Mia madre dice che una piccola mancia fa sempre piacere.

In Italian, with singular close family members, the definite article is usually left out when you use a possessive:

• mia madre = my mother
• tuo padre = your father
• sua sorella = his/her sister

So mia madre is the normal form here.

You usually do use the article in other cases, for example with plurals:

• i miei genitori = my parents
• le mie sorelle = my sisters

So this sentence is following a very common pattern.

Dice means says, from the verb dire = to say / to tell.

Che means that and introduces the next clause:

• Mia madre dice che... = My mother says that...

In English, that is often dropped:

• My mother says a small tip is always appreciated.

In Italian, che is much more commonly kept. So dice che is a very standard structure.

Because mancia is a feminine singular noun, the article and adjective must agree with it:

• una = feminine singular a
• piccola = feminine singular form of small
• mancia = tip

So:

• una piccola mancia = a small tip

This is basic adjective agreement in Italian.

Italian adjectives often come after the noun, but many common adjectives can also come before it.

Here, una piccola mancia sounds very natural. With adjectives like piccolo, putting them before the noun is common and often feels more natural or more general.

Compare:

• una piccola mancia = a small tip
• una mancia piccola = grammatically possible, but less natural here and more marked

So this is not a special exception to memorize word for word; it is part of a broader adjective-placement pattern in Italian.

Mancia means tip or gratuity: extra money given for service.

For example:

• lasciare una mancia = to leave a tip
• dare una mancia = to give a tip

So in this sentence, una piccola mancia means a small tip.

It is not the same as a bribe. A bribe would be something like tangente.

Literally, fare piacere means to give pleasure.

Very often, though, it is used idiomatically to mean:

• to be pleasing
• to be welcome
• to be appreciated

So:

• una piccola mancia fa sempre piacere

is very naturally understood as:

• a small tip is always appreciated
• a small tip is always welcome

This is a very common Italian expression.

Fa is the third person singular of fare in the present tense:

• io faccio = I do / make
• tu fai = you do / make
• lui/lei fa = he/she does / makes

Here the subject is una piccola mancia, which is singular, so the verb must be singular too:

• una piccola mancia fa piacere

Also, standard modern Italian writes it as fa, without an accent.

Good question. In fare piacere, the person who feels pleased is often shown with an indirect object pronoun:

• mi fa piacere = it pleases me
• ti fa piacere = it pleases you
• gli fa piacere = it pleases him
• le fa piacere = it pleases her

But in this sentence, that person is not stated, because the meaning is general:

• a small tip is always appreciated
• people are generally pleased to receive a small tip

So the sentence leaves the experiencer unstated because it is understood from context.

Yes, sempre literally means always.

But in a sentence like this, it often has a slightly looser, idiomatic sense, something like:

• always
• in any case
• it never hurts
• people are generally happy about it

So fa sempre piacere is often better understood as:

• is always appreciated
• is always welcome

rather than a strict, absolute always in the logical sense.

Here dice is in the present tense, but that does not mean it must be happening right this second.

In Italian, the present tense can express:

• what someone says now
• what someone says in general
• a repeated opinion or habitual statement

So Mia madre dice che... can mean:

• My mother says that...
• My mother says / tends to say that...
• My mother’s view is that...

In this sentence, it most naturally sounds like a general opinion your mother has.

Yes. Italian has several natural ways to express a similar idea. For example:

• Una piccola mancia è sempre gradita. = A small tip is always appreciated.
• Una piccola mancia fa sempre piacere. = A small tip is always welcome / appreciated.

The version with fa piacere is slightly more idiomatic and conversational. It focuses on the idea of giving pleasure or being welcome.