Die inwoner besit die winkel.

Because Afrikaans uses die as the definite article, meaning the.

So in this sentence:

• die inwoner = the resident
• die winkel = the shop/store

English also uses the twice here: The resident owns the shop.

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

Examples:

• die inwoner = the resident
• die inwoners = the residents
• die winkel = the shop
• die winkels = the shops

So unlike English, Afrikaans does not change the word the depending on number.

Inwoner usually means resident or inhabitant — someone who lives in a particular place.

It is related to:

• in = in
• woon = live/reside

So the word has the sense of someone who lives in a place.

Besit means own or possess.

In this sentence, besit is best translated as owns:

• Die inwoner besit die winkel = The resident owns the shop

Depending on context, besit can sometimes sound a little more formal than everyday English own, but it is perfectly normal.

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

Compare with English:

• I own
• you own
• he owns

In Afrikaans, it stays the same:

• ek besit
• jy besit
• hy/sy besit

So Afrikaans is simpler here than English.

This sentence uses the basic Afrikaans main-clause word order:

Subject + Verb + Object

• Die inwoner = subject
• besit = verb
• die winkel = object

So:

• Die inwoner besit die winkel.
• The resident owns the shop.

This is very similar to normal English word order.

No, Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender in the way languages like German do.

So die is not marking masculine or feminine here. It is simply the definite article the.

That means you do not need to learn separate forms like:

• masculine the
• feminine the
• neuter the

Afrikaans is much simpler in this respect.

Because in Afrikaans, common nouns are not capitalized.

Only the first word of the sentence and proper names are capitalized.

So:

• Die inwoner besit die winkel. ✅
• Die Inwoner besit die Winkel. ❌

This is like English, and unlike German.

Yes. Winkel is commonly translated as shop or store.

Which English word sounds best depends on context and regional preference:

• British English often prefers shop
• American English often prefers store

So both are fine translations.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

dee IN-voh-ner beh-SIT dee VING-kel

A few notes:

• die sounds like dee, not like English die
• w in Afrikaans is usually like English v
• g in winkel is a normal hard g
• stress often falls early in the word, such as INwoner

This is only an approximation, but it helps avoid the common mistake of pronouncing die like the English verb die.

Usually inwoner is better translated as resident or inhabitant, not citizen.

If you want to say citizen, Afrikaans more commonly uses burger.

So:

• inwoner = resident / inhabitant
• burger = citizen

That is why The resident owns the shop is the better translation.

You would use ’n for a/an:

’n inwoner besit ’n winkel.

Notes:

• ’n is written with a lowercase n
• if it starts a sentence, the next word is capitalized, not ’n
• in speech, ’n is usually unstressed

So:

• ’n inwoner = a resident
• ’n winkel = a shop/store

You can make the nouns plural like this:

Die inwoners besit die winkels.

That means: The residents own the shops.

Here:

• inwoner → inwoners
• winkel → winkels

Notice that die stays the same, and besit also stays the same.