Die espressomasjien het 'n watertenk.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

So Die espressomasjien = the espresso machine.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender the way languages like German do. So die is used for the regardless of whether a noun would be masculine, feminine, or neuter in other languages.

Here, het means has.

It comes from the verb hê = to have.

So:

• Die espressomasjien het ... = The espresso machine has ...

A helpful point for English speakers: in the present tense, Afrikaans verbs usually do not change depending on the subject. So you get:

• ek het = I have
• jy het = you have
• hy/sy/dit het = he/she/it has
• ons het = we have

Unlike English, there is no special has form.

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

So:

• 'n watertenk = a water tank

A few important notes:

• It is written with an apostrophe: 'n
• It is usually not stressed in speech
• It is pronounced like a very short uh sound, similar to the vowel in sofa

Also, even if it appears at the beginning of a sentence, Afrikaans normally writes it as 'n, not 'N.

Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, very often forms compound nouns by writing them as one word.

So:

• espresso + masjien → espressomasjien
• water + tenk → watertenk

This is completely normal in Afrikaans. English sometimes writes similar combinations as two words, with a hyphen, or as one word, but Afrikaans strongly prefers the single compound word.

For the same reason: it is a compound noun.

• water = water
• tenk = tank
• watertenk = water tank

In Afrikaans, the last part of the compound is usually the main noun, and the earlier part describes it. So a watertenk is a kind of tenk.

No, this is a very straightforward subject–verb–object sentence, much like English:

• Die espressomasjien = subject
• het = verb
• 'n watertenk = object

So the pattern is:

The espresso machine + has + a water tank

Afrikaans word order can become more different from English in questions, subordinate clauses, and sentences with extra time/place information, but this sentence is very basic and direct.

You usually pronounce 'n as a very short, weak uh sound.

So het 'n watertenk sounds roughly like:

• het uh VAH-ter-tenk

The 'n is not pronounced like the English letter n by itself. It is usually just a reduced vowel sound.

A rough English-friendly pronunciation would be:

duh ess-PRESS-oh-ma-SKEEN het uh VAH-ter-tenk

A few pronunciation notes:

• Die often sounds like dee in careful speech, though in connected speech learners may hear something closer to duh/dee depending on accent and speed.
• j in masjien sounds like y in English yes
• sj sounds like sh
• g is not pronounced like English g in many Afrikaans words, but there is no g here to worry about

So masjien sounds roughly like ma-SHEEN.

Because one noun is being presented as specific and the other as non-specific.

• die espressomasjien = the espresso machine
  
  • a particular machine
• 'n watertenk = a water tank
  
  • one water tank, not specified as a particular one

This works just like English the vs a/an.

It also has another very important job: it can be used as an auxiliary verb to form the past tense.

For example:

• Die espressomasjien het 'n watertenk. = The espresso machine has a water tank.
• Die espressomasjien het gewerk. = The espresso machine worked / has worked.

So het can mean has as a main verb, but it can also function more like English have/has in perfect-style constructions.

In your sentence, though, it is simply the main verb meaning has.

Not in this sentence, because both nouns are singular:

• espressomasjien = one espresso machine
• watertenk = one water tank

If you wanted plurals, the noun forms would change, for example:

• espressomasjiene = espresso machines
• watertenks = water tanks

The articles can also change depending on number:

• die can mean the for singular or plural
• 'n is only singular

So 'n watertenk is definitely a water tank, singular.