Die asemhalingsoefening is belangrik.

Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, very often makes compound nouns by joining words together.

So:

• asemhaling = breathing
• oefening = exercise

Together they become:

• asemhalingsoefening = breathing exercise

This is completely normal in Afrikaans. English often writes similar ideas as separate words, but Afrikaans usually joins them into one noun.

You may also notice the -s- in the middle: asemhaling-s-oefening. This is a common linking s in Afrikaans compounds.

Die is the definite article in Afrikaans. It usually means the.

So:

• die asemhalingsoefening = the breathing exercise

A useful thing for English speakers: Afrikaans does not change the article for gender.

So unlike languages such as German or French, you do not need different words for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns here. Die is used very widely.

In Afrikaans, die can be used for both singular and plural definite nouns.

So:

• die asemhalingsoefening = the breathing exercise
• die asemhalingsoefeninge = the breathing exercises

You tell singular vs. plural mainly from the noun form, not from die itself.

Because is in Afrikaans is also the present-tense form of to be for this kind of sentence.

So:

• Die asemhalingsoefening is belangrik.
• The breathing exercise is important.

This is one of the nice things about Afrikaans: many verb forms are simpler than in English. You do not usually have lots of different present-tense endings.

In this sentence, belangrik is a predicate adjective: it comes after is and describes the subject.

So in:

• Die asemhalingsoefening is belangrik.

belangrik means important and stays in its basic form.

That is normal in Afrikaans. After is, adjectives usually do not take extra endings.

Compare:

• Die oefening is belangrik. = The exercise is important.
• ’n belangrike oefening = an important exercise

Notice the difference:

• after the noun-linking verb: belangrik
• before a noun: often belangrike

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• die asemhalingsoefening = the breathing exercise
  specific, known, or already mentioned
• ’n asemhalingsoefening = a breathing exercise
  one breathing exercise, not specifically identified

So the sentence would become:

• ’n Asemhalingsoefening is belangrik. = A breathing exercise is important.

That is grammatically fine, but it is less specific.

The word order is the standard Afrikaans pattern for a simple statement:

• Subject + verb + complement

Here that is:

• Die asemhalingsoefening = subject
• is = verb
• belangrik = complement/adjective

So:

• Die asemhalingsoefening is belangrik.

This is very similar to normal English word order.

Yes, The breathing exercise is important is the most direct translation.

Depending on context, it could also mean something like:

• The breathing exercise matters
• The breathing exercise is an important one

But the basic meaning is simply that the breathing exercise is important.

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

• AH-sum-haa-ling-s-oo-fuh-ning

Broken into parts:

• asemhaling → AH-sum-haa-ling
• oefening → roughly oo-fuh-ning

A few notes:

• oe in Afrikaans is often pronounced somewhat like the vowel in book or put, though exact pronunciation varies by accent.
• The g in belangrik and in many Afrikaans words is not usually an English g sound. It is often a throaty sound, harder for English speakers.

A rough guide for the whole sentence:

• duh AH-sum-haa-ling-s-oo-fuh-ning is buh-LUNG-rikh

That is only approximate, but it helps with a first attempt.

Because it comes after the verb is as the description of the subject.

In a simple statement like this, Afrikaans usually follows:

• subject + is + adjective

So:

• Die asemhalingsoefening is belangrik.

That is completely normal and parallels English closely.

You would make asemhalingsoefening plural:

• asemhalingsoefeninge = breathing exercises

Then the sentence becomes:

• Die asemhalingsoefeninge is belangrik.
• The breathing exercises are important.

Notice something important: Afrikaans still uses is here much of the time in simple present statements like this, where English would use are. The article die also stays the same.

Yes — several things:

1. The structure is very close to English

   • Die asemhalingsoefening is belangrik.
   • The breathing exercise is important.

2. Afrikaans likes compounds
   What English writes as breathing exercise, Afrikaans often writes as one word: asemhalingsoefening.

3. Articles are simpler than in many European languages
   You do not need to worry about grammatical gender here.

4. Predicate adjectives stay simple
   After is, you get belangrik, not an altered form.

So this sentence is actually a very good example of how Afrikaans can feel familiar to English speakers while still having its own spelling and word-building patterns.