Onder hierdie omstandighede wag ons.

Afrikaans main clauses usually follow a verb-second pattern. That means the finite verb comes second in the sentence.

• Normal order: Ons wag.
• If you move another element to the front, the verb still stays second:
  • Onder hierdie omstandighede wag ons.

So:

1. Onder hierdie omstandighede = first element
2. wag = second element, so it must come here
3. ons = subject comes after the verb

This is very similar to Dutch and German, but less like normal English word order.

Literally, onder means under, and omstandighede means circumstances.

So word-for-word, it is something like:

• onder = under
• hierdie = these
• omstandighede = circumstances

In natural English, though, you would usually say under these circumstances.

No. Onder can mean physical under, but it is also used in abstract expressions.

Here it is part of the fixed idea:

• onder hierdie omstandighede = under these circumstances

So this is not about physical position. It is idiomatic, just like English under these circumstances.

Hierdie means this or these, depending on the noun.

Because omstandighede is plural, hierdie here means these:

• hierdie omstandighede = these circumstances

A useful thing to notice is that hierdie does not change form for singular and plural the way English does.

For example:

• hierdie boek = this book
• hierdie boeke = these books

So the noun, not hierdie, tells you whether it is singular or plural.

It is plural.

• singular: omstandigheid = circumstance
• plural: omstandighede = circumstances

That is why hierdie is understood as these here, not this.

Because the sentence does not need one. The main verb is wag = wait.

So the structure is simply:

• Onder hierdie omstandighede = adverbial phrase
• wag = verb
• ons = subject

Afrikaans often looks more compact than English because it avoids extra helper words unless they are actually needed.

Not always.

• wag by itself means wait
• wag vir means wait for

In this sentence, there is no object after wait, so vir is not needed:

• Ons wag. = We wait.
• Ons wag vir hom. = We wait for him.

So Onder hierdie omstandighede wag ons is perfectly complete as it stands.

Yes, you could. That word order is also grammatical.

Compare:

• Ons wag onder hierdie omstandighede.
• Onder hierdie omstandighede wag ons.

The difference is mainly focus or emphasis.

• Starting with Ons sounds more neutral.
• Starting with Onder hierdie omstandighede puts extra attention on the circumstances.

That fronting is very common in Afrikaans.

A rough English-friendly guide would be something like:

um-STAHN-di-ghay-duh

A few notes:

• om sounds roughly like um
• stan has a broad a
• dig / digh has the Afrikaans g/ch sound, which is harsher than English g
• hede sounds roughly like hay-duh

If the g sound is difficult, that is normal for English speakers. It is one of the sounds learners often need time to get used to.

Yes, people could absolutely say it. It sounds natural and correct.

That said, onder hierdie omstandighede is a bit more formal or careful than very casual everyday speech. In conversation, people might also use other expressions depending on the context.

Still, there is nothing unnatural about this sentence. It is good standard Afrikaans.

Yes, depending on the exact tone or meaning.

Possible alternatives include:

• In hierdie omstandighede = in these circumstances
• Met hierdie omstandighede would usually not be the normal choice here
• In dié geval = in that case
• Dan wag ons = then we wait

But onder hierdie omstandighede is the closest direct match to English under these circumstances.

It is a prepositional phrase functioning as an adverbial phrase.

More specifically:

• onder = preposition
• hierdie omstandighede = noun phrase
• together = onder hierdie omstandighede

It tells you under what conditions the action happens. In other words, it modifies wag.

So it is not the subject and not the object; it gives the setting or condition for the action.