Die skedule is hier.

No. In Afrikaans, die here is the definite article, so it means the.

It is not related to the English verb die.
It is pronounced roughly like dee, not like English die.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns: die boek = the book
• plural nouns: die boeke = the books

So die skedule simply means the schedule.

Afrikaans is simpler than many European languages in this respect. It does not change the definite article for gender or case the way German does, for example.

So you use die with basically all definite nouns:

• die man = the man
• die vrou = the woman
• die kind = the child
• die huise = the houses

That makes die a very useful word to learn early.

Yes, very much so. Is is the present-tense form of to be in Afrikaans, and it looks exactly like English is.

In this sentence:

• Die skedule = the subject
• is = the verb
• hier = here

So the structure is very close to English: The schedule is here.

Afrikaans verbs are also much simpler than English verbs because they usually do not change depending on the subject:

• Ek is hier = I am here
• Jy is hier = You are here
• Hy is hier = He is here
• Ons is hier = We are here

Hier means here.

It is pronounced roughly like heer in English, not like higher.

That pronunciation often surprises English speakers, because the spelling looks like it might rhyme with fire or tier, but it does not. Think of a long ee sound.

So the whole sentence sounds roughly like:

dee skeh-duh-luh is heer

The exact pronunciation may vary a little by speaker and accent, but hier is definitely closer to heer than to English here.

Because this is the normal word order for a simple statement in Afrikaans:

subject + verb + place/location

So:

• Die skedule = subject
• is = verb
• hier = location

This is actually very similar to English:

• The schedule is here

Afrikaans often follows a very straightforward pattern in basic main clauses, so this sentence is a good example of standard word order.

Yes. Hier is die skedule is also natural Afrikaans, but the emphasis is a little different.

• Die skedule is hier = The schedule is here.
  This emphasizes the schedule and says where it is.

• Hier is die skedule = Here is the schedule. / Here’s the schedule.
  This sounds more like you are presenting or pointing it out.

So both are correct, but they are used in slightly different situations.

Yes, skedule is a normal Afrikaans word and is clearly related to English schedule.

As with many Afrikaans words borrowed or adapted from English, the spelling has been made more phonetic:

• English: schedule
• Afrikaans: skedule

That said, depending on context, Afrikaans speakers may also use other words such as rooster or program in some situations:

• rooster can mean a timetable or schedule
• program can mean a program or schedule of events

But skedule is perfectly understandable and natural.

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

SKEH-duh-luh

The important things to notice are:

• it begins with sk-, as written
• it is not pronounced like the English British shed-yool
• it is not pronounced exactly like American English sked-jool either
• Afrikaans tends to pronounce words more closely to their spelling

So learners should aim for something like skeh-du-luh.

Yes. Die skedule is singular, so it refers to one schedule.

If you wanted to talk about more than one, you would use the plural noun:

• Die skedules is hier = The schedules are here

A small detail that may surprise English speakers: Afrikaans often keeps is even where English would use are. So:

• English: The schedules are here
• Afrikaans: Die skedules is hier

That is normal Afrikaans grammar.

You would usually use 'n for a/an:

'n skedule is hier.

A few useful points:

• 'n is the indefinite article
• it is written with a lowercase n
• the apostrophe comes before the n
• in pronunciation, 'n is usually very weak, like a schwa sound

So:

• Die skedule is hier = The schedule is here
• 'n skedule is hier = A schedule is here

Only the usual sentence rule: Die is capitalized because it is the first word of the sentence.

In the middle of a sentence, it would normally be lowercase:

• Ek dink die skedule is hier. = I think the schedule is here.

So die is not a noun that is always capitalized; it is just capitalized here because it begins the sentence.