Ons sien 'n kerk by die kampeerterrein.

Yes, ons means we in this sentence.

A useful thing to know is that ons can also mean us, depending on the sentence:

• Ons sien 'n kerk. = We see a church.
• Hulle sien ons. = They see us.

So ons can be either a subject pronoun (we) or an object pronoun (us). The word order tells you which meaning it has.

Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form depending on the subject the way English verbs do.

So you get:

• Ek sien = I see
• Jy sien = you see
• Ons sien = we see
• Hulle sien = they see

That is much simpler than English, where you have I see but he sees. In Afrikaans, the verb usually stays the same.

'n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, meaning a or an.

So:

• 'n kerk = a church

It is always written with an apostrophe: 'n.

A few important points:

• It is normally not stressed in speech.
• It is often pronounced more like a very weak uh sound.
• It is written as 'n even though English speakers may expect something like een or a.

Also, if it appears at the beginning of a sentence, it usually still stays lowercase:

• 'n Kerk is daar.

Because kerk is singular: church.

In the sentence:

• 'n kerk = a church

If you wanted the plural, you would usually say:

• kerke = churches

So:

• Ons sien 'n kerk. = We see a church
• Ons sien kerke. = We see churches

Here, by means something like at, near, or by in English, depending on context.

So:

• by die kampeerterrein = at the campsite / near the campsite / by the campsite

Afrikaans by is very common and often covers meanings that English splits between by, at, and sometimes near.

The exact English translation depends on context, but the basic idea is location close to or at a place.

Because die means the, so die kampeerterrein means the campsite / the camping ground.

The sentence is talking about:

• 'n kerk = a church
• by die kampeerterrein = by the campsite

So one noun is indefinite (a church) and the other is definite (the campsite).

In Afrikaans, die is used for the with both singular and plural nouns:

• die kerk = the church
• die kerke = the churches

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

Afrikaans often forms compound nouns by joining words together:

• kampeer = camp
• terrein = ground/site/area
• kampeerterrein = campsite / camping ground

English sometimes writes similar ideas as two words or with different patterns, but Afrikaans strongly prefers writing compound nouns as a single word.

Other examples:

• skoolbus = school bus
• hondehok = dog kennel
• tafeldoek = tablecloth

The basic word order here is:

Subject + Verb + Object + Place

So:

• Ons = subject
• sien = verb
• 'n kerk = object
• by die kampeerterrein = place/location phrase

That makes:

• Ons sien 'n kerk by die kampeerterrein.

This is a very normal main-clause word order in Afrikaans.

In practice, it most naturally tells you where the church is: the church is by the campsite.

So the sentence is usually understood as:

• We see a church that is by the campsite.

But in some contexts, location phrases can also feel connected to the whole action. In simple learner terms, the most useful interpretation is:

• there is a church
• its location is by the campsite
• and we see it

Kerk is pronounced roughly like kerrrk, with a rolled or tapped r in many accents, though pronunciation can vary.

For an English speaker:

• the k sounds like English k
• the vowel is short, somewhat like the e in bed, but not exactly the same
• the final rk is clearly pronounced

So kerk is somewhat close to English kirk in sound, but not identical.

'n is usually pronounced very weakly, like a quick uh sound.

So:

• 'n kerk sounds roughly like uh kerk

It is not usually pronounced like English an or one.

This weak pronunciation is one reason learners sometimes miss it when listening, even though it is written in the sentence.

More or less, yes:

• Ons = we
• sien = see
• 'n = a
• kerk = church
• by = by / at / near
• die = the
• kampeerterrein = campsite / camping ground

So a very literal translation is:

• We see a church by the campsite.

That word-for-word match works quite well here, even though in natural English you might choose near the campsite or at the campsite depending on context.