Learn Hardcore Afrikaans: Die voet is koud.

Die is the definite article in Afrikaans, equivalent to the in English. It marks the noun that follows as specific or known to both speaker and listener.

Does Afrikaans have grammatical gender? Why is die used here for voet?

Afrikaans does not distinguish grammatical gender for nouns. There is only one definite article, die, for all singular and plural nouns. You always use die regardless of whether the noun would be masculine, feminine, or neuter in other languages.

Why doesn’t the adjective koud end in -e, like in koue?

In Afrikaans, adjectives in predicative position (after a form of is) remain in their base form and do not take an -e ending. Here, koud follows the verb is, so it stays koud rather than becoming koude.

How would I say “the cold foot” as an attributive phrase?

When an adjective directly precedes and describes a definite noun, it usually takes an -e ending. To say the cold foot, you’d combine them as: • die (definite article)
• koue (attributive adjective with -e)
• voet (noun)
Result: die koue voet

How do you pronounce voet and koud?

• voet is pronounced /fuːt/, with oe like the oo in English “food.”
• koud is pronounced /kɑut/, with ou like the ou in “out.”

How do you form the plural of voet?

Most Afrikaans nouns form the plural with -e. You simply add -e to voet: • voet → voete (“feet”)

Why is the word order subject – verb – adjective in this sentence?

Afrikaans follows a basic S-V-C (subject–verb–complement) order, similar to English S-V-O: • Subject: Die voet
• Verb: is
• Complement (predicative adjective): koud

Can is be contracted in casual speech?

Yes. In informal, spoken Afrikaans you often hear the contraction ’s attached to the noun or pronoun: • Die voet’s koud.
However, this is typically avoided in formal writing.