Die kaart wys die pad aan.

Word by word:

• Die = the
• kaart = map
• wys ... aan = indicates / points out / shows
• die = the
• pad = road / path / way

A key thing is that wys ... aan belongs together as the verb. It is not just wys by itself here.

Because the verb here is the separable verb aanwys.

In many Afrikaans main clauses, a separable verb splits into:

• the main verb part in second position: wys
• the prefix/particle at the end: aan

So:

• aanwys → wys ... aan

That is why you get:

• Die kaart wys die pad aan.

This is very similar to separable verbs in Dutch and German.

Aanwys is a verb meaning to point out, to indicate, or to show in the sense of directing someone to something.

So Die kaart wys die pad aan means the map is indicating the route/way.

It is different from just physically showing something with your hand. It is more about indicating or pointing out.

Because each noun needs its own definite article.

• die kaart = the map
• die pad = the road / the way

Afrikaans does not use different words like English the for singular and plural, and it also does not change for grammatical gender. Die is the normal definite article in all of these cases.

It matches English the, but it is much simpler than Dutch or German articles.

In Afrikaans:

• die is the definite article for basically all nouns
• there is no grammatical gender system like German
• you do not have to memorize different definite articles for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns

So die kaart and die pad both use die.

Afrikaans verbs do not change much for different subjects in the present tense.

So you get:

• Ek wys
• Jy wys
• Hy wys
• Die kaart wys

Unlike English, where we say I show but it shows, Afrikaans usually keeps the same verb form.

That makes Die kaart wys completely normal.

Sometimes you may hear wys used without aan, but in this sentence aan is important because it gives the sense of indicating / pointing out the way.

Compare the ideas:

• wys = show
• aanwys = indicate / point out / designate

So in this sentence, wys ... aan is the more natural structure if the meaning is that the map indicates the route.

It can depend on context.

Pad can mean:

• road
• path
• way
• sometimes even route

In this sentence, if the meaning shown to the learner is something like The map shows the way, then pad is being used in that broader sense of way/route/path, not necessarily a paved road.

No. Kaart can mean different things depending on context, such as:

• map
• card
• ticket in some situations

But here, because of the sentence about indicating the way, kaart clearly means map.

The sentence follows the common Afrikaans main-clause pattern:

• Subject: Die kaart
• Finite verb: wys
• Object: die pad
• Separable particle: aan

So the structure is:

• Die kaart | wys | die pad | aan

This is very typical for separable verbs in main clauses.

Afrikaans still keeps the finite verb in second position.

For example:

• Vandag wys die kaart die pad aan.

Here:

• Vandag is first
• wys is still second
• aan still stays at the end

So the separable particle does not move next to the verb in an ordinary main clause.

With a separable verb like aanwys, the perfect tense is formed with het plus the past participle aangewys.

So:

• Die kaart het die pad aangewys.

Notice that in the perfect tense, the verb is no longer split as wys ... aan. It becomes one participle: aangewys.

A rough guide:

• wys sounds somewhat like English vace or face with a v/w-like beginning, depending on accent, but not exactly. The y sound is not the same as English eye.
• aan sounds like a long ahn

Also:

• kaart has a long aa sound
• pad has a short a
• die is usually pronounced roughly like dee

Exact pronunciation varies a bit by speaker, but those approximations can help you get started.

It is a normal and natural kind of sentence, but English and Afrikaans do not match word for word.

Afrikaans uses wys ... aan to express the idea of a map indicating the route. So even if the English meaning shown is The map shows the way, the Afrikaans structure is built around aanwys.

That is why it is better to learn the whole pattern:

• iets wys iets aan = something indicates something