Die ortodonsie is duur.

Orthodontics is expensive.

Breakdown of Die ortodonsie is duur.

• wees: to be
• duur: expensive
• die ortodonsie: orthodontics

Questions & Answers about Die ortodonsie is duur.

Why is die used here?

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, the equivalent of the.

A useful thing to remember is that Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all genders

So unlike English, there is no separate the form to learn for different kinds of nouns.

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Is die pronounced like the English word die?

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

So:

• die = dee
• not like English die

This is a very common beginner trap.

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Why is ortodonsie spelled differently from English orthodontics?

Afrikaans often adapts international words to a more phonetic spelling.

Here are some typical changes you can see:

• English th often becomes t
• English c can become s
• endings are often simplified to fit Afrikaans spelling patterns

So orthodontics becomes ortodonsie. It is still clearly related to the English word, just written in a more Afrikaans way.

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