Die kliënt is tevrede.

In Afrikaans, the definite article is always die for singular and plural nouns.

• die kliënt = the client / the customer
• die kliënte = the clients / the customers

Unlike Dutch, Afrikaans does not use de or het. So die is the normal word for the.

Kliënt can mean client, but in many contexts it can also mean customer.

Which English word fits best depends on context:

• in business services, legal work, consulting, etc. → client
• in a shop or service setting → sometimes customer

So the sentence could be understood as The client is satisfied or The customer is satisfied, depending on the situation.

This is normal Afrikaans main-clause word order:

• Die kliënt = subject
• is = verb
• tevrede = complement/adjective

So the structure is:

Subject + verb + complement

That is very similar to English:

• The client is satisfied.

Afrikaans often feels familiar to English speakers in simple present-tense sentences like this.

Is is the present-tense form of the verb wees (to be).

So:

• ek is = I am
• jy is = you are
• hy/sy is = he/she is
• die kliënt is = the client is

Afrikaans does not change is the way English changes am / is / are. In the present tense, is is used very widely.

In this sentence, tevrede is used after the verb is, so it is a predicate adjective. Predicate adjectives in Afrikaans usually do not change form.

• Die kliënt is tevrede. = The client is satisfied.
• Die kliënte is tevrede. = The clients are satisfied.

Notice that tevrede stays the same.

This is different from some languages where adjectives agree with the noun in gender or number.

Usually, tevrede is most natural after the verb:

• Die kliënt is tevrede.

If you want to say a satisfied client, Afrikaans often prefers a relative structure such as:

• ’n kliënt wat tevrede is = a client who is satisfied

In some cases, learners expect every adjective to work naturally before a noun, but tevrede is most commonly used predicatively, after is.

The ë in kliënt shows that the vowels are pronounced separately. It helps indicate that this is not one single vowel sound.

So kliënt is pronounced more like two vowel parts, roughly klee-ent.

The dots are called a diaeresis. You will see this in other Afrikaans words too, where it helps show vowel separation.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

• Die ≈ dee
• kliënt ≈ klee-ent
• is ≈ iss
• tevrede ≈ tuh-FRAY-duh

A more natural rhythm would be something like:

dee KLEE-ent iss tuh-FRAY-duh

This is only an approximation, but it helps many beginners get started.

No. In Afrikaans, die is normally pronounced roughly like dee, not like the English verb die.

That is a very common mistake for English speakers because the spelling looks familiar, but the pronunciation is different.

Afrikaans normally uses a double negative:

• Die kliënt is nie tevrede nie. = The client is not satisfied.

Pattern:

• is nie ... nie

This is one of the most important grammar patterns in Afrikaans. English speakers often forget the second nie, but standard Afrikaans normally needs both.

In a simple yes/no question, Afrikaans usually puts the verb first:

• Is die kliënt tevrede? = Is the client satisfied?

So the statement:

• Die kliënt is tevrede.

becomes:

• Is die kliënt tevrede?

That verb-first pattern is very common in Afrikaans questions.

You would usually say:

• Die kliënte is tevrede.

Changes:

• kliënt → kliënte = client → clients
• is stays is
• tevrede stays tevrede

So Afrikaans is quite simple here compared with English, because the verb does not change to are.