Die vulstasie is oop.

• die = the
• vulstasie = filling station / petrol station / gas station
• is = is
• oop = open

A useful extra point: vulstasie is a compound word:

• vul = fill
• stasie = station

So the word is built in a very transparent way.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, so it means the.

Unlike some European languages, Afrikaans does not change the word for:

• masculine vs. feminine
• singular vs. plural

So you use die for all of these:

• die vulstasie = the gas station
• die vulstasies = the gas stations

That makes articles in Afrikaans much simpler than in languages like German or Dutch.

No. In Afrikaans, die is usually pronounced roughly like dee.

So:

• die in Afrikaans = roughly dee
• English die = a completely different sound

This is a very common beginner trap.

Yes. Vulstasie is a normal, standard Afrikaans word for a place where you fill up a vehicle.

Depending on context, an English speaker might translate it as:

• gas station
• petrol station
• filling station

In South African English, petrol station is often the closest everyday equivalent.

Yes. This sentence follows the same basic pattern as English:

• Die vulstasie = subject
• is = verb
• oop = adjective/complement

So it works like:

• The gas station is open.

This kind of simple present-tense statement is one of the easiest sentence types in Afrikaans for English speakers.

Because oop here is describing a state, not an action.

So Die vulstasie is oop means the station is in the state of being open.

If you want to talk about the action of opening, Afrikaans usually uses oopmaak or a related form. For example:

• Die vulstasie maak om sewe oop. = The gas station opens at seven.

So:

• is oop = is open
• maak oop = opens / opens up

A rough English-friendly guide:

• vulstasie ≈ VUL-stah-see
• oop ≈ ohp with a long vowel

A few notes:

• The u in vul does not match English perfectly.
• stasie sounds a bit like stah-see.
• oop is not the same as English oop in oops.

For a beginner, a good rough attempt is enough.

You usually make it negative with nie ... nie:

Die vulstasie is nie oop nie.

That means: The gas station is not open.

This double nie pattern is a very important feature of Afrikaans negation.

Yes. If you want a instead of the, use 'n:

'n Vulstasie is oop.

That means: A gas station is open.

The difference is:

• die = a specific station
• 'n = a non-specific station

No. Afrikaans does not capitalize ordinary nouns the way German does.

So vulstasie stays lowercase unless normal sentence rules require a capital, such as at the beginning of a sentence:

• Die vulstasie is oop.

Only proper nouns and normal sentence-initial capitalization use capitals.