Onder die wasbak staan die emmer, omdat die kraan die hele nag lek.

Because Afrikaans main clauses usually follow a verb-second pattern.

If you start the sentence with something other than the subject, like the place phrase Onder die wasbak (Under the sink), the finite verb comes next:

• Onder die wasbak
  • staan
    • die emmer

Compare:

• Die emmer staan onder die wasbak. = The bucket is under the sink.
• Onder die wasbak staan die emmer. = Under the sink is the bucket.

Both are correct, but the second version gives more emphasis to the location.

Afrikaans often prefers position verbs where English would simply use is.

Common ones are:

• staan = stand
• sit = sit
• lê = lie
• hang = hang

So Die emmer staan onder die wasbak literally means The bucket stands under the sink, but in natural English we often just say The bucket is under the sink.

The idea is that the bucket is in an upright standing position, so staan sounds natural.

It means under the sink.

Breakdown:

• onder = under
• die = the
• wasbak = sink / washbasin

So onder die wasbak is a prepositional phrase showing location.

It means the same thing both times: the.

Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for:

• masculine nouns
• feminine nouns
• neuter nouns
• plural nouns

So unlike languages with gendered articles, Afrikaans keeps it simple:

• die wasbak = the sink
• die emmer = the bucket
• die kraan = the tap/faucet

Omdat means because.

It introduces a subordinate clause:

• omdat die kraan die hele nag lek

So the sentence structure is:

• main clause: Onder die wasbak staan die emmer
• subordinate clause: omdat die kraan die hele nag lek

Together: the bucket is under the sink because the tap/faucet leaks all night.

Because in Afrikaans, a clause introduced by omdat usually sends the finite verb to the end.

So:

• Die kraan lek. = The tap leaks.
• ... omdat die kraan die hele nag lek. = ... because the tap leaks all night.

This is a very important word-order pattern in Afrikaans subordinate clauses.

Die hele nag means the whole night or all night.

Breakdown:

• die = the
• hele = whole / entire
• nag = night

Afrikaans does not need a separate word corresponding to English for in for the whole night. It can simply say:

• die hele nag = all night / the whole night

So:

• die kraan die hele nag lek = the tap leaks all night

They refer to different things:

• wasbak = sink / basin
• kraan = tap / faucet

So in this sentence:

• the bucket is under the sink
• because the tap/faucet is leaking

In standard Afrikaans writing, a comma is commonly used before a subordinate clause introduced by omdat, especially when it follows the main clause.

So:

• Onder die wasbak staan die emmer, omdat die kraan die hele nag lek.

This helps separate the main statement from the reason.

Yes, absolutely.

That is a very normal version:

• Die emmer staan onder die wasbak.

It has the more straightforward order:

• subject + verb + rest

The original sentence starts with the location phrase instead:

• Onder die wasbak staan die emmer.

That version is more like Under the sink is the bucket, which highlights the location first.

Yes. Lek is the Afrikaans verb meaning to leak.

Examples:

• Die kraan lek. = The tap leaks.
• Die dak lek. = The roof leaks.

So in your sentence, lek is the verb describing what the tap is doing.

Because in Afrikaans, when an adjective comes before a noun with the definite article, the usual order is:

• die
  • adjective + noun

So:

• die hele nag = the whole night
• die groot emmer = the big bucket
• die koue water = the cold water

Hele die nag would not be the normal order here.

For practical purposes, you do not need to worry about grammatical gender in Afrikaans the way you might in some other languages.

Afrikaans does not use different forms of the for masculine/feminine/neuter nouns. It just uses die.

So you simply learn:

• die emmer = the bucket

without needing to memorize a grammatical gender article.