Die kontaklens lê op die kornea.

Yes. Die is the Afrikaans definite article and usually means the.

In this sentence, die kontaklens = the contact lens.

A useful point for English speakers: Afrikaans does not change the definite article for gender or number. So die can mean:

• the contact lens
• the contact lenses
• the man
• the woman

You always use die for the.

Afrikaans often forms compound nouns as a single word, more readily than English does.

So:

• kontak = contact
• lens = lens
• kontaklens = contact lens

This is very normal in Afrikaans. English often uses two words where Afrikaans prefers one compound word.

Lê means to lie or to be lying. In this sentence it describes position, not just existence.

So Die kontaklens lê op die kornea literally suggests:

• The contact lens lies on the cornea
• more naturally: The contact lens is resting on the cornea

Afrikaans often uses posture/location verbs where English might simply use is. Here lê is appropriate because the lens is in a lying/resting position on a surface.

These three verbs often describe how something is positioned:

• lê = lie, be lying, be lying flat
• sit = sit, be situated, be attached/positioned
• staan = stand, be standing upright

Afrikaans uses these more often than English does.

Examples:

• Die boek lê op die tafel. = The book is lying on the table.
• Die man sit op die stoel. = The man is sitting on the chair.
• Die bottel staan op die rak. = The bottle is standing on the shelf.

In your sentence, lê is used because the contact lens rests on the cornea.

Op means on.

So:

• op die kornea = on the cornea

It is a very common preposition in Afrikaans, just like on in English.

Yes, essentially. Kornea is the Afrikaans form of cornea.

Afrikaans spelling sometimes differs slightly from English, but many scientific or medical words look familiar to English speakers. Here the meaning is straightforward.

The word order is the normal Afrikaans main-clause order:

Subject + verb + rest

So:

• Die kontaklens = subject
• lê = verb
• op die kornea = prepositional phrase

This is very similar to English word order:

• The contact lens / lies / on the cornea

The ê shows a longer, marked vowel sound.

A rough guide:

• lê sounds somewhat like English lay, but not exactly the same.

The accent mark is important in writing because it helps distinguish the vowel quality and can distinguish words in some cases.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

KON-tak-lens

with the stress usually near the beginning, especially on KON.

The parts are pronounced fairly clearly:

• kon
• tak
• lens

Afrikaans pronunciation is often more phonetic than English spelling.

Yes. Die stays the same.

For example:

• Die kontaklense lê op die kornea. = The contact lenses lie on the cornea.

Notice that:

• singular: kontaklens
• plural: kontaklense

But die does not change.

Because in Afrikaans, ordinary nouns are not capitalized.

Unlike German, Afrikaans only capitalizes:

• the first word of a sentence
• proper names
• certain special cases such as titles

So kontaklens and kornea stay lowercase unless they begin the sentence.

Yes. That is a very literal translation.

However, in natural English, you would often say:

• The contact lens is on the cornea
• The contact lens rests on the cornea

So the Afrikaans verb lê may sound more physical or positional than the most natural English translation.