Die rekening is laag, maar ons gee tog ’n fooi omdat die kelner vriendelik is.

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Breakdown of Die rekening is laag, maar ons gee tog ’n fooi omdat die kelner vriendelik is.

• wees: to be
• maar: but
• ’n: a
• omdat: because
• tog: still
• gee: to give
• vriendelik: friendly
• laag: low
• die kelner: the waiter
• die rekening: the bill
• die fooi: the tip

Questions & Answers about Die rekening is laag, maar ons gee tog ’n fooi omdat die kelner vriendelik is.

Why does the sentence use die twice: die rekening and die kelner?

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the. Afrikaans uses die for singular and plural nouns, and it does not change for gender.

So:

• die rekening = the bill
• die kelner = the waiter

Unlike languages such as German or Dutch, Afrikaans articles are much simpler.

What does rekening mean here? Is it always bill?

In this sentence, rekening means bill or check, as in a restaurant bill.

More generally, rekening can also mean:

• account
• invoice
• statement

So the exact meaning depends on context. In a restaurant sentence like this one, die rekening is naturally understood as the bill.

Why is laag used for the bill?

Laag usually means low. Here it describes the amount of the bill, so die rekening is laag means the bill is low or inexpensive.

English might more naturally say:

• The bill is low
• The bill isn’t much
• The bill is small

Afrikaans often uses laag for something low in amount, level, or value.

What does maar do in this sentence?

Maar means but.

It links two contrasting ideas:

• Die rekening is laag = the bill is low
• maar ons gee tog ’n fooi = but we still give a tip

So maar introduces the contrast, just like English but.

What does tog mean here? It seems hard to translate exactly.

Yes, tog is one of those words that can be tricky because its meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, tog means something like:

• still
• nevertheless
• all the same
• even so

So ons gee tog ’n fooi means we still give a tip or we give a tip anyway.

It adds the idea that, despite the bill being low, the speakers decide to tip.

What is ’n, and why is it written with an apostrophe?

’n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, meaning a or an.

So:

• ’n fooi = a tip

It is always written with a small apostrophe-like mark before the n. A few useful things to know:

• In writing, it is ’n, not plain n
• It is not capitalized, even at the start of a sentence in normal usage; instead, the next word is usually capitalized if needed
• In pronunciation, it is very weak, like a schwa sound

Why is it gee ’n fooi? Is that the normal way to say to tip?

Yes. ’n fooi gee literally means give a tip, and that is a normal Afrikaans way to express tipping.

So:

• ons gee ’n fooi = we give a tip
• om ’n fooi te gee = to give a tip

You may also hear tip in informal speech, but fooi is the standard Afrikaans noun.

What does omdat mean, and how is it different from want?

Omdat means because.

Afrikaans has both omdat and want, and they are similar in meaning, but they behave differently in sentence structure.

• want keeps normal main-clause word order
• omdat introduces a subordinate clause, and the verb goes to the end

So this sentence says:

• omdat die kelner vriendelik is

with is at the end.

Compare:

• Ons gee ’n fooi, want die kelner is vriendelik.
• Ons gee ’n fooi omdat die kelner vriendelik is.

Both mean We give a tip because the waiter is friendly, but the word order changes after omdat.

Why is is at the end in omdat die kelner vriendelik is?

Because omdat creates a subordinate clause, and in Afrikaans subordinate clauses the finite verb usually goes to the end.

Main clause:

• Die kelner is vriendelik.

Subordinate clause:

• omdat die kelner vriendelik is

That final is is completely normal after omdat.

This is one of the most important word-order patterns in Afrikaans.

Why is vriendelik not changed in any way? Shouldn’t the adjective agree with kelner?

No. Afrikaans adjectives only change form in certain positions.

Here vriendelik comes after the noun with the verb is, so it is a predicative adjective. Predicative adjectives do not take endings.

• die kelner is vriendelik = the waiter is friendly

Compare that with an adjective before a noun, where you often do get an ending:

• ’n vriendelike kelner = a friendly waiter

So:

• after is: vriendelik
• before a noun: often vriendelike

Why is the word order maar ons gee tog ’n fooi and not something with the verb later?

This is standard main-clause word order in Afrikaans.

Afrikaans is a verb-second language in main clauses, which means the finite verb usually comes early in the sentence, typically in second position.

Here the clause begins with the subject:

• ons = we

So the verb comes right after it:

• ons gee

Then the rest follows:

• tog ’n fooi

So maar ons gee tog ’n fooi is the normal order for a main clause.

Is kelner specifically male, or can it mean any waiter?

Traditionally, kelner means waiter, and kelnerin can mean waitress, though kelner is often used more generally in everyday language for restaurant staff.

In modern usage, many speakers use kelner quite broadly, depending on context and personal preference.

So in this sentence, the learner should understand die kelner as the waiter or possibly simply the server, depending on how literally the meaning is being presented.

Could the sentence also have said want die kelner is vriendelik instead of omdat die kelner vriendelik is?

Yes. That would also be correct.

Compare:

• Die rekening is laag, maar ons gee tog ’n fooi omdat die kelner vriendelik is.
• Die rekening is laag, maar ons gee tog ’n fooi, want die kelner is vriendelik.

The difference is mainly grammatical:

• omdat sends the verb to the end
• want keeps normal main-clause order

In tone, omdat can sound a little more tightly connected to the reason, while want can sound a bit more conversational, but both are very common.

Is this a natural sentence in Afrikaans, and what is its overall structure?

Yes, it is natural. The sentence is built from three parts:

1. Die rekening is laag

   • statement

2. maar ons gee tog ’n fooi

   • contrasting statement

3. omdat die kelner vriendelik is

   • reason clause

So the overall pattern is:

statement + but + statement + because-clause

This is a very useful model for learners, because it shows both normal main-clause word order and subordinate-clause word order in one sentence.