Die dobbelsteen bring geluk, maar die telling bly gelykop.

to stay

Breakdown of Die dobbelsteen bring geluk, maar die telling bly gelykop.

• maar: but
• bring: to bring
• die dobbelsteen: the die; gaming cube

Questions & Answers about Die dobbelsteen bring geluk, maar die telling bly gelykop.

Why does the sentence use die twice?

In Afrikaans, die is the definite article, meaning the.

It is used for:

• singular nouns: die dobbelsteen = the die
• plural nouns: die dobbelstene = the dice
• many other nouns regardless of grammatical gender, because Afrikaans does not have separate words like German der / die / das

So in this sentence:

• die dobbelsteen = the die
• die telling = the score

Afrikaans simply repeats die before each definite noun, just like English repeats the.

What exactly does dobbelsteen mean?

Dobbelsteen means die as in a single gaming cube used in games of chance.

A useful distinction is:

• dobbelsteen = one die
• dobbelstene = dice

English can be confusing here because many people say dice even for one object in casual speech. Afrikaans is clearer:

• singular: dobbelsteen
• plural: dobbelstene

So in your sentence, die dobbelsteen bring geluk refers to one die.

Why is it bring and not something like ?