Die gehoor wag by die toegangshek.

Because Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for both singular and plural nouns.

So here:

• die gehoor = the audience
• die toegangshek = the entrance gate

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not have different forms like the for one noun and something else for a plural noun. It is simply die in both cases.

Gehoor means audience. In this sentence, it is treated as a singular collective noun.

That is similar to English the audience: it refers to many people, but as one group.

So:

• Die gehoor wag = The audience is waiting / The audience waits

If you wanted to talk about individual people, you might use a different noun, such as mense (people) depending on the context.

Afrikaans often uses the simple present tense where English might use either:

• waits
• is waiting

So wag can mean:

• wait
• waits
• is waiting
• are waiting

The exact meaning depends on context.

That means Die gehoor wag can naturally be understood as The audience is waiting without adding a separate verb like English is.

This is an important distinction.

• wag by = wait at / wait by a place
• wag vir = wait for someone or something

In your sentence, the meaning is about location, so by is used:

• Die gehoor wag by die toegangshek = The audience is waiting at the entrance gate.

If the meaning were waiting for the entrance gate to open, that would be a different idea, and the wording would change.

Here, by means at or by, showing location.

So:

• by die toegangshek = at the entrance gate / by the entrance gate

Afrikaans by is very common for being at a place:

• by die huis = at the house
• by die skool = at the school

So in this sentence it tells you where the audience is waiting.

Yes, toegangshek is one word, and that is very normal in Afrikaans.

It is a compound noun:

• toegang = access / entrance
• hek = gate

Together:

• toegangshek = entrance gate / access gate

Afrikaans often joins nouns into a single word where English may use two separate words.

Other similar examples:

• skoolhek = school gate
• stasiegebou = station building

In this simple statement, yes, it is quite similar:

• Die gehoor = subject
• wag = verb
• by die toegangshek = prepositional phrase showing place

So the pattern is:

Subject + Verb + Place

That makes this sentence relatively easy for English speakers.

However, Afrikaans word order can change more noticeably in longer sentences or when another element comes first. For example:

• By die toegangshek wag die gehoor.

This is also possible, and then Afrikaans keeps the verb in the second position.

A rough guide is:

• gehoor ≈ khuh-HOOR or guh-HOOR, depending on accent

A few helpful points:

• The g in Afrikaans is usually a stronger throaty sound than English g
• The second syllable is stressed: -hoor
• hoor sounds a bit like English hore, but with an Afrikaans vowel sound

If you are a beginner, the most important thing is to notice that it has two syllables and the stress falls on the second one.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• toegangshek ≈ TOO-khungs-hek or TOO-ghungs-hek

Helpful breakdown:

• toe sounds roughly like too
• gang has the guttural Afrikaans g
• hek sounds close to English heck

So it helps to say it in parts first:

• toegang
• hek

Then combine them:

• toegangshek

Because gehoor here refers to the audience as one group, not to the individual members separately.

English works the same way in many cases:

• The audience is waiting

Even though many people are involved, the noun itself is singular in form.

Afrikaans often treats collective nouns in this way too, so gehoor does not need a plural ending in this sentence.

Yes. Afrikaans wag in the present tense can cover both meanings:

• The audience waits at the entrance gate
• The audience is waiting at the entrance gate

In real use, context usually makes it clear whether the meaning is more general/habitual or happening right now. In a sentence like this, many learners will naturally understand it as is waiting.

You would usually use ’n, which is the Afrikaans indefinite article.

Examples:

• ’n gehoor = an audience
• ’n hek = a gate

So:

• Die gehoor = the audience
• ’n gehoor = an audience

Remember that ’n is written with an apostrophe and is usually not stressed in pronunciation.