Die refrein is kort.

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

A useful point for English speakers: Afrikaans uses die for all nouns, regardless of gender or number.

• die refrein = the chorus/refrain
• die lied = the song
• die kinders = the children

So unlike languages such as German or French, you do not have to learn different forms like masculine, feminine, or neuter articles.

Is is the Afrikaans form of the verb to be in the present tense.

In Afrikaans, this verb does not change according to the subject the way it does in English:

• Ek is = I am
• Jy is = you are
• Hy is = he is
• Ons is = we are
• Hulle is = they are

So Die refrein is kort literally has the same structure as English:

• subject: Die refrein
• verb: is
• adjective/complement: kort

Kort is an adjective, meaning short.

In this sentence it comes after the verb is, so it works like a predicate adjective:

• Die refrein is kort = The chorus is short

Compare that with using an adjective before a noun:

• ’n kort refrein = a short chorus

This leads to an important Afrikaans pattern: adjectives often look different depending on position.

Because after is, Afrikaans normally uses the basic adjective form.

So you say:

• Die refrein is kort
• Die lied is lank
• Die musiek is mooi

But before a noun, many adjectives take -e:

• ’n korte refrein is generally not the normal modern choice here
• ’n kort refrein is the usual form

This is where Afrikaans can be a bit tricky: some adjectives add -e before nouns, but many short/common adjectives do not, or only do so in certain formal or older patterns. The safest thing for a learner is to memorize common combinations.

What matters most here is: after is, kort stays kort.

Refrein means refrain or chorus, especially in a song or poem.

Depending on context, English might translate it as:

• refrain
• chorus

So if the meaning shown to you was The chorus is short, that is perfectly natural.

Yes, in this simple main clause the word order is very similar to English:

• Die refrein = subject
• is = verb
• kort = complement/adjective

So:

• Die refrein is kort
• The chorus is short

This makes basic Afrikaans statements fairly easy for English speakers.

A rough English-friendly guide:

• Die ≈ dee
• refrein ≈ ruh-FRAYN
• is ≈ iss
• kort ≈ kort with a clear r and a short o

A rough full pronunciation: dee ruh-FRAYN iss kort

A few notes:

• ei in refrein sounds like the vowel in day or say, though Afrikaans pronunciation can vary by accent.
• r is usually pronounced more clearly than in many varieties of English.

Because the sentence uses the chorus, not a chorus.

Here the noun is definite, so Afrikaans uses die:

• die refrein = the chorus

If you wanted a chorus, Afrikaans would use ’n:

• ’n refrein = a chorus

So compare:

• Die refrein is kort = The chorus is short
• ’n Refrein is kort = A chorus is short

Not in standard Afrikaans grammar. In this sentence, die simply means the.

For this/these and that/those, Afrikaans normally uses other words, such as:

• hierdie = this, these
• daardie = that, those

Examples:

• hierdie refrein = this chorus
• daardie refrein = that chorus

So in Die refrein is kort, you should read die as the.

Usually no, not if you mean the repeated part of a song.

Refrein is the normal word for refrain/chorus in music or poetry.
Koor usually means choir, not the chorus section of a song.

So:

• Die refrein is kort = The chorus/refrain is short
• Die koor is kort would more likely mean The choir is short, which is a different idea

Afrikaans normally uses double negation.

So:

• Die refrein is kort = The chorus is short
• Die refrein is nie kort nie = The chorus is not short

Pattern:

• subject + verb + nie
  • adjective + nie

This double nie ... nie structure is one of the most important features of Afrikaans.

In a simple yes/no question, Afrikaans usually puts the verb first:

• Is die refrein kort? = Is the chorus short?

So the statement:

• Die refrein is kort.

becomes:

• Is die refrein kort?

That verb-first pattern is very common in Afrikaans questions.

Afrikaans nouns do not have grammatical gender in the way many European languages do.

So you do not need to learn refrein as masculine, feminine, or neuter. You just learn the noun itself:

• refrein

And with the definite article, it is simply:

• die refrein

This is one reason Afrikaans grammar is often simpler for English speakers than Dutch or German.