Die PIN-kode is geheim.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

A useful thing for English speakers to know is that Afrikaans does not have different forms of the for grammatical gender. You just use die for definite nouns.

Examples:

• die kode = the code
• die PIN-kode = the PIN code
• die kodes = the codes

So in this sentence, die PIN-kode simply means the PIN code.

Afrikaans often uses hyphens in compounds when the first part is an abbreviation or set of capital letters.

So:

• PIN-kode
• TV-program
• SMS-boodskap

The hyphen makes the compound easier to read. This is very normal spelling in Afrikaans.

Yes, it has the same basic job here: it links the subject to a description.

In Die PIN-kode is geheim:

• Die PIN-kode = the subject
• is = the linking verb
• geheim = the description

One important difference from English: Afrikaans uses is with all persons in the present tense.

For example:

• Ek is
• Jy is
• Hy is
• Ons is
• Hulle is

So Afrikaans does not have am / is / are as separate present-tense forms.

Because this is a very simple main clause with a linking verb.

The structure is:

subject + verb + description

So:

• Die PIN-kode = subject
• is = verb
• geheim = predicate adjective

In a basic statement like this, Afrikaans often looks very familiar to an English speaker.

Because geheim is being used after the verb is.

In Afrikaans, adjectives used after a linking verb usually stay in their basic form:

• Die kode is geheim.
• Die deur is oop.
• Die water is koud.

But when an adjective comes before a noun, it often takes -e:

• die geheime kode
• die oop deur
• die koue water

So:

• Die PIN-kode is geheim = adjective after the verb, so geheim
• die geheime PIN-kode = adjective before the noun, so geheime

Not in this sentence.

Here, geheim is an adjective meaning secret or confidential.

If you want the noun a secret, Afrikaans uses 'n geheim:

• Dit is 'n geheim. = It is a secret.

So compare:

• Die PIN-kode is geheim. = The PIN code is secret.
• Dit is 'n geheim. = It is a secret.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

dee pin-koh-duh iss khuh-HAYM

A few notes:

• die sounds like dee
• PIN is much like English pin
• kode is roughly KOH-duh
• is sounds like iss
• geheim has a guttural g sound that English does not really have; a rough approximation is khuh-HAYM

The hardest part for most English speakers is the g in geheim.

Afrikaans normally uses double negation.

So the negative is:

Die PIN-kode is nie geheim nie.

Structure:

• nie after the verb phrase
• another nie at the end of the clause

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

In normal full sentences, you would usually keep die.

So the standard form is:

• Die PIN-kode is geheim.

Leaving out the article can sound incomplete, telegraphic, or like a heading/note rather than an ordinary sentence.

English sometimes drops articles more easily in labels or instructions, but Afrikaans usually keeps die in a normal statement like this.

PIN is capitalized because it is an abbreviation.

But Afrikaans does not capitalize ordinary nouns the way German does. So:

• PIN = capitals because it is an acronym
• kode = lowercase
• geheim = lowercase

Only the first word of the sentence is capitalized because it starts the sentence:

• Die PIN-kode is geheim.