use it as a second language, making it one of South Africa's most widely spoken home languages and a major language of Namibia. Standard US and UK keyboards handle its plain letters fine but make its accented vowels awkward, which is why so much everyday Afrikaans online is written with the accents simply left off.
The circumflex and diaeresis do real work. Afrikaans relies on ê, ô, û, î and on ë, ï, ö, ü, and they are not optional decoration. The circumflex appears in extremely common words — wêreld (world), sê (say), môre (morning), brûe (bridges) — while the diaeresis marks a vowel that starts a new syllable rather than forming a diphthong, as in reën (rain), poësie (poetry), and geërf (inherited). Drop them and you are misspelling the word.
The 'n article. Afrikaans writes its indefinite article as 'n, with a leading apostrophe, and it is the most common word in the language. It carries a distinctive rule: when a sentence begins with 'n, the apostrophe stays lowercase and the following word is capitalised instead — 'n Man loop daar. Getting the right apostrophe character rather than a stray quotation mark matters for search and for clean text.
From Dutch, but its own language. Afrikaans developed from 17th-century Dutch at the Cape and was formally recognised as a language distinct from Dutch in 1925. It simplified dramatically along the way: verbs do not conjugate by person, and negation is doubled with nie … nie. Dutch speakers can largely read it, but spelling conventions and accented characters differ, so a Dutch keyboard is not a substitute.
Perfect for: email and messaging, school and university work, business and legal documents, church and community materials, writing for Afrikaans media, and typing on a work or public computer that has no Afrikaans layout installed.
Related keyboards: Afrikaans is closest to Dutch, from which it descends. Switch between them instantly using the Layout dropdown above.
Your privacy is guaranteed – all typing happens 100% locally in your browser. Nothing you write is sent to a server, stored, or logged.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Afrikaans?
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language that developed from 17th-century Dutch at the Cape and was recognised as distinct from Dutch in 1925. It has around 7 million first-language speakers and about 10 million second-language speakers, mainly in South Africa and Namibia.
How do I type ê, ô, û and î?
All the circumflex vowels appear directly on the on-screen keyboard — click or tap them, with no alt codes and no system layout change. They are needed constantly in ordinary words such as wêreld, sê, môre and brûe.
What does the diaeresis (ë, ï, ö, ü) do in Afrikaans?
It marks a vowel that begins a new syllable instead of combining with the preceding vowel into a diphthong. Examples include reën (rain), poësie (poetry) and geërf (inherited). Leaving the diaeresis off changes how the word is read and counts as a misspelling.
How do I type the Afrikaans article 'n?
Type the apostrophe followed by n. It is the most common word in Afrikaans, and it has a distinctive capitalisation rule: when a sentence starts with 'n, the apostrophe stays lowercase and the following word is capitalised instead — for example 'n Man loop daar.
Is Afrikaans the same as Dutch?
No, though they are closely related and Dutch speakers can largely read Afrikaans. Afrikaans has much simpler grammar — verbs do not conjugate by person — and uses a doubled negative, nie … nie. Spelling conventions and accented characters differ too, so a Dutch keyboard is not a substitute.
Is this keyboard free?
Yes, completely free. There is no cost, no registration, no account, and no limit on how much you type. The site is supported by advertising, which is what keeps the keyboard free to use for everyone.
Does it work on mobile phones and tablets?
Yes. The layout is fully responsive and works on Android and iOS phones, tablets, Chromebooks, Windows, and macOS. On a touchscreen you tap the letters directly, which makes it a practical way to type Afrikaans on a device with no Afrikaans keyboard installed.
Is my typing private?
Completely private. All processing happens locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your text is never transmitted to a server, never stored, and never logged, so it is safe for personal and sensitive writing.
Where is Afrikaans spoken?
Mainly in South Africa, where it is one of the most widely spoken home languages, and in Namibia, where it is widely used as a lingua franca. There are also Afrikaans-speaking communities in Botswana, Zimbabwe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands.
Can I practise Afrikaans typing speed?
Yes. Switch to Speed Test mode to practise with real Afrikaans sentences and measure your words per minute and accuracy.
Keep Practicing
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