Die ontwikkeling is belangrik.

to be

Breakdown of Die ontwikkeling is belangrik.

• belangrik: important
• die ontwikkeling: the development

Questions & Answers about Die ontwikkeling is belangrik.

What does die mean here?

Here die is the definite article, so it means the.

Afrikaans uses die for the with all nouns:

• no masculine/feminine/neuter forms
• no different form for singular vs. plural in the article

So:

• die ontwikkeling = the development
• die boek = the book
• die kinders = the children

This is simpler than languages like German or Dutch because Afrikaans does not change the article for gender.

Is die ever pronounced like the English word die?

No. In Afrikaans, die is usually pronounced roughly like dee.

So:

• die ≈ dee
• not like English die /daɪ/

That is one of the first pronunciation points English speakers need to learn.

Why is it ontwikkeling and not a word like ontwikkel?