Ons kyk na die video.

Here, ons is the subject pronoun meaning we.

Afrikaans uses ons for the first-person plural, so it works like English we in this sentence:

• Ons kyk = we watch / we are watching

A useful extra point: ons can also mean our before a noun, depending on the sentence. But here, because it comes before the verb kyk, it clearly means we.

No. In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change form for different subjects in the present tense.

So you get:

• ek kyk
• jy kyk
• hy kyk
• ons kyk
• julle kyk
• hulle kyk

This is much simpler than English, where you have I watch but he watches. In Afrikaans, the verb stays the same.

Because Afrikaans normally uses kyk na when you mean look at or watch something.

So:

• kyk na die video = watch the video / look at the video

This is very natural Afrikaans. English speakers often want to translate directly and drop the preposition, but na is normally needed here.

Compare:

• Kyk! = Look!
• Ons kyk na die video. = We are watching the video.

In this sentence, na means something like at, as part of kyk na.

But na is a common preposition with several meanings depending on context, for example:

• kyk na = look at / watch
• gaan na skool = go to school
• na ete = after dinner

So na does not always mean the same thing by itself. Here, the important thing is to learn kyk na as a natural combination.

Yes. Die is the definite article, so here it means the.

One nice feature of Afrikaans is that die is used for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all grammatical genders

So unlike languages such as German or Dutch, you do not need to learn different forms for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns.

Examples:

• die video = the video
• die boek = the book
• die kinders = the children

No. That is a very common mistake for English speakers.

Afrikaans die is pronounced dee.

So in this sentence:

• die video sounds roughly like dee video

This is worth memorising early, because the spelling looks misleading if you are coming from English.

In this basic sentence, yes, it is very similar:

• Ons = subject
• kyk = verb
• na die video = prepositional phrase / object-like part

So the pattern is:

subject + verb + rest

That said, Afrikaans has an important rule that the finite verb normally stays in the second position in a main clause. For example:

• Ons kyk na die video.
• Vandag kyk ons na die video.

So even when something else comes first, kyk still stays in the second slot.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Afrikaans often uses the simple present tense where English might use either:

• we watch
• we are watching

So Ons kyk na die video can mean:

• We watch the video
• We are watching the video

If you want to stress that the action is happening right now, Afrikaans can also use a longer structure:

• Ons is besig om na die video te kyk.

That is closer to We are busy watching the video or We are watching the video right now.

Normally, Ons kyk na die video is the expected and natural form.

With kyk, Afrikaans usually uses na before the thing being watched or looked at. So for learners, it is safest to remember:

• kyk na iets = watch / look at something

If you leave out na, it may sound unnatural or non-standard in many contexts.

A rough English-friendly pronunciation is:

ons kayk nah dee VEE-dee-oh

A few helpful notes:

• Ons: roughly like ons with a short vowel
• kyk: roughly like cake, but not exactly
• na: like nah
• die: dee
• video: roughly VEE-dee-oh

The most important pronunciation point for English speakers here is still:

• die = dee

You would say:

Ons kyk nie na die video nie.

Afrikaans usually uses a double negative with nie ... nie.

In this sentence:

• the first nie comes after the verb
• the second nie comes near the end of the clause

So:

• Ons kyk na die video. = affirmative
• Ons kyk nie na die video nie. = negative