Gaan eerder die lugweg na as om te raai.

Here gaan is not the full verb to go. It is the first part of the separable verb nagaan, which means to check / inspect / examine.

So:

• dictionary form: nagaan
• in this sentence: Gaan ... na

That split happens because Afrikaans often separates certain verbs in main clauses and commands.

So Gaan eerder die lugweg na means Check the airway rather..., not Go rather to the airway.

Because nagaan is a separable verb. In a main clause or imperative, the first part goes to the front as the finite verb, and the second part moves toward the end.

Compare:

• Gaan die lugweg na. = Check the airway.
• Jy gaan die lugweg na. = You check the airway.

But in forms where the verb stays together, you get:

• Jy moet die lugweg nagaan. = You must check the airway.
• Om die lugweg na te gaan... = To check the airway...

So the final na belongs to gaan.

Yes. Gaan ... na at the beginning shows a command or instruction.

Afrikaans imperatives often look like this:

• Lees die boek. = Read the book.
• Kyk mooi. = Look carefully.
• Gaan die lugweg na. = Check the airway.

The subject jy is normally left out in commands, just as English usually leaves out you.

Eerder here means rather or preferably.

In this sentence, it signals preference between two actions:

• check the airway instead of
• guess

So Gaan eerder die lugweg na as om te raai means something like:

• Rather check the airway than guess.
• Check the airway instead of guessing.

Depending on context, eerder can also mean earlier/sooner, but that is not the meaning here.

Afrikaans often uses as om te + infinitive after words like eerder when comparing one action with another.

So:

• eerder ... as om te raai literally = rather ... than to guess

This structure is more explicit than English. English can say:

• rather than guess
• instead of guessing

Afrikaans commonly builds it with:

• as = than
• om te raai = to guess

So the pattern is very normal here.

Because raai is being used as an infinitive, and Afrikaans usually marks that with om te in this kind of structure.

• raai = guess / to guess in dictionary form
• om te raai = to guess

After as in this sentence, Afrikaans prefers the infinitive phrase om te raai.

So:

• as om te raai = than to guess

Lugweg literally means airway.

It is made up of:

• lug = air
• weg = way/path

In medical or first-aid contexts, die lugweg means the airway.

Die is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• die lugweg = the airway

This suggests a specific airway being referred to, which makes sense in medical instructions.

Not in this exact word order.

The dictionary form is nagaan, but in an imperative or normal main clause it separates:

• Gaan die lugweg na.

If you want it as one word, the sentence structure has to change. For example:

• Jy moet die lugweg nagaan.
• Dit is beter om die lugweg na te gaan as om te raai.

So nagaan is the underlying verb, but gaan ... na is the correct form here.

Because with separable verbs, other sentence elements often appear between the two parts of the verb.

So the structure is:

• Gaan
  • eerder die lugweg
    • na

That is completely normal in Afrikaans.

The same thing happens in sentences like:

• Skryf die nommer neer. = Write the number down.
• Trek jou skoene uit. = Take off your shoes.

The final particle belongs to the verb, even though other words come in between.

Yes, in meaning it is very close.

A natural English translation could be:

• Rather check the airway than guess.
• Check the airway instead of guessing.

Afrikaans and English package this idea differently, but the basic meaning is the same: choose the first action, not the second one.