Die gebed is kort.

The prayer is short.

Breakdown of Die gebed is kort.

• wees: to be
• kort: short
• die gebed: the prayer

Questions & Answers about Die gebed is kort.

What does each word do in Die gebed is kort?

• Die = the definite article, meaning the
• gebed = prayer
• is = is
• kort = short

So the structure is very close to English: The prayer is short.

Why is it die and not a different word for the?

Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for all nouns in the singular and plural.

Unlike languages such as German or French, Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender articles like der / die / das or le / la. So:

• die man = the man
• die vrou = the woman
• die kind = the child
• die gebede = the prayers

That makes articles much simpler in Afrikaans than in many European languages.

Does Afrikaans have grammatical gender? Is gebed masculine or neuter?

No. Modern Afrikaans does not use grammatical gender in the way Dutch or German does.

So gebed is not something you need to label as masculine, feminine, or neuter for article purposes. You simply use die for the.