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Learn Hardcore Afrikaans: Die telling is duidelik. - The score is clear.

Hardcore Afrikaans
/Playing a board game with friends
/Die telling is duidelik.

Die telling is duidelik.

Die telling is duidelik.

The score is clear.

Breakdown of Die telling is duidelik.

the score; tally

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Questions & Answers about Die telling is duidelik.

What does die mean here, and is it pronounced like the English verb die?

Here die is the definite article the.

It is not the English verb die, even though it is spelled the same. In Afrikaans it is usually pronounced roughly like dee.

A useful point: Afrikaans uses die for:

singular nouns
plural nouns
all genders

So Afrikaans does not have separate words like the for masculine/feminine/neuter nouns.

What kind of word is telling in this sentence?

Telling is a noun here.

For an English speaker, it may look like the English -ing form of a verb, but in Afrikaans this is a normal noun. It is related to tel meaning to count.

So in this sentence, telling refers to something like a count, tally, or counting result, depending on context.

Why is the word order Die telling is duidelik?

This is the normal word order for a simple statement:

Die telling = subject
is = verb
duidelik = complement/adjective

So it follows the same basic pattern as English:

The tally is clear.

Also, Afrikaans normally keeps the finite verb in the second position in main clauses. In this sentence, the subject comes first, so is comes second.

Why is is used here?

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

It works much like English is in sentences such as:

The room is quiet.
The answer is correct.
Die telling is duidelik.

So is links the subject die telling with the description duidelik.

Why is it duidelik and not duidelike?

Because duidelik comes after is and is being used predicatively.

In Afrikaans, adjectives used after a linking verb like is usually stay in their basic form:

Die telling is duidelik.

But when an adjective comes before a noun, it often takes -e:

die duidelike telling = the clear tally

So:

duidelik after is
duidelike before a noun

How do you pronounce duidelik?

A rough English-friendly guide is DOY-duh-lik or DUY-duh-lik, but the vowel in dui- does not match English perfectly.

A few helpful points:

the stress is on the first syllable
ui is a typically Afrikaans/Dutch sound and may feel unfamiliar
the last part -lik is usually said lightly

You do not need a perfect accent at first; being consistent and clear is more important.

Can duidelik also mean something like obvious?

Yes. Duidelik often means clear, but depending on context it can also feel like obvious, plain, or easy to see/understand.

For example:

Dit is duidelik. = It is clear.
Depending on context, that might also be understood as It is obvious.

So the exact English word can vary a little with context.

How would I make this sentence negative?

Die telling is nie duidelik nie.

Afrikaans standard negation usually uses nie ... nie around the part being negated.

So:

is duidelik = is clear
is nie duidelik nie = is not clear

This double nie pattern is one of the most important things to learn in Afrikaans.

Could I leave out die and just say Telling is duidelik?

Usually, no.

In this sentence, die helps make telling a specific noun phrase: the tally / the count.

Without die, the sentence would usually sound incomplete or unnatural in ordinary Afrikaans. Afrikaans often needs an article where English also needs one.

So the normal sentence is:

Die telling is duidelik.

Is this sentence natural everyday Afrikaans?

Yes, it is grammatically normal and natural.

It has a very straightforward structure and uses common Afrikaans grammar:

definite article die
linking verb is
adjective duidelik

The only thing that may depend on context is the noun telling, since its exact naturalness depends on what kind of count/tally is being discussed. But the sentence itself is perfectly well-formed.

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