Die hoof praat.

to speak

Breakdown of Die hoof praat.

• die hoof: the principal; head or leader

Questions & Answers about Die hoof praat.

What does die mean here?

Here, die is the definite article, so it means the.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans uses die very broadly:

• die hoof = the principal / the head
• die man = the man
• die kinders = the children

It does not change for gender, and it is also used for plural nouns.

Is die pronounced like the English word die?

No. In this sentence, die is pronounced roughly like dee.

So:

• die = dee
• not like English die /dai/

That is one of the first pronunciation traps English speakers run into in Afrikaans.

What exactly does hoof mean?

Hoof literally relates to the idea of head or chief, and in context it often means:

• principal
• head
• chief

So if this sentence is about a school, die hoof usually means the principal or the head teacher.

The exact English word depends on context, but the Afrikaans word stays the same.