Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
In this lesson, we'll cover phrases used for apologizing. Now, as you haven't quite mastered Afrikaans, it's probably very prudent to go over the phrases for apologizing as they might come in handy.

Lesson focus

In Afrikaans, “I’m sorry” is Ek is jammer. Let's break it down by syllable.
(slow) Ek is jammer.
Now let's hear it one more time.
Ek is jammer.
You can use Ek is jammer in both formal and informal situations. We use Ek is jammer when we’ve said or done something offensive, wrong, or embarrassing. If you want to be short and informal you can just say sorry, which sounds similar to the English word “Sorry.”
We mentioned in our previous lessons that Verskoon my means "Excuse me."
You can use this when you’re trying to work your way through a crowd at the subway station, when you’re trying to get someone's attention in a store, or when you ask for directions.
Now, what if someone says, Ek is jammer to you after they've done something wrong? You want to respond "No problem," or "That's okay." In this case, the proper response should be Geen probleem nie, which literally means, "No problem."
(slow) Geen probleem nie
Geen probleem nie
Another useful phrase in such situations would be Dit maak nie saak nie, which in English is “It doesn’t matter,” or "It’s no big deal"
(slow) Dit maak nie saak nie
Dit maak nie saak nie
First we have dit maak which means “it makes.”
(slow) dit maak
dit maak
Next, we have nie saak nie which means “no big deal.”
(slow) nie saak nie
nie saak nie
Altogether we have “It’s no big deal” which, in Afrikaans, is Dit maak nie saak nie.
(slow) Dit maak nie saak nie
Dit maak nie saak nie

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