Ons toets die spoelsiklus en sentrifugesiklus; die wasdrom draai.

Yes. Ons means we.

So Ons toets ... = We test ...

A useful thing to remember is that ons can also mean us in other contexts, but here it is clearly the subject, so it means we.

In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change form according to the subject the way they do in English.

So you get:

• Ek toets = I test
• Jy toets = you test
• Ons toets = we test
• Hulle toets = they test

That is much simpler than English. In this sentence, toets stays toets even though the subject is ons.

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

In this sentence:

• die spoelsiklus = the rinse cycle
• die wasdrom = the washing drum

A very important point: Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all grammatical genders

So unlike languages such as German or Dutch, Afrikaans does not have different forms of the for masculine, feminine, neuter, or plural.

Because one die can cover both nouns when they are joined by en (and).

So:

• die spoelsiklus en sentrifugesiklus

means:

• the rinse cycle and spin cycle

This works much like English: the rinse cycle and spin cycle. You could repeat the article, but you do not need to.

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

So:

• spoel
  • siklus → spoelsiklus
• sentrifuge
  • siklus → sentrifugesiklus
• was
  • drom → wasdrom

This is very normal in Afrikaans and is something English speakers need to get used to. English often separates such expressions, but Afrikaans commonly joins them.

Literally, it is:

• spoel = rinse / rinse out
• siklus = cycle

So spoelsiklus is the rinse cycle.

This is a good example of how Afrikaans builds technical or household vocabulary by combining familiar words into compounds.

It means spin cycle or centrifuge cycle.

It is built from:

• sentrifuge = centrifuge / spin
• siklus = cycle

Yes, it is a normal kind of formation in Afrikaans, especially in technical or appliance-related language. Even if a learner has never seen the word before, it is often possible to guess the meaning from the parts.

Literally, wasdrom means wash drum:

• was = wash / washing
• drom = drum

In context, it refers to the drum of a washing machine.

So die wasdrom draai means the washing drum is turning/spinning.

Here draai means turn, spin, or rotate, depending on the context.

Because the sentence is about a washing machine, the most natural English idea is:

• the drum is spinning or
• the drum is turning

So draai is a flexible verb. Its exact English translation depends on what is physically happening.

Because this is a normal main clause in Afrikaans, and the usual word order is:

• subject + verb

So:

• die wasdrom = the washing drum
• draai = turns / spins

Therefore:

• die wasdrom draai

Afrikaans does sometimes use different word order, especially after certain conjunctions or when another element is placed first, but here the clause is straightforward and follows normal main-clause order.

The semicolon links two closely related independent clauses:

• Ons toets die spoelsiklus en sentrifugesiklus
• die wasdrom draai

It shows that the two ideas are connected, but each part could stand as its own sentence.

So it works much like in English. You could also write them as two separate sentences, but the semicolon makes the relationship between the actions feel closer.

Yes. It is in the present tense.

• Ons toets ... = We test / We are testing ...
• die wasdrom draai = the drum turns / is turning / spins / is spinning

Afrikaans simple present can often correspond to either the English simple present or the English present continuous, depending on context.

A few helpful pronunciation notes:

• ons: roughly like ons in English wants, but shorter and cleaner
• toets: the oe sounds like the vowel in boot
• spoel: again, oe is like boot
• siklus: roughly SEE-klus
• wasdrom: was is close to English vuss or vus, depending on accent; drom has a rolled or tapped r in careful speech
• draai: the aa is a long a, and ai gives a sound somewhat like the y in English my, though not exactly the same in every accent

Pronunciation varies somewhat by region and speaker, but those approximations are a useful starting point.