Die vinielplaat is tweedehands.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, so here it means the.

A very useful thing for English speakers is that Afrikaans does not have different definite articles for masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns. It normally just uses die for all of them.

It is also used for both singular and plural:

• die vinielplaat = the vinyl record
• die vinielplate = the vinyl records

Afrikaans very often writes compound nouns as a single word.

So:

• viniel = vinyl
• plaat = plate / disc / record

Together, vinielplaat means vinyl record.

This is very common in Afrikaans, and it is often more consistent than English, which may write similar combinations as one word, two words, or hyphenated.

Originally, yes, plaat can mean something like plate, sheet, or a flat object. But in everyday Afrikaans it can also refer to a record or disc, depending on context.

So in vinielplaat, it refers to the physical record disc, not a dinner plate.

Because this is a normal simple statement with the basic word order:

subject + verb + complement

So:

• Die vinielplaat = subject
• is = verb
• tweedehands = complement

This is very similar to English:

• The vinyl record is second-hand.

Yes. Is is the present-tense form of to be in Afrikaans, and it is used much more broadly than English is.

For example, Afrikaans does not change it the way English does:

• Ek is = I am
• Jy is = you are
• Hy is = he is
• Hulle is = they are

So even with a plural subject, Afrikaans still uses is.

Because it comes after the verb is. In Afrikaans, adjectives used this way are called predicative adjectives, and they usually stay in their basic form.

So:

• Die vinielplaat is tweedehands.

But when the adjective comes before the noun, it often takes -e:

• die tweedehandse vinielplaat = the second-hand vinyl record

That difference is very common in Afrikaans.

You would say:

'n tweedehandse vinielplaat

Notice two things:

• 'n = a / an
• tweedehands becomes tweedehandse before the noun

So:

• Die vinielplaat is tweedehands. = The vinyl record is second-hand.
• 'n tweedehandse vinielplaat = a second-hand vinyl record

Yes. In many contexts, tweedehands is the natural Afrikaans equivalent of second-hand or used for objects being sold or owned before.

So this sentence could be understood as:

• the vinyl record is second-hand
• the vinyl record is used

But tweedehands specifically carries the idea of a pre-owned item.

Afrikaans usually uses a double nie in negative sentences.

So:

• Die vinielplaat is nie tweedehands nie.

This is one of the best-known features of Afrikaans. In simple terms:

• first nie goes after the verb phrase
• second nie comes at the end of the clause

The plural of vinielplaat is vinielplate.

So the sentence becomes:

• Die vinielplate is tweedehands.

Notice:

• die stays die
• is stays is
• only the noun changes to plural

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

vinielplaat ≈ vih-NEE-ul-plaht

A few helpful notes:

• v in Afrikaans is usually close to English f or a soft v, depending on accent
• ie is usually like ee
• aa is a long ah sound

So try saying it smoothly as one word, with the stress usually falling strongly on plaat.

A rough guide is:

tweedehands ≈ TVAY-duh-hahnts

Helpful notes:

• tw starts with a sound close to English tv
• ee is a long vowel
• hans ends with an s sound, not a z

Pronunciation varies a bit by accent, but that approximation will be understandable.

Yes, depending on style and context. A speaker might also say something like:

• Die plaat is tweedehands.
• Dis 'n tweedehandse vinielplaat.

But Die vinielplaat is tweedehands is perfectly natural and grammatically straightforward. It is a good basic model for learning how Afrikaans builds simple descriptive sentences.