Wanneer die telefoon weer lui, weet ek dat die berig belangrik is.

Wanneer means when.

In this sentence, wanneer die telefoon weer lui means when the phone rings again.

A learner may compare it with:

• as = often when in the sense of whenever / if / when in more general situations
• toe = when for a specific event in the past

So:

• Wanneer die telefoon weer lui, ... = When the phone rings again, ...
• Toe die telefoon gelui het, ... = When the phone rang, ... in the past

In many cases, wanneer sounds a bit more formal or explicit than as.

The comma separates the subordinate clause from the main clause.

The first part is:

• Wanneer die telefoon weer lui = subordinate clause

The second part is:

• weet ek dat die berig belangrik is = main clause

Afrikaans often uses a comma after an opening subordinate clause, just like English often does:

• When the phone rings again, I know ...

So the comma helps show the structure clearly.

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

Compare:

• Main clause: Die telefoon lui weer.
• Subordinate clause: Wanneer die telefoon weer lui

So the normal pattern changes after words like:

• dat = that
• wanneer = when
• omdat = because
• as = if/when

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

Weer here means again.

So:

• die telefoon weer lui = the phone rings again

Be careful: weer can also mean weather in other contexts.

Examples:

• Dit reën vandag. Die weer is sleg. = The weather is bad.
• Bel weer môre. = Call again tomorrow.

In your sentence, it clearly means again.

Yes. Lui means ring or sound, especially for things like bells or telephones.

So:

• Die telefoon lui. = The phone is ringing.

It is a normal and common verb for this meaning.

Be careful not to confuse it with adjectives that may look similar in dictionaries or older forms. In this sentence, lui is definitely the verb to ring.

This is because Afrikaans uses verb-second word order in main clauses.

The sentence begins with the subordinate clause:

• Wanneer die telefoon weer lui,

After that, the main clause starts. In Afrikaans main clauses, the finite verb usually comes second, so you get:

• weet ek ...

not

• ek weet ...

Compare:

• Ek weet dat die berig belangrik is.
• Wanneer die telefoon weer lui, weet ek dat die berig belangrik is.

Because something else comes first, the verb weet moves before ek.

Afrikaans, like Dutch, often distinguishes between two kinds of know:

• weet = know a fact, know information
• ken = know a person, place, or be familiar with something

Here the speaker knows that the message is important, which is a fact or piece of information. So weet is correct.

Examples:

• Ek weet dat dit waar is. = I know that it is true.
• Ek ken hom. = I know him.

Dat means that and introduces another subordinate clause:

• dat die berig belangrik is = that the message/report is important

So the full structure is:

• Wanneer ... , weet ek [dat ... ]

This is similar to English:

• When ..., I know that ...

In everyday English, that is often optional. In Afrikaans, dat is very commonly used and helps mark the clause clearly.

Again, this is because dat introduces a subordinate clause, and in Afrikaans the finite verb usually goes to the end of such clauses.

So:

• Main clause: Die berig is belangrik.
• Subordinate clause: dat die berig belangrik is

This is the same pattern you saw with wanneer ... lui.

A very useful thing to remember is:

• main clause: verb usually in second position
• subordinate clause: verb usually at the end

Berig usually means message, report, or announcement, depending on context.

In this sentence, the most natural translation is probably:

• message

So:

• die berig belangrik is = the message is important

But in another context, berig could mean a news report or formal report.

Examples:

• Ek het jou berig gekry. = I got your message.
• Die nuusberig was interessant. = The news report was interesting.

Yes, but only depending on its job in the sentence.

Here:

• die telefoon = the phone
• die berig = the message/report

In these places, die is the definite article, meaning the.

Afrikaans also has a demonstrative daardie for that in the sense of pointing something out:

• daardie telefoon = that phone

So in your sentence, die simply means the, not that.

Both exist.

• telefoon = phone, more neutral/full form
• foon = phone, shorter and very common in everyday speech

So these are both natural:

• Die telefoon lui.
• Die foon lui.

Your sentence uses telefoon, which is completely normal.

A slightly more conversational version might be:

• Wanneer die foon weer lui, weet ek die boodskap is belangrik.

Changes:

• telefoon → foon
• berig → boodskap

But your original sentence is perfectly correct and natural. It may just sound a little more formal or neutral.

A rough pronunciation guide for an English speaker is:

• Wanneer ≈ vuh-NEH-r
• die ≈ dee
• telefoon ≈ teh-leh-FOHN
• weer ≈ veer
• lui ≈ something like l-uhy or lay-uhy, with a diphthong not exactly like English

A few helpful points:

• w in Afrikaans is usually like English v
• g is not in this part of the sentence, but learners often expect Dutch-like sounds everywhere; here most words are relatively straightforward
• ui in lui is a specifically Afrikaans/Dutch-type vowel sound and may take practice

If you want a simple learner approximation, saying lui somewhat like l-oy is not perfect, but it may help as a starting point.

Yes, that can also be grammatical, but the nuance may be slightly different depending on context.

• Wanneer focuses clearly on when
• As can sometimes feel more like if or whenever

So:

• Wanneer die telefoon weer lui... = When the phone rings again...
• As die telefoon weer lui... can sound like If/When the phone rings again...

In many everyday contexts, people may use as where English would use when, but wanneer is the clearest choice if you want an unambiguous when.

Yes.

Afrikaans often uses the present tense for events that are still to happen, especially after time words like wanneer.

So:

• Wanneer die telefoon weer lui literally uses present tense
• but in meaning it can refer to a future event: When the phone rings again

English does this too:

• When the phone rings again, I know ...

So this is a very normal use of the present tense in both languages.