Ontkalking verwyder hoofsaaklik kalkaanslag.

Afrikaans often leaves out an article where English would use the or no article at all, especially with uncountable or general substances.

Here, kalkaanslag means limescale as a substance or buildup in general, not one specific countable item. So Ontkalking verwyder hoofsaaklik kalkaanslag sounds natural without die.

If you did say die kalkaanslag, it would point more clearly to a specific limescale deposit already known from the context.

Ontkalking is a noun. It means descaling or decalcification, depending on context.

It comes from the verb ontkalk, meaning to descale / remove lime deposits, plus the ending -ing, which often turns a verb into a noun, similar to English -ing in words like cleaning or descaling.

So:

• ontkalk = to descale
• ontkalking = descaling

In this sentence, ontkalking is the subject.

The word can be broken down like this:

• ont- = a prefix often meaning removal, reversal, or undoing
• kalk = lime
• -ing = noun-forming ending

So ontkalking literally suggests something like de-liming or removal of lime.

This prefix ont- is very common in Afrikaans. It often works a bit like English de-, un-, or dis-, depending on the word.

Because Afrikaans follows the usual V2 pattern in main clauses: the finite verb normally comes in the second position.

The sentence structure is:

• Ontkalking = subject
• verwyder = finite verb
• hoofsaaklik = adverb
• kalkaanslag = object

So the pattern is:

Subject + verb + adverb + object

That is very normal in Afrikaans.

It is present tense.

Afrikaans verbs do not change form the way English verbs often do. So verwyder can be used with different subjects without changing:

• Ek verwyder
• Hy verwyder
• Ons verwyder

In this sentence, the present tense gives a general statement: descaling mainly removes limescale.

Its core meaning is remove, but the exact English translation can vary a little by context. It can also feel like eliminate, take away, or get rid of.

In this sentence, remove is the most direct and natural choice.

Hoofsaaklik means mainly, chiefly, or primarily.

It is an adverb, and in this sentence it modifies the verb verwyder. It tells you how or to what extent the removing happens: descaling removes mainly limescale.

Its position after the verb is very natural in Afrikaans:

• Ontkalking verwyder hoofsaaklik kalkaanslag.

You could move adverbial elements around in some contexts, but this placement is straightforward and idiomatic.

Yes. Afrikaans very often writes compound nouns as one word.

So:

• kalk = lime
• aanslag = deposit, buildup, coating, attack depending on context

Together, kalkaanslag means limescale deposit or just limescale buildup.

This is very normal in Afrikaans and also in Dutch and German. English sometimes writes similar ideas as two words, hyphenated, or one word, depending on the term.

In this word, aanslag refers to a deposit, coating, or buildup on a surface.

On its own, aanslag can have other meanings in other contexts, so you should not assume it always means deposit. But in kalkaanslag, it clearly refers to the hard mineral buildup left by water.

So kalkaanslag is not just lime as a substance; it is lime deposit / limescale buildup.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

• Ontkalking ≈ ont-KAL-king
• verwyder ≈ fer-VAY-der or fer-VAI-der depending on accent
• hoofsaaklik ≈ HOOF-saak-lik
• kalkaanslag ≈ KALK-aan-slag

A few pronunciation notes:

• w in Afrikaans sounds like English v
• g is usually a throat sound, not a hard English g
• aa is a long vowel
• y in verwyder is not pronounced like English y in yes

The exact sound varies by accent, but these rough guides can help you get close.

Yes. That is a very natural translation.

Because ontkalking and kalkaanslag are somewhat technical or practical terms, English translations may vary depending on context:

• Descaling mainly removes limescale
• Descaling mainly removes limescale buildup
• Descaling primarily removes lime deposits

All of those can match the Afrikaans sentence well.

Yes, but the verb still normally stays in second position in a main clause.

For example, you could front hoofsaaklik for emphasis:

• Hoofsaaklik verwyder ontkalking kalkaanslag.

That is grammatically possible, but the original sentence is more neutral and natural in many contexts.

So the original version is a good basic model: subject + verb + adverb + object.