Die reël is duidelik.

to be

Breakdown of Die reël is duidelik.

• duidelik: clear
• die reël: the rule

Questions & Answers about Die reël is duidelik.

What does die mean here, and is it always the?

Yes. In this sentence, die means the.

A useful thing for English speakers to know is that Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for all nouns, regardless of gender or number in many everyday cases:

• die reël = the rule
• die man = the man
• die vrou = the woman
• die kinders = the children

So unlike languages such as German or Dutch, you do not have to learn different forms of the for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns.

Why is reël written with two dots over the e?

The two dots are called a diaeresis. In reël, they show that the vowels are pronounced separately rather than blended into one sound.

So reël is pronounced roughly like REE-ul or REE-əl, not like a single smooth vowel sound.

This marking helps you see that the word has two syllables:

• re-ël

Without the dots, a learner might try to read it as one syllable.

How do I pronounce Die reël is duidelik?