Die vals bodem is in die skatkis.

to be

Breakdown of Die vals bodem is in die skatkis.

• in: in
• die skatkis: treasure chest
• die vals bodem: false bottom

Questions & Answers about Die vals bodem is in die skatkis.

What does die mean, and why is it used twice?

Die means the.

It appears twice because the sentence has two definite noun phrases:

• die vals bodem = the false bottom
• die skatkis = the treasure chest

Afrikaans uses die for the without changing it for masculine, feminine, or plural in the way some other languages do.

Is die pronounced like the English word die?

No. In Afrikaans, die is pronounced roughly like dee.

So Die vals bodem... starts with a dee sound, not the English die sound.

What does vals mean in this sentence?

Vals means false, fake, or deceptive.

In vals bodem, it means a false bottom: a hidden extra bottom inside something, often used to conceal objects.

So this is not false in the sense of untrue. It is false in the sense of not the real visible bottom.

What does bodem mean on its own?