Die soom is te lank.

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

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

A useful thing to remember: Afrikaans die is used for both singular and plural nouns, so it can mean the whether you are talking about one thing or several things. In this sentence, soom is singular, so die soom means the hem.

That is just a nice coincidence between the two languages. In Afrikaans, is is the present-tense form of the verb wees (to be), and it is used with all persons:

• ek is = I am
• jy is = you are
• hy/sy is = he/she is
• ons is = we are
• hulle is = they are

So in Die soom is te lank, is simply means is.

Here, te means too in the sense of excessively.

So:

• lank = long
• te lank = too long

That makes Die soom is te lank mean The hem is too long.

Be careful: Afrikaans also has another te used with infinitives, as in om te lees = to read. In your sentence, though, te is not the infinitive marker; it means too.

Yes. This sentence has a very English-like order:

• Die soom = the hem
• is = is
• te lank = too long

So the structure is:

subject + is + too + adjective

That is why it feels quite straightforward for an English speaker.

After a linking verb like is, Afrikaans normally uses the basic form of the adjective. That is what you see here:

• Die soom is lank = The hem is long
• Die soom is te lank = The hem is too long

If the adjective comes directly before a noun, the form may be different. With lank, you usually get:

• 'n lang soom = a long hem

So:

• after is: lank
• before the noun: lang

That difference is normal in Afrikaans.

A rough English-friendly guide:

• soom: something like soam with a long o sound
• lank: roughly lahnk

A few helpful notes:

• oo in Afrikaans is not like the oo in English food.
• a in lank is closer to ah than the English a in cat.
• The nk at the end of lank is fully pronounced.

If you want a very rough full-sentence pronunciation, you could think of it as:

dee soam is tuh lahnk

That is only approximate, but it helps get you close.

Yes. Die soom is lank means The hem is long.

Adding te changes the meaning:

• Die soom is lank = The hem is long
• Die soom is te lank = The hem is too long

So te adds the idea that the length is a problem or more than desired.

You know it from the noun form itself and from the meaning.

In Afrikaans, die does not tell you whether the noun is singular or plural, because die is used for both. So you look at the noun:

• soom = hem, singular
• some = hems, plural

So:

• Die soom is te lank = The hem is too long
• Die some is te lank = The hems are too long

Even in the plural, Afrikaans still uses is much less than English? No—in this case you would normally say Die some is te lank because is stays the same across persons and numbers in the present tense.

Yes, it is completely natural, especially in contexts like sewing, clothing alterations, or talking about a skirt, dress, pair of trousers, or a curtain.

It sounds like a normal, practical statement: The hem is too long.

Afrikaans often expresses this kind of idea very directly, so this sentence is simple and idiomatic.