Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
In this lesson, we will help you check in! In South Africa, there are hotels, motels, and hostels. Let's jump right into this lesson!
BODY
In South Africa, when you get to a hotel and you want to check in, you can use two possible phrases. If you have already booked the room then you want to say, "I have a reservation." In Afrikaans, this is... Ek het 'n kamer gereserveer. Let's break it down by syllable.
(slow) Ek het 'n ka-mer ge-re-ser-veer.
Now let's see it again. Ek het 'n kamer gereserveer.
The first phrase, Ek het, means, "I have." It comes from the infinitive form hê meaning ”to have."
(slow) Ek het
Ek het
Next, we have 'n kamer, which means, "a room." Let's break it down by syllable.
(slow) ’n ka-mer.
'n kamer.
Finally, we have gereserveer, which stands for, "made a reservation." It comes from the Afrikaans verb reserveer.
(slow) gereserveer
gereserveer
So all together, we have Ek het 'n kamer gereserveer. This means, "I have a reservation for a room."
If you have not booked the room yet, you can say Ek wil graag 'n kamer reserveer. It means "I would like to reserve a room.” in Afrikaans.
Let's break it down by syllable and see it once again.
(slow) Ek wil graag 'n ka-mer re-ser-veer.
Ek wil graag 'n kamer reserveer.
The first part of the sentence is Ek wil graag which means ”I would like.”
(slow) Ek wil graag
Ek wil graag
Then, we have kamer meaning "room.”
(slow) kamer
kamer
The last component is a verb, reserveer, which is, "to make a reservation."
(slow) reserveer
reserveer
So the whole phrase is, Ek wil graag 'n kamer reserveer. "I would like to reserve a room.”
Afterward, they will most likely ask you, "Your name, please, sir?" In Afrikaans, this is Op watter naam meneer? Let's break it down by syllable and see it one more time.
(slow) Op wat-ter naam me-neer?
Op watter naam meneer?
The first two words, op watter, means, "on what."
(slow) op watter
op watter
The next component, naam, is for, "name."
(slow) naam
naam
Then, you can end the sentence with meneer meaning ”sir.“
(slow) meneer
meneer
Let's listen to it one more time. Op watter naam meneer? "Your name, please, sir?"
You might also be asked, "Can you spell it, sir?" In Afrikaans, this is Kan u u naam spel meneer? Let's break it down by syllable and see it one more time.
(slow) Kan u u naam spel me-neer?
Kan u u naam spel meneer?
The first and the very last parts of the question are Kan u and meneer which mean ”can you” and “sir.”
(slow) Kan u... meneer
Kan u... meneer
Then, we have u naam. This means, "your name."
(slow) u naam
u naam
And finally, we have a verb spel meaning ”to spell.”
(slow) spel
spel
So all together, the question is, Kan u u naam spel meneer? This literally means, "Can you spell your name, sir?"
A woman will be asked to spell her name as Kan u u naam spel mevrou? which means ”Can you spell your name, ma'am?"

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