Ons ontsyfer die geheimskrif en vind die kodewoord.

Here ons means we.

Afrikaans uses ons for both we and us, so the form does not change the way English does. In this sentence, it is the subject, so it means we:

• Ons ontsyfer ... = We decipher ...

Because Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form depending on the subject.

In English, we say:

• I find
• he finds

But in Afrikaans, the verb usually stays the same:

• ek vind
• hy vind
• ons vind

So ons ontsyfer is correct, not ons ontsyfers.

Die is the definite article, meaning the.

In this sentence it appears twice:

• die geheimskrif = the secret writing / the cipher
• die kodewoord = the code word

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans uses die for the in both singular and plural in many cases, so it is much simpler than English articles in some ways.

Yes, in this sentence the word order is very similar to English:

• Ons = subject
• ontsyfer = verb
• die geheimskrif = object
• en = and
• vind = second verb
• die kodewoord = object

So the structure is:

We decipher the cipher and find the code word.

This is a normal main-clause word order in Afrikaans.

Ontsyfer means to decipher, to decode, or to work out a code or hidden message.

It is a verb. In this sentence:

• Ons ontsyfer die geheimskrif = We decipher the cipher / secret writing

Depending on context, it could mean figuring out coded writing, a hidden message, or something difficult to read.

Geheimskrif is a compound noun. It is made up of:

• geheim = secret
• skrif = writing/script

So geheimskrif literally means secret writing. In natural English, it might be translated as:

• cipher
• coded writing
• secret script

Afrikaans very often joins nouns together into one word, where English might use two words.

Because Afrikaans commonly writes compound nouns as a single word.

So just like in Dutch and German, separate ideas are often joined into one noun:

• geheim
  • skrif → geheimskrif
• kode
  • woord → kodewoord

English sometimes does this too, but not as consistently. Compare:

• English: code word
• Afrikaans: kodewoord

Vind means find.

So:

• en vind die kodewoord = and find the code word

Like most Afrikaans verbs, vind does not change form for different subjects:

• ek vind
• jy vind
• ons vind
• hulle vind

Kodewoord is another compound noun:

• kode = code
• woord = word

So it means code word or sometimes password, depending on context.

In this sentence, kodewoord most naturally means code word.

Because ontsyfer and vind are finite verbs here, not infinitives.

The sentence is saying:

• We decipher ... and find ...

not

• We want to decipher ...
• We try to find ...

If Afrikaans needed the infinitive to decipher or to find, you would often see om te:

• om te vind = to find
• om te ontsyfer = to decipher

But that is not needed in your sentence.

Grammatically, it is in the simple present, but in Afrikaans the simple present can cover several ideas that English often separates.

So it can mean:

• We decipher the cipher and find the code word
• sometimes, depending on context: We are deciphering the cipher and finding the code word
• or even a general/habitual action

Context tells you which one is meant.

Ons is pronounced roughly like ons in English honest without the h, though not exactly the same.

A rough guide:

• ons ≈ ons

The o is short, and the s is clearly pronounced.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

ont-say-fer

More carefully:

• ont = sounds like ont
• sy = roughly like say
• fer = like fur or fer, depending on accent

So: ONT-say-fer

Afrikaans pronunciation varies somewhat by speaker, but that is a good learner-friendly approximation.

A rough English-friendly guide:

• geheimskrif ≈ khuh-HAME-skrift or guh-HAME-skrift
• kodewoord ≈ KO-duh-voort

A few notes:

• In geheim, the g is the throaty Afrikaans g/ch sound.
• ei in geheim sounds like ay.
• In woord, the w is pronounced like English v, so kodewoord starts to sound like kode-voord.

These are approximations, but they help you get close.

Yes. En means and.

In your sentence it links two actions:

• ontsyfer die geheimskrif
• vind die kodewoord

So:

Ons ontsyfer die geheimskrif en vind die kodewoord.
= We decipher the cipher and find the code word.

Yes. Even if the basic meaning is already clear, a few natural English versions are possible:

• We decipher the cipher and find the code word.
• We decode the secret writing and find the code word.
• We crack the code and find the password. (if the context supports that)

That happens because words like geheimskrif and kodewoord can shift slightly depending on context.