Is die afstand op hierdie roete kort?

Because this is a yes/no question in Afrikaans. In main-clause yes/no questions, the finite verb normally comes first.

• Statement: Die afstand op hierdie roete is kort.
  = The distance on this route is short.
• Question: Is die afstand op hierdie roete kort?
  = Is the distance on this route short?

Afrikaans does not use do/does the way English does. It simply moves the verb is to the front.

Die is the definite article in Afrikaans, meaning the.

A useful thing for English speakers: Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns: die roete = the route
• plural nouns: die roetes = the routes

So unlike some other languages, you do not have to learn different words for the based on gender or case.

• die = the
• hierdie = this

So:

• die afstand = the distance
• hierdie roete = this route

In the sentence, both appear together because they modify different nouns:

• die afstand = the distance
• op hierdie roete = on this route

Because Afrikaans nouns do not have grammatical gender the way many European languages do. You do not need to learn masculine, feminine, or neuter forms for articles and adjectives in the same way.

So roete is simply:

• die roete = the route
• hierdie roete = this route

No gender agreement is needed.

Op hierdie roete literally means on this route.

In English, we might also say:

• on this route
• along this route

Afrikaans commonly uses op in expressions like this when referring to something associated with a route, road, path, or journey.

So die afstand op hierdie roete means the distance on/along this route.

Because kort is being used predicatively, after the verb is.

In Afrikaans:

• After a linking verb like is, adjectives usually stay in their basic form:
  • Die afstand is kort.
• Before a noun, adjectives often take -e:
  • ’n kort afstand
  • sometimes die korte... is possible in limited/literary or fixed contexts, but for normal learners, think of the usual attributive pattern as often involving -e depending on the adjective and structure.

The key point here is simple:
in Is die afstand ... kort?, the adjective comes after is, so kort is correct.

Mostly, yes. Kort can describe something with little length, duration, or extent.

Examples:

• ’n kort roete = a short route
• ’n kort tyd = a short time
• Die vergadering was kort. = The meeting was short/brief.

In your sentence, kort refers to the distance being short.

Yes, but it means something slightly different in emphasis.

• Is die afstand op hierdie roete kort?
  Focuses specifically on the distance.
• Is hierdie roete kort?
  Means Is this route short? and sounds more direct and natural in many contexts.

Both are understandable, but the original sentence is more explicit because it mentions afstand.

A basic short answer would be:

• Ja. = Yes.
• Nee. = No.

You could also give a fuller answer:

• Ja, die afstand is kort.
• Nee, die afstand is nie kort nie.

Notice the negation pattern in Afrikaans: nie ... nie

• Die afstand is nie kort nie. = The distance is not short.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

Is die afstand op hierdie roete kort?
≈ iss dee AF-stant op HEER-dee ROO-tuh kort?

A few notes:

• die is usually pronounced roughly like dee
• hierdie sounds roughly like HEER-dee
• roete is roughly ROO-tuh
• afstand has stress on the first syllable: AF-stand

Pronunciation varies a bit by speaker and region, but this approximation is good enough for a learner.

The normal statement order is:

Die afstand op hierdie roete is kort.

So the pattern is:

• Statement: subject + verb + rest
• Yes/no question: verb + subject + rest

That is one of the most important basic sentence patterns in Afrikaans.