Ons bewaar die dokument.

Ons can mean both we and us in Afrikaans. The function depends on where it appears in the sentence.

• In Ons bewaar die dokument, ons is the subject, so it means we.
• As an object, it would mean us.

Examples:

• Ons bewaar die dokument. = We keep/preserve the document.
• Hulle help ons. = They help us.

So in this sentence, ons definitely means we.

In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change form for different subjects the way they do in English.

Compare English:

• I keep
• he keeps
• we keep

In Afrikaans, the verb usually stays the same:

• Ek bewaar
• Hy bewaar
• Ons bewaar

So bewaar stays bewaar with ons.

Bewaar usually means keep, store, preserve, or save, depending on context.

In a sentence like Ons bewaar die dokument, it suggests something like:

• We keep the document
• We store the document
• We preserve the document

It often has a slightly more formal or careful sense than a very general English keep.

Die means the.

A very useful thing for English speakers to know is that Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all genders

So unlike some other languages, you do not need to learn different words for the depending on gender.

Examples:

• die dokument = the document
• die dokumente = the documents
• die man = the man
• die vrou = the woman

Dokument is singular, so die dokument means the document.

If it were plural, it would usually be:

• die dokumente = the documents

So this sentence refers to one document, not several.

Yes, in this sentence the word order is very similar to English:

• Ons = subject
• bewaar = verb
• die dokument = object

So it follows a normal Subject–Verb–Object pattern:

Ons bewaar die dokument.
= We preserve the document.

That makes this sentence quite straightforward for an English speaker.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• Ons ≈ ons / awns
• bewaar ≈ buh-VAHR
• die ≈ dee
• dokument ≈ doh-koo-MENT

A rough full version: Ons bewaar die dokument ≈ awns buh-VAHR dee doh-koo-MENT

A few helpful notes:

• w in Afrikaans is usually like English v
• aa is a long vowel
• die is pronounced dee, not like English die

Yes, depending on the exact meaning you want.

Possible alternatives include:

• Ons hou die dokument. = We keep the document.
  This is more general, but not always the best match for store/preserve.
• Ons stoor die dokument. = We store the document.
  This is common when talking about files or stored items.
• Ons red die dokument. = We save the document.
  Often used for saving a computer file.

So bewaar is a good choice when the idea is keeping something safe, stored, or preserved.

Afrikaans normally uses a double nie in standard negation.

So:

• Ons bewaar die dokument. = We preserve the document.
• Ons bewaar nie die dokument nie. = We do not preserve the document.

Pattern:

• subject + verb + nie
  • object + nie

That double nie is one of the most important features of Afrikaans grammar.

A common Afrikaans past tense uses het + ge- form of the verb.

So:

• Ons bewaar die dokument. = We preserve / keep the document.
• Ons het die dokument bewaar. = We preserved / kept the document.

Notice:

• het is the auxiliary verb
• bewaar stays bewaar here because it already begins with an unstressed prefix be-, so it normally does not take ge-

That is why you say:

• Ons het die dokument bewaar and not Ons het die dokument gebewaar.

Yes, it is natural, and it sounds fairly neutral to slightly formal.

Because of bewaar, it can sound appropriate in contexts like:

• office language
• archives
• legal or administrative documents
• careful storage or preservation

In casual everyday speech, people might sometimes choose a different verb depending on context, but Ons bewaar die dokument is perfectly good Afrikaans.