Die kinders kruis die brug.

In Afrikaans, die is the definite article for the in almost all ordinary cases.

So:

• die kinders = the children
• die brug = the bridge

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not change the article for singular vs. plural, and it does not have grammatical gender articles like de/die/het in Dutch or der/die/das in German. It is simply die.

kinders is the plural of kind (child).

A very common way to form the plural in Afrikaans is by adding -s:

• kind → kinders

This word is slightly irregular compared with a simple +s pattern, because the plural form includes -ers. It is something learners should just remember as a common noun pair:

• kind = child
• kinders = children

Here, kruis is the verb in its basic present-tense form, meaning cross.

Afrikaans verbs are much simpler than English verbs in the present tense. They usually do not change depending on the subject:

• Ek kruis = I cross
• Jy kruis = you cross
• Die kind kruis = the child crosses
• Die kinders kruis = the children cross

So even though English says crosses with he/she/it, Afrikaans still uses kruis.

Yes, in this basic statement the word order is the same:

• Die kinders = subject
• kruis = verb
• die brug = object

So it follows Subject–Verb–Object:

Die kinders kruis die brug.
= The children cross the bridge.

This makes simple Afrikaans statements feel very familiar to English speakers.

Brug means bridge. In Afrikaans, nouns do not have grammatical gender the way they do in many European languages.

So you do not need to learn brug as masculine, feminine, or neuter. You just learn:

• die brug = the bridge
• ’n brug = a bridge

That is one reason Afrikaans grammar is often easier for English speakers.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

dee KIN-ders krœys dee brugh

A few notes:

• die sounds roughly like dee
• kinders has the stress on the first syllable: KIN-ders
• kruis has a diphthong somewhat like kroys/krœys
• brug has a guttural g, not an English g sound

The final g in brug is pronounced in the back of the throat, like the Afrikaans/Dutch guttural sound.

In this sentence, die means the.

Afrikaans die is normally the definite article. It is not usually the word you would use for these or those in ordinary modern Afrikaans. For demonstratives, Afrikaans more often uses words like:

• hierdie = this / these
• daardie = that / those

So:

• die kinders = the children
• hierdie kinders = these children
• daardie kinders = those children

If you are talking about a specific group of children, die kinders is natural and correct.

If you wanted a more general meaning, you might say:

• Kinders kruis brûe. = Children cross bridges.

But in your sentence, die makes both nouns definite:

• die kinders = the children
• die brug = the bridge

So the sentence refers to specific children and a specific bridge.

Yes. Afrikaans uses ’n for a/an.

So you could say:

Kinders kruis ’n brug. = Children cross a bridge.
or
Die kinders kruis ’n brug. = The children cross a bridge.

A useful detail: ’n is written with a lowercase n and an apostrophe, even at the start of a sentence in standard spelling.

It can also be a noun. As a noun, kruis means cross in the sense of the symbol or religious cross.

So:

• kruis = cross (verb: to cross)
• ’n kruis = a cross (noun)

In Die kinders kruis die brug, it is clearly a verb, because it comes after the subject and before the object.

You would change kinders to the singular kind:

Die kind kruis die brug.

Notice that the verb kruis stays the same. That is an important Afrikaans pattern:

• Die kind kruis die brug. = The child crosses the bridge.
• Die kinders kruis die brug. = The children cross the bridge.

Unlike English, the verb does not change to crosses in the singular.

Yes, depending on context, Afrikaans simple present can sometimes cover meanings that English expresses with either the simple present or the present progressive.

So Die kinders kruis die brug may be understood as:

• The children cross the bridge
• The children are crossing the bridge

If you want to make the ongoing action extra clear, Afrikaans often uses another construction, but the simple form is very common and natural.

Yes. In a yes/no question, Afrikaans usually puts the verb before the subject:

Kruis die kinders die brug?
= Are the children crossing the bridge? / Do the children cross the bridge?

So the statement:

• Die kinders kruis die brug.

becomes the question:

• Kruis die kinders die brug?

This verb-first pattern is very common in Afrikaans questions.