Learn Hardcore Afrikaans: Ek sien ’n familielid by die stasie.

’n is the indefinite article (a/an). It’s a contraction of een (one), with the dropped e shown by the apostrophe. Although it comes from the number een, you don’t pronounce it like one—it’s just the article—and you always write it as ’n.

Why is familielid written as a single word, and what does it literally mean?

Afrikaans forms many nouns by compounding.

familie = family
lid = member
→ familielid = family member
Unlike English, Afrikaans compounds are joined without a hyphen or space.

Why doesn’t the verb sien change for different subjects?

In Afrikaans present tense, the verb stays the same for all persons. There is no –s ending for third-person singular as in English. For example:
• Ek sien
• Jy sien
• Hy/sy sien
• Ons sien

What does by mean here, and why not in or op?

Here by means at or near a location.
• Ek sit by die huis. (I’m sitting at home.)
• Hy koop kos by die winkel. (He buys food at the shop.)
Use in for “inside” and op for “on top of.”

Why does the sentence use die before stasie? Could I say ’n stasie, or drop the article?

die is the definite article (the), used when the station is specific or known. If you mean “at a station” (any station), use ’n stasie:
Ek sien ’n familielid by ’n stasie.
You cannot drop the article before a singular noun in Afrikaans—every noun needs either die or ’n.

How is ’n pronounced in this sentence?

Afrikaans speakers reduce ’n to a very short [ən] or even just [n̩], much like the faint -n in English button. It never rhymes with English one.

Why is the word order Subject-Verb-Object, and is this always the case?

Most simple Afrikaans clauses follow S-V-O just like English. In Ek sien ’n familielid by die stasie:
• Subject: Ek
• Verb: sien
• Object: ’n familielid
The prepositional phrase by die stasie comes afterward. There is no inversion-rule as in German; main clauses always use S-V-O.