Ons herlaai die lugtyd voordat dit opraak.

In this sentence, ons means we because it is the subject:

• Ons herlaai ... = We reload/top up ...

But ons can also mean us in other contexts:

• Hy sien ons. = He sees us.

So ons can mean either we or us, depending on its role in the sentence.

Herlaai literally means reload or recharge. In this sentence, it is being used in the sense of top up or add more credit/airtime.

It is made up of:

• her- = re- / again
• laai = load

So herlaai is very close to the English idea of reload.

With lugtyd, it usually means topping up prepaid phone credit.

Lugtyd literally means airtime. In everyday Afrikaans, it usually refers to prepaid mobile phone calling credit.

It is a compound noun:

• lug = air
• tyd = time

Even though the literal parts are air + time, you should understand lugtyd as the normal word for phone airtime / prepaid credit.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

So:

• die lugtyd = the airtime

Afrikaans uses die for all nouns in the singular and plural. Unlike languages such as German or Dutch, Afrikaans does not change the article for gender.

So you do not have to learn different forms like de/het or der/die/das. It is simply die.

Both can be possible in different contexts, but die lugtyd sounds like a specific amount or the airtime being discussed.

Compare:

• Ons herlaai lugtyd. = We top up airtime.
  
  • more general
• Ons herlaai die lugtyd. = We top up the airtime.
  
  • refers to the airtime in question

In real usage, Afrikaans often uses the definite article in places where English might sound more natural without it, depending on context.

Voordat means before when it introduces a whole clause.

In your sentence:

• voordat dit opraak = before it runs out

Use voordat when what follows has its own subject and verb.

Compare:

• voor die klas = before the class
  
  • voor
    • noun phrase
• voordat die klas begin = before the class starts
  
  • voordat
    • clause

So here voordat is correct because dit opraak is a clause.

Yes, dit means it here.

It refers back to die lugtyd:

• Ons herlaai die lugtyd voordat dit opraak.
• We top up the airtime before it runs out.

Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender in the same way Dutch or German do, so you do not need different pronouns based on noun gender. For non-human things, dit is very common.

Opraak means to run out, to be used up, or to get finished.

It is a separable verb:

• base idea: raak op = run out / become used up

Examples:

• Die melk raak op. = The milk runs out.
• My geld het opgeraak. = My money ran out.

In your sentence, opraak refers to the airtime being used up.

This is because opraak is a separable verb.

In a main clause, the parts often split:

• Die lugtyd raak op. = The airtime runs out.

But in certain structures, including after conjunctions like voordat, the verb stays together at the end:

• ... voordat dit opraak. = ... before it runs out.

So both forms belong to the same verb:

• raak op in a main clause
• opraak when the verb is kept together

This is a very common pattern in Afrikaans.

After a conjunction like voordat, Afrikaans usually sends the verb to the end of the clause.

So the normal order is:

• voordat
  • subject + rest + verb

That gives:

• voordat dit opraak

Compare with a main clause:

• Dit raak op.

So:

• Main clause: Dit raak op.
• Subordinate clause: voordat dit opraak

This verb-final pattern is an important feature of Afrikaans subordinate clauses.

Yes, sometimes, but top up is often the most natural translation in this context.

Possible translations:

• reload the airtime
• recharge the airtime
• top up the airtime
• add more airtime

If you are talking about prepaid phone credit, top up is usually the most idiomatic English choice.

Yes. The sentence is in the present tense:

• Ons herlaai ... = We top up / We are topping up ...
• dit opraak = it runs out

As in English, the exact time sense can depend on context. It could mean:

• a habitual action: We top up the airtime before it runs out
• a current action: We’re topping up the airtime before it runs out

Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English might use either the simple present or the present continuous.

Yes, depending on what you want to say.

For prepaid phone credit, lugtyd is the normal word. But you might also see other related words in telecom contexts, such as:

• data = data
• krediet = credit

For example:

• Ons herlaai die data voordat dit opraak. = We top up the data before it runs out.

But for ordinary calling airtime, lugtyd is the best match.