Die brilvoorskrif wys die lenssterkte.

The spectacle prescription shows the lens strength.

Breakdown of Die brilvoorskrif wys die lenssterkte.

• wys: to show
• die brilvoorskrif: spectacle prescription
• die lenssterkte: lens strength

Questions & Answers about Die brilvoorskrif wys die lenssterkte.

Why does the sentence start with Die?

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, so here it means the.

In this sentence:

• Die brilvoorskrif = the glasses prescription / the eyeglass prescription
• die lenssterkte = the lens strength / the lens power

A useful point for English speakers: Afrikaans uses die for all definite nouns:

• singular and plural
• common and neuter nouns
• no gender changes like de, het, der, etc.

So die is much simpler than articles in many other languages.

Why is brilvoorskrif written as one word?

Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, very often forms compound nouns as one word.

So:

• bril = glasses
• voorskrif = prescription
• brilvoorskrif = glasses prescription / eyeglass prescription

English often writes similar ideas as two words, but Afrikaans usually joins them into one compound noun.

This is very normal in Afrikaans:

• huisdeur = house door / front door
• motorkar = motor car
• sonbril = sunglasses

So brilvoorskrif may look long, but it is built in a very regular way.