Hierdie handgemaakte tafeldoek is mooi.

Hierdie means this in this sentence.

So:

• Hierdie tafeldoek = this tablecloth

A useful thing to know is that hierdie can also mean these, depending on context. Afrikaans does not change the form the way English does with this/these. Here it is singular because tafeldoek is singular.

Because hierdie already works as the determiner.

In English, we say:

• this tablecloth
• not this the tablecloth

Afrikaans works the same way:

• Hierdie tafeldoek
• not Hierdie die tafeldoek

So hierdie already fills the role that points out the noun.

Handgemaakte means handmade.

It is built from the idea of:

• hand = hand
• gemaak = made

Together, handgemaak means made by hand / handmade.

In this sentence, it appears as handgemaakte because it comes before the noun tafeldoek and is being used as an adjective directly describing it.

So:

• ’n handgemaakte tafeldoek = a handmade tablecloth

This is a very common learner question.

In Afrikaans, adjectives often take an -e ending when they come before a noun.

Compare:

• Die tafeldoek is handgemaak. = The tablecloth is handmade.
• die handgemaakte tafeldoek = the handmade tablecloth

So:

• handgemaak = basic form
• handgemaakte = attributive form, used before the noun

That -e is a normal adjective ending in this position.

Because Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, very often writes compound nouns as one word.

Here:

• tafel = table
• doek = cloth

So:

• tafeldoek = tablecloth

This is very normal in Afrikaans. English sometimes writes similar ideas as one word too, but Afrikaans does this even more consistently.

Yes. Is here means is.

It is the present-tense form of to be in Afrikaans.

A very useful point: Afrikaans does not change this verb the way English does.

For example:

• Ek is = I am
• Jy is = you are
• Hy is = he is
• Ons is = we are
• Hulle is = they are

So is is used very widely, not just with he/she/it as in English.

Because mooi comes after is here, so it is being used as a predicate adjective.

In:

• Hierdie handgemaakte tafeldoek is mooi.

mooi means beautiful / pretty and simply describes the subject after the verb is.

Predicate adjectives in Afrikaans usually stay in their basic form:

• Die tafeldoek is mooi.
• Die blom is mooi.
• Die huise is mooi.

So mooi does not need to change here.

In this sentence, the word order is basically like English:

• Hierdie handgemaakte tafeldoek = subject
• is = verb
• mooi = description

So the pattern is:

• Subject + verb + adjective

That is why this sentence feels quite straightforward to English speakers.

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• Hierdie handgemaakte tafeldoek is mooi. = This handmade tablecloth is beautiful.
• Die handgemaakte tafeldoek is mooi. = The handmade tablecloth is beautiful.

So:

• hierdie points to a specific thing near the speaker or in focus: this
• die is the normal definite article: the

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

• Hierdie ≈ HEER-dee or HEAR-dee
• handgemaakte ≈ HUNT-khuh-MAHK-tuh
• tafeldoek ≈ TAH-fuhl-dook
• is ≈ iss
• mooi ≈ MOY

A few pronunciation notes:

• g in Afrikaans is usually a throat sound, not a hard English g
• oe is like oo in boot
• oo/oi in mooi sounds like oy in boy

This kind of pronunciation guide is only approximate, but it can help you get started.

Mooi often means beautiful, pretty, or nice, depending on context.

So in this sentence, it could be understood as:

• This handmade tablecloth is beautiful
• This handmade tablecloth is pretty
• This handmade tablecloth is nice

The exact best translation depends on tone and situation, but beautiful is a very natural meaning here.