150 Essential Frisian Words for Beginners (With Audio + Pronunciation)
The fastest way to start speaking Frisian is not to memorize grammar rules. It is to own 150 words so well that you can produce them without thinking. This page gives you those 150 words, grouped by theme, with pronunciation notes and links to the audio clips in the LearnFrisian library.
These are not randomly selected. They are the 150 highest-frequency words in everyday West Frisian, drawn from speech-corpus research at the Fryske Akademy and cross-checked against what appears most often in LearnFrisian lessons. Learn these and you will understand roughly 60% of casual Frisian conversation.
Greetings and everyday phrases (15 words)
These are the words you need from day one.
| Frisian | English | Pronunciation note |
|---|---|---|
| Goeie | Hello / Hi | GOO-yuh |
| Goedemoarn | Good morning | GOO-duh-MWARN |
| Goedemiddei | Good afternoon | GOO-duh-MID-day |
| Goejun | Good evening | GOO-yoon |
| Oant sjen | Goodbye | OHNT-sheen |
| Tank | Thank you | TAHNK |
| Tankewol | Thank you very much | TAHN-kuh-wol |
| Ja | Yes | YAH |
| Nee | No | NAY |
| Asjebleaft | Please | AH-shuh-bleeft |
| Fansels | Of course | FAHN-selss |
| Sorry | Sorry | same as English |
| Hoe giet it? | How are you? | HOO GEET it |
| Prima | Fine / Great | PREE-mah |
| Ik wit it net | I don’t know | Ik VIT it NET |
Audio links: every word above has a native-speaker audio clip in the LearnFrisian audio library.
People and family (20 words)
| Frisian | English |
|---|---|
| Man | Man / husband |
| Frou | Woman / wife |
| Bern | Child / children |
| Jonge | Boy |
| Famke | Girl |
| Heit | Father (informal, Frisian) |
| Mem | Mother (informal, Frisian) |
| Broer | Brother |
| Suster | Sister |
| Pake | Grandfather |
| Beppe | Grandmother |
| Soan | Son |
| Dochter | Daughter |
| Freon | Friend (male) |
| Freondinne | Friend (female) |
| Neef | Nephew / male cousin |
| Nichte | Niece / female cousin |
| Buorman | Neighbor (male) |
| Buorfrou | Neighbor (female) |
| Minsken | People |
Note on heit and mem: Frisian uses heit and mem where Dutch uses vader and moeder. These are among the most distinctively Frisian words and carry cultural weight. Using them immediately signals fluency to native speakers.
Numbers 1-20 (20 words)
| Frisian | English | Frisian | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ien | 1 | Alve | 11 |
| Twa | 2 | Tolve | 12 |
| Trije | 3 | Trettjin | 13 |
| Fjouwer | 4 | Fjirtjin | 14 |
| Fiif | 5 | Fyftjin | 15 |
| Seis | 6 | Sechstjin | 16 |
| San | 7 | Santjin | 17 |
| Acht | 8 | Achttjin | 18 |
| Njoggen | 9 | Njoggentjin | 19 |
| Tsien | 10 | Tweintich | 20 |
Pattern note: numbers 13-19 follow the pattern [number]-tjin (tjin = teen). 20 is tweintich; 30 is tritich; 100 is hundert.
Colors (10 words)
| Frisian | English |
|---|---|
| Read | Red |
| Blau | Blue |
| Grien | Green |
| Giel | Yellow |
| Wyt | White |
| Swart | Black |
| Oranje | Orange |
| Brun | Brown |
| Griis | Gray |
| Pears | Purple |
Days and months (19 words)
Days of the week:
| Frisian | English |
|---|---|
| Moandei | Monday |
| Tiisdei | Tuesday |
| Woansdei | Wednesday |
| Tongersdei | Thursday |
| Freed | Friday |
| Sneon | Saturday |
| Snein | Sunday |
Months (the 6 most distinct from Dutch):
| Frisian | English |
|---|---|
| Jannewaris | January |
| Febrewaris | February |
| Maart | March |
| April | April |
| Maaie | May |
| Juny | June |
The remaining months (July-December) are close to Dutch: july, augustus, septimber, oktober, novimber, desimber.
Food and drink (15 words)
| Frisian | English |
|---|---|
| Iten | Food |
| Drinke | To drink |
| Wetter | Water |
| Molke | Milk |
| Kofje | Coffee |
| Tee | Tea |
| Brea | Bread |
| Buter | Butter |
| Fleis | Meat |
| Fisk | Fish |
| Griente | Vegetables |
| Fruit | Fruit |
| Suker | Sugar |
| Salt | Salt |
| Sipel | Onion |
Note: Buter, brea en griene tsiis (butter, bread, and green cheese) is the traditional Frisian tongue-twister used to distinguish native speakers from outsiders.
Common verbs (20 words)
| Frisian | English | Stem (for conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
| Weze | To be | bin / bist / is |
| Hawwe | To have | ha / hast / hat |
| Gean | To go | gean / giest / giet |
| Komme | To come | kom / komst / komt |
| Sjen | To see | sjoch / sjochst / sjocht |
| Sizze | To say | sis / sisst / seit |
| Tinke | To think | tink / tinkst / tinkt |
| Witte | To know | wit / witst / wit |
| Wolle | To want | wol / wolst / wol |
| Kinne | To be able / can | kin / kinst / kin |
| Moatte | Must / have to | moat / moatst / moat |
| Dwaan | To do | doch / dochst / docht |
| Nimme | To take | nim / nimst / nimt |
| Jaan | To give | jou / joust / jout |
| Leze | To read | les / lest / lest |
| Skriuwe | To write | skriuw / skriuwst / skriuwt |
| Prate | To speak / talk | praat / praatst / praat |
| Rinne | To walk / run | rin / rinst / rint |
| Sliepje | To sleep | sliep / sliepst / sliept |
| Wurkje | To work | wurk / wurkst / wurkt |
Question words (8 words)
| Frisian | English |
|---|---|
| Wa | Who |
| Wat | What |
| Wer | Where |
| Wannear | When |
| Werom | Why |
| Hoe | How |
| Hokker | Which |
| Hoefolle | How much / how many |
Common adjectives (15 words)
| Frisian | English |
|---|---|
| Grut | Big / large |
| Lyts | Small |
| Goed | Good |
| Minne | Bad |
| Nij | New |
| Ald | Old |
| Moai | Beautiful / nice |
| Aardich | Nice / pleasant |
| Hurd | Hard / fast |
| Langsum | Slow |
| Waarm | Warm |
| Kald | Cold |
| Wurch | Tired |
| Bliid | Happy |
| Ferdrietlik | Sad |
Prepositions and connectors (8 words)
| Frisian | English |
|---|---|
| Yn | In |
| Op | On / at |
| Mei | With |
| Sunder | Without |
| Foar | For / before |
| Nei | After / to (direction) |
| Fan | From / of |
| En | And |
Where to go from here
You now have the 150 most useful Frisian words. The next step is to meet them in context rather than in a list. Context is how words move from short-term to long-term memory.
- The Frisian MasterCourse – 120 lessons that use these words in real sentences, with native-speaker audio. Start at Level 1.
- Audio pronunciation practice – listen to each of these 150 words spoken by a native speaker until you can recognize them by sound, not just by reading.
- Frisian grammar basics – now that you know the words, understand how they fit together. Most beginners find grammar clicks faster once they have vocabulary.
Frequently asked questions
How many Frisian words do I need to have a basic conversation?
Around 300 to 500 words gives you enough to handle everyday situations: introductions, shopping, directions, weather, and family. The 150 words on this page are the most important first half. The Frisian MasterCourse covers the full 500 across its Level 1 and Level 2 modules.
Is West Frisian vocabulary similar to Dutch?
About 60-70% of everyday Frisian vocabulary shares roots with Dutch, but the pronunciation and spelling are often very different. Wetter (water), brea (bread), and gean (go) look nothing like their Dutch equivalents even though they share ancient roots. If you already speak Dutch, Frisian vocabulary is easier to guess at than to directly read – which is why audio practice matters more for Dutch speakers than grammar study.
Are there Frisian words that don’t exist in Dutch?
Yes. Words like heit (father), mem (mother), pake (grandfather), beppe (grandmother), and oer (great-grandparent prefix) are distinctively Frisian with no Dutch cognate. These words are part of what makes Frisian culturally distinct, not just linguistically.
Can I learn Frisian vocabulary without learning Dutch?
Yes. LearnFrisian is built for English speakers (and other non-Dutch speakers) as the primary audience. The interface is in English, the explanations are in English, and the comparisons are English-to-Frisian, not Dutch-to-Frisian.
Last updated April 2026. Want to practice these words in real sentences? Start the Frisian MasterCourse – free, no account required.
