Lees die teks hieronder.

Because this is a command or instruction. In Afrikaans, commands usually begin with the verb, just like in English:

• Read the text below.
• Lees die teks hieronder.

So Lees is the imperative form of lees meaning to read.

In Afrikaans, as in English, the subject you is often left out in commands.

• Lees die teks hieronder. = Read the text below.

The you is understood automatically. You could think of it as an invisible you.

Lees is the verb meaning read or to read.

Its basic dictionary form is also lees, so in this sentence the imperative looks the same as the normal verb form. For example:

• Ek lees. = I read / I am reading.
• Lees! = Read!

So the form itself does not change here; the function changes because of the sentence type.

Die means the.

One useful thing for English speakers is that Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for all nouns. It does not change for gender, and it is used much more simply than articles in languages like German or Dutch.

So:

• die teks = the text

Yes. Teks means text, and it is clearly related to the English word.

Afrikaans spelling is often a bit more phonetic than English spelling, so text becomes teks.

You will often see this kind of spelling difference in Afrikaans:

• English x can correspond to Afrikaans ks
• So text → teks

Hieronder means below, under this, or more literally here below.

It points to something located further down on the page or screen. In this sentence, it tells you where the text is:

• die teks hieronder = the text below

So the instruction is directing the reader to something appearing underneath the sentence.

It is made from:

• hier = here
• onder = under / below

Together, hieronder gives the idea of below here or below this point.

This kind of compound word is very common in Afrikaans.

Because it is describing the location of the text.

Afrikaans often places this kind of adverbial word after the noun in short practical instructions:

• die teks hieronder = the text below

This works very naturally in Afrikaans. English does the same thing in phrases like the text below.

It is neutral and very natural. It works well in instructions, schoolbooks, worksheets, websites, and exams.

Afrikaans imperatives often do not show a strong formal/informal distinction in the verb form itself. So this sentence can be used broadly whenever you are telling someone to read something below.

Yes. A few alternatives are possible, depending on style:

• Lees die onderstaande teks. = Read the text below.
• Lees die volgende teks. = Read the following text.

The original Lees die teks hieronder sounds very direct and common, especially in instructions on a page or screen.

A simple approximate guide for an English speaker is:

Lees ≈ lace
die ≈ dee
teks ≈ tecks
hieronder ≈ heer-ON-der

A rough full pronunciation could be:

lace dee tecks heer-ON-der

The exact Afrikaans sounds are a bit different from English, but this is a useful starting point.