Die refrein is kort.

The refrain is short.

Breakdown of Die refrein is kort.

• wees: to be
• kort: short
• die refrein: refrain in a song

Questions & Answers about Die refrein is kort.

What does die mean here?

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.

Why is it is and not something else?

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

What kind of word is kort?