Ons spaar energie.

Ons is the Afrikaans subject pronoun for we.

In Ons spaar energie, it is the subject, so it means we.

A useful extra note: ons can also appear in possessive use, meaning our, as in ons huis = our house. But in this sentence, because it comes before the verb spaar, it clearly means we.

In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change according to the subject in the present tense.

So you get:

• ek spaar = I save
• jy spaar = you save
• hy spaar = he saves
• ons spaar = we save

This is much simpler than English, where you have I save but he saves.

Spaar commonly means save, save up, conserve, or sometimes spare, depending on context.

In Ons spaar energie, it means we save/conserve energy.

So this is the same basic idea as English save energy, not necessarily save in the money-only sense.

More or less, yes. Energie is the Afrikaans word for energy, and it is very easy for English speakers to recognize.

The main difference is the spelling:

• English: energy
• Afrikaans: energie

It is a good example of a transparent cognate.

Because energie is being used in a general sense, like a mass noun.

So Ons spaar energie means We save energy in general.

If you were talking about specific energy already mentioned, you might use die:

• Ons spaar die energie vir later. = We are saving the energy for later.

But in the basic sentence, no article is needed.

Yes, in this simple main clause it is very similar to English:

• Ons = subject
• spaar = verb
• energie = object

So the pattern is subject + verb + object.

That said, Afrikaans is a verb-second language in main clauses. If another element comes first, the verb still stays in second position:

• Vandag spaar ons energie. = Today we save energy.

Notice that spaar stays second, and ons moves after it.

Often, yes. The simple present in Afrikaans can cover meanings that English splits between we save and we are saving, depending on context.

So Ons spaar energie can mean:

• We save energy as a general habit, or
• We are saving energy in the current situation

If you want to be very explicit about an ongoing action, Afrikaans can also use a construction like besig om te, but that is not necessary here.

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

• Ons ≈ onss
• spaar ≈ spahr with a long aa
• energie ≈ en-er-GHEE or en-er-HEE, with the stress on the last syllable

A few pronunciation notes:

• aa in spaar is a long vowel
• the g in energie is the usual Afrikaans throaty g, though learners often start with a softer sound approximation

So a simple learner approximation is:

onss spahr en-er-GHEE

Afrikaans normally uses double negation.

So Ons spaar energie becomes:

Ons spaar nie energie nie.

This literally looks like We save not energy not, but it simply means We do not save energy.

The pattern is very common in Afrikaans:

• first nie after the verb phrase begins to mark negation
• second nie comes near the end of the clause

In a simple yes/no question, Afrikaans usually puts the verb first:

Spaar ons energie?

That means Do we save energy? or Are we saving energy?

So compare:

• Ons spaar energie. = We save energy.
• Spaar ons energie? = Do we save energy?