Die maatwisseling begin nou.

Here, die means the.

So Die maatwisseling begin nou starts with the meter change / the change in meter.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for all nouns. Unlike languages such as German or Dutch, Afrikaans does not have different forms for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns.

Examples:

• die man = the man
• die vrou = the woman
• die kind = the child

Afrikaans very often writes compound nouns as a single word, just like German and often more consistently than English.

So maatwisseling is a compound:

• maat = measure / meter
• wisseling = change / switching / alternation

Together, maatwisseling means something like meter change or change of measure.

English often separates these ideas into two words, but Afrikaans usually joins them into one compound noun.

Yes. Begin is the verb to begin.

In this sentence:

• Die maatwisseling = the subject
• begin = begins
• nou = now

So the structure is: The meter change begins now.

Also, begin is both the dictionary form and the present-tense form here.

Because Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form according to the subject in the present tense.

In English, you say:

• I begin
• you begin
• he begins

In Afrikaans, the verb usually stays the same:

• ek begin = I begin
• jy begin = you begin
• hy begin = he begins

So Die maatwisseling begin nou is completely normal. Afrikaans does not add an -s like English does.

Because this is a normal Afrikaans main-clause word order: subject + verb + other information.

So:

• Die maatwisseling = subject
• begin = verb
• nou = time word, now

That gives: Die maatwisseling begin nou.

This is very natural. You can also move nou for emphasis in some contexts, for example:

• Nou begin die maatwisseling. = Now the meter change begins.

But the original version is the most straightforward neutral word order.

Here, nou simply means now.

It tells you when the action starts:

• begin nou = begins now

Afrikaans nou is very close to English now in meaning and use in a sentence like this.

Wisseling is a noun related to the idea of change, alternation, or switching.

It comes from the verb wissel, which can mean to change, to swap, or to alternate, depending on context.

So:

• wissel = to change / switch
• wisseling = change / switching / alternation

That is why maatwisseling literally has the idea of meter-change built into it.

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

maatwisseling ≈ maht-VEH-suh-ling
nou ≈ now

A few pronunciation notes:

• maat has a long aa sound, roughly like a in father
• w in Afrikaans is usually pronounced more like English v
• g in begin is not like the English g in go; in Afrikaans it is usually a harsher sound, though many learners first approximate it with a normal g
• ou in nou sounds much like English ow in now

More or less, yes, but the most natural English translation may not be completely word-for-word.

Word-for-word:

• Die = the
• maatwisseling = meter change / measure change
• begin = begins
• nou = now

So a close translation is: The meter change begins now.

Depending on context, English might prefer slightly different wording, but grammatically the Afrikaans sentence is very direct and transparent.