Die UV-indeks is hoog.

The UV index is high.

Breakdown of Die UV-indeks is hoog.

• wees: to be
• hoog: high
• die UV-indeks: UV index

Questions & Answers about Die UV-indeks is hoog.

What does die mean here?

Die means the.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all grammatical genders

So unlike languages such as German or Dutch, you do not have to learn different words for the depending on gender.

In this sentence, die UV-indeks = the UV index.

Why is it UV-indeks with a hyphen?

Afrikaans often uses a hyphen in compounds when the first part is:

• an abbreviation
• initials
• a letter or symbol

So UV-indeks is the normal written form for UV index.

This is very common in Afrikaans spelling:

• TV-program
• DNA-toets
• A-span

Without the hyphen, it would look less natural in standard Afrikaans.

Is is used the same way as English is?

Yes. In this sentence, is works very much like English is.

It comes from the verb wees = to be.

So:

• Die UV-indeks is hoog.
• The UV index is high.

This is a straightforward subject + verb + adjective sentence.

Why is the word order so similar to English?