Die verkoopdatum is vandag.

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

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans uses die much more simply than English speakers may expect:

• die = the
• it does not change for gender
• it is also used with plural nouns in many cases

So in Die verkoopdatum is vandag, die verkoopdatum means the sale date or the selling date, depending on context.

Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, very often forms compound nouns by writing them as a single word.

So:

• verkoop = sale / selling
• datum = date
• verkoopdatum = sale date

In English, we often write this kind of expression as two words, but in Afrikaans it is normal to combine them into one noun.

In verkoopdatum, verkoop is the first part of a compound noun. On its own, verkoop can relate to sale or selling.

For example:

• verkoop can be a verb idea: to sell
• in a compound like verkoopdatum, it helps describe what kind of datum it is

So verkoopdatum is literally something like sale-date.

Yes. In this sentence, is works just like English is.

• Die verkoopdatum = the sale date
• is = is
• vandag = today

So the structure is very straightforward: subject + is + time expression

Afrikaans often feels familiar in simple present-tense sentences like this.

Because that is a very normal word order in Afrikaans.

In a basic statement, Afrikaans often follows:

• subject
• verb
• time/place/other information

So:

• Die verkoopdatum = subject
• is = verb
• vandag = time expression

This is similar to English The sale date is today.

Yes, that is possible.

Both are grammatical, but the emphasis changes a little:

• Die verkoopdatum is vandag.
  This focuses on the sale date and then tells you when it is.

• Vandag is die verkoopdatum.
  This brings today to the front for emphasis, a bit like Today is the sale date.

When something comes first in Afrikaans, the verb still stays in the second position:

• Vandag
  • is
    • die verkoopdatum

Afrikaans is much simpler than many European languages in this respect.

There is no article system like:

• masculine the
• feminine the
• neuter the

Instead, Afrikaans generally uses:

• die for the
• 'n for a/an

So you do not need to learn different forms of the based on gender.

A simple English-friendly approximation would be:

ver-KOOP-dah-tum

A few tips:

• ver sounds a bit like fur or fair, depending on accent
• koop rhymes roughly with rope but with a purer vowel
• datum is not pronounced exactly like English day-tum; it is closer to dah-tum

The main stress is usually on koop.

A rough pronunciation is:

fun-DAKH or vun-DAKH

A few points:

• the v in Afrikaans is often pronounced close to an English f
• the second syllable is stressed: -dag
• the final g is the throaty Afrikaans sound, not a hard English g

If you cannot produce the throaty g yet, that is normal for beginners.

Yes, if you mean a sale date rather than the sale date.

Compare:

• Die verkoopdatum is vandag. = The sale date is today.
• 'n Verkoopdatum is vandag. = A sale date is today. or One sale date is today.

In most real situations, die sounds more natural if both speaker and listener already know which date is being discussed.

Yes. Datum is the normal word for date.

You may see it in many practical contexts:

• geboortedatum = date of birth
• sluitingsdatum = closing date
• vervaldatum = expiry date
• verkoopdatum = sale date

This makes datum a very useful word to recognize, especially because Afrikaans often builds longer words by compounding like this.