Breakdown of Ons huis is ’n kilometer van die winkel.
die
the
wees
to be
die huis
the house
ons
our
die winkel
the store
’n
a
van
from
die kilometer
the kilometre
Questions & Answers about Ons huis is ’n kilometer van die winkel.
Why is there an apostrophe in ’n before the letter n?
’n is the reduced form of een, the Afrikaans word for “one.” When it functions as the indefinite article “a” or “an,” the e in een is dropped and replaced by an apostrophe.
What does van die mean in this sentence?
van die literally means “from the.” In this context it indicates distance, so ’n kilometer van die winkel translates as “one kilometer from the shop.”
Why is it die winkel and not ’n winkel?
Using die winkel makes the store specific—“the shop.” If you said ’n winkel, it would mean “a shop” in general, not one already known or being pointed out.
Why is kilometer singular here?
Because the distance is exactly one kilometer. In Afrikaans, as in English, you only add an s for plural when the number is not one: twee kilometers, drie kilometers, etc.
Can I use the full word een instead of ’n?
Yes. Ons huis is een kilometer van die winkel is grammatically correct, but it sounds more formal or emphatic. Most native speakers prefer the shorter ’n in everyday speech.
How would you abbreviate kilometer?
You can abbreviate it as km. So you might write Ons huis is 1 km van die winkel in notes or on a sign.
Could you add af at the end, as in Ons huis is ’n kilometer van die winkel af?
Yes. Adding af emphasizes the notion of “away from” and is very common in spoken Afrikaans. Both sentences mean the same thing.
Is the word order the same in Afrikaans as in English?
Here, yes. Afrikaans follows a Subject–Verb–Complement structure just like English: Ons huis (subject) is (verb) ’n kilometer van die winkel (complement).
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