Die newekarakter is belangrik.

The supporting character is important.

Breakdown of Die newekarakter is belangrik.

• wees: to be
• belangrik: important
• die newekarakter: supporting character

Questions & Answers about Die newekarakter is belangrik.

What does die mean here?

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

Unlike English, Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns: die newekarakter = the supporting character
• plural nouns: die karakters = the characters

So die does not change for gender or number.

Why is newekarakter written as one word?

Afrikaans often forms compound nouns by writing them as a single word.

So:

• newe = secondary / side / supporting
• karakter = character

Together, newekarakter means supporting character or secondary character.

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

What part of speech is newekarakter?

Newekarakter is a noun. It is the subject of the sentence.

In Die newekarakter is belangrik, the structure is:

• Die newekarakter = the subject
• is = the verb
• belangrik = an adjective describing the subject

So the sentence follows a very familiar pattern: The supporting character is important.

Why is is used here? Is it the same as English is?