Ons bespreek die onderrig.

Here ons means we because it is the subject of the sentence.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans often uses ons for both we and us. So unlike English, the form does not change:

• Ons bespreek die onderrig. = We discuss the teaching.
• Hulle sien ons. = They see us.

You work out whether it means we or us from its role in the sentence.

No. In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change according to the subject.

So you get:

• Ek bespreek = I discuss
• Jy bespreek = you discuss
• Ons bespreek = we discuss
• Hulle bespreek = they discuss

This is much simpler than English, where verbs can change a little, as in I discuss but he discusses.

This is the normal main-clause word order in Afrikaans: subject + verb + object.

So:

• Ons = subject
• bespreek = verb
• die onderrig = object

Afrikaans is often described as a verb-second language. In this sentence, the subject comes first, so the verb naturally comes second.

Die is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• die onderrig = the teaching / the instruction

A very important point for English speakers: Afrikaans die does not change for gender. It is used for:

• masculine nouns
• feminine nouns
• neuter nouns
• plural nouns

So in that sense it is much simpler than languages like German or Dutch.

No. In Afrikaans, die is usually pronounced like dee, not like the English verb die.

That is one of the first pronunciation surprises English speakers notice.

Here it is a noun.

You can tell because it comes after die:

• die onderrig = the teaching / the instruction

But onderrig can also be related to the idea of teaching as an action. So learners sometimes hesitate when they see it. In this sentence, though, the article die makes it clear that it is being used as a noun.

Yes, depending on context.

The Afrikaans present tense often covers both:

• We discuss the teaching
• We are discussing the teaching

So without extra context, bespreek can be translated in either way.

If the speaker wants to be more explicitly progressive, Afrikaans can use other structures, but the simple present is very common and flexible.

Because Afrikaans does not need an auxiliary verb here in the same way English often does.

English says:

• We are discussing ...

Afrikaans can simply say:

• Ons bespreek ...

So the idea that English expresses with are + -ing is often just expressed by the ordinary present tense in Afrikaans.

Usually die makes it sound definite: the teaching, the instruction, or the education being referred to in the situation.

So it normally points to something specific or already understood from context.

Compare:

• Ons bespreek onderrig. = We discuss teaching/education in general.
• Ons bespreek die onderrig. = We discuss the teaching/the instruction.

The second one sounds more definite.

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

ons bə-SPREEK dee ON-der-rəkh

A few notes:

• ons has a short o
• bespreek has stress on the second syllable
• die sounds like dee
• the final sound in onderrig is the Afrikaans g, a throat sound that English does not really have

The exact pronunciation will vary by accent, but this rough guide is enough to get started.

Yes, it is grammatically natural.

It means something like We discuss the teaching/instruction. Whether it sounds fully natural in a real conversation depends on context, because onderrig is a somewhat formal or educational word.

In everyday use, speakers might choose different wording depending on what exactly they mean, but the sentence itself is correct and normal Afrikaans.