Dit is die winkelmandjie waarin ons die hemp en die broek sit.

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Breakdown of Dit is die winkelmandjie waarin ons die hemp en die broek sit.

• die: the
• wees: to be
• en: and

Questions & Answers about Dit is die winkelmandjie waarin ons die hemp en die broek sit.

Does Dit is mean this is or it is here?

It can correspond to either in English. Afrikaans dit covers both this/that and it in many contexts. In a sentence like this, English will often translate it as This is the shopping basket ..., but the Afrikaans form is still Dit is.

Why is winkelmandjie written as one long word?

Because Afrikaans normally writes compound nouns as a single word.

• winkel = shop/store
• mandjie = basket

So winkelmandjie literally means shop-basket or shopping basket. This is very common in Afrikaans: instead of writing separate words, you usually join them into one compound noun.

What does the ending -jie in mandjie do?

It is a diminutive ending. The base word is mand = basket, and mandjie means little basket.

In Afrikaans, diminutives are extremely common and often sound natural even when English would not use little. So winkelmandjie is simply the normal everyday word for a shopping basket.

What does waarin mean, and why is it one word?