Die wegkruipplek is agter die deur.

to be

Breakdown of Die wegkruipplek is agter die deur.

• die deur: the door
• agter: behind
• die wegkruipplek: hiding place

Questions & Answers about Die wegkruipplek is agter die deur.

Why does die appear twice? Is it the same word both times?

Yes. It is the same word both times.

In Afrikaans, die is the definite article the. So:

• die wegkruipplek = the hiding place
• die deur = the door

A big difference from languages like German or Dutch is that Afrikaans does not change the definite article for grammatical gender. You do not have to learn separate forms like the for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns.

Why is wegkruipplek written as one long word?

Because Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, very often forms compound nouns by writing the parts together as a single word.

wegkruipplek is made up of:

• wegkruip = hide away / hide oneself
• plek = place

So the whole noun literally means something like hide-away place.

This is very normal in Afrikaans. English often uses separate words where Afrikaans prefers one compound word.

What exactly is agter doing in the sentence?