Learn Hardcore Afrikaans: Ons reël ’n afspraak by die hospitaal. - We arrange an appointment at the hospital.

The trema (¨) shows that the two e’s belong to separate syllables: /re-əl/. Without it, reel might be read as a single long vowel. The trema prevents mispronunciation by marking the syllable break.

What does reël mean here, and how is it different from organiseer?

Here reël means “to arrange” or “to set up.” It’s very common when talking about appointments or bookings. Organiseer also means “to organize,” but reël is more colloquial and frequently used for everyday arrangements and plans.

Why is there an apostrophe in ’n?

’n is the indefinite article (equivalent to “a” or “an” in English). It comes from een (“one”), but in speech the initial e is dropped, so we write ’n with an apostrophe to show the omission.

Could we use maak instead of reël here?

Yes. Ons maak ’n afspraak by die hospitaal is equally correct and very common. Maak ’n afspraak literally means “make an appointment,” while reël puts a bit more emphasis on the arranging process. In practice they’re interchangeable.

Why is by used instead of in or na?

In Afrikaans, by is used like the English “at” when referring to locations or institutions. In would mean “inside,” and na implies movement “to” a place. Since you arrange the appointment at the hospital, by die hospitaal is the idiomatic choice.

Does afspraak have gender, and why do we use die?

Afrikaans has no grammatical gender. Die is the single definite article for all nouns, so we always say die afspraak for “the appointment,” regardless of any gender.

How do you pronounce hospitaal?

It’s pronounced /hɔs.piˈtaːl/. The aa is a long “a” sound (like the “a” in “father”), and the stress falls on the last syllable: hos-pi-TAAL.

Why is the verb reël in the second position?

Afrikaans main clauses follow V2 word order: the finite verb always appears in the second position. In Ons reël ’n afspraak…, Ons (subject) is first, reël (verb) is second, then the rest of the sentence.