Die matras is op die bedraam.

Because both matras and bedraam are being used as definite nouns, so Afrikaans uses die before each one:

• die matras = the mattress
• die bedraam = the bed frame

Just like in English, you normally repeat the article before each separate noun phrase.

No. One nice feature of Afrikaans is that die is much simpler than articles in many other languages.

Die can mean:

• the for singular nouns
• the for plural nouns

It does not change for masculine, feminine, or neuter gender, and it does not change for grammatical case the way articles do in German or Dutch.

So:

• die matras = the mattress
• die matrasse = the mattresses

Both still use die.

Is is the present-tense form of wees (to be), and it works very much like English is.

So in this sentence:

• Die matras is ... = The mattress is ...

Afrikaans verbs do not change much depending on the subject, so is is simply the correct present form here.

Yes, in this sentence op means on.

• op die bedraam = on the bed frame

Afrikaans op is often used in similar ways to English on, especially for physical position. So this part of the sentence is very straightforward for an English speaker.

Afrikaans often writes compound nouns as a single word, just like Dutch and German often do.

So:

• bed = bed
• raam = frame
• bedraam = bed frame

In English, we usually write bed frame as two words, but in Afrikaans it is normally one compound noun: bedraam.

Yes, this sentence has a very familiar word order for English speakers:

• Die matras = subject
• is = verb
• op die bedraam = prepositional phrase showing location

So the structure is basically:

Subject + verb + location

That makes this sentence easy to understand if you already know the vocabulary.

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

dee muh-TRAHS is op dee BED-rahm

A few notes:

• die is usually pronounced like dee, not like English die
• matras has stress on the second syllable: ma-TRAS
• bedraam is roughly bed-rahm

Pronunciation can vary a little by speaker and accent, but this guide is a good start.

Because Afrikaans pronunciation is different from English spelling expectations.

Although it is written die, in Afrikaans the usual pronunciation is closer to dee. This is one of the first things English speakers have to get used to, because the spelling can look misleading at first.

So in this sentence, both instances of die are pronounced roughly the same way: dee.

Yes, you can, and it would sound natural in many contexts.

• Die matras is op die bedraam = a neutral statement of location
• Die matras lê op die bedraam = the mattress is lying on the bed frame

Using lê can sound a bit more physical or descriptive, because it emphasizes the resting position of the mattress. But is op is completely correct and very common.

Yes, they are clearly related words. This is a good example of vocabulary that is easy for English speakers to recognize.

• matras = mattress
• bedraam = bed frame

Afrikaans has many words that are either similar to English or easy to learn once you see the pattern.

No. In Afrikaans, common nouns are not capitalized just because they are nouns.

So this sentence is written:

Die matras is op die bedraam.

Only the first word is capitalized because it starts the sentence. That is different from German, where all nouns would be capitalized.