Die ompad gaan deur die dorp.

Because die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

In this sentence, it appears before two different nouns:

• die ompad = the detour
• die dorp = the town / the village

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not change the article for gender, and unlike languages such as German, it does not have different forms like the for masculine/feminine/neuter nouns. Die works for all of them.

Ompad means detour or a way around.

It is built from:

• om = around
• pad = road / path / way

So the word gives the idea of an alternative route that goes around something.

Yes, gaan literally means goes or to go, but in sentences like this it is used the same way English uses goes for routes, roads, or paths.

So Die ompad gaan deur die dorp means the detour goes through the town.

This is natural in Afrikaans, just as English can say:

• The road goes through the forest
• The path goes along the river

So gaan is not saying the detour is physically moving. It describes the route.

Deur means through.

It is a preposition, and here it shows where the route passes:

• deur die dorp = through the town

So the structure is:

• Die ompad = subject
• gaan = verb
• deur die dorp = prepositional phrase telling you where it goes

It can mean town, and in some contexts it can also feel closer to village or small town.

The exact English translation depends on context. In many learning examples, dorp is translated as town. A larger city would usually be stad.

So:

• dorp = town / village-like town
• stad = city

This is normal main-clause Afrikaans word order:

• Die ompad = subject
• gaan = verb
• deur die dorp = rest of the sentence

So the pattern is basically:

Subject + Verb + Prepositional phrase

That is very similar to English:

The detour + goes + through the town

Sometimes yes, depending on context.

Loop can be used for roads, routes, rivers, and lines in the sense of run:

• Die pad loop langs die rivier = The road runs along the river

But gaan is also very natural for a route that goes through a place.

So Die ompad gaan deur die dorp is perfectly normal.
A sentence with loop might sound slightly different in nuance, more like runs through, but the general idea is similar.

Yes, it is a normal and useful word, especially when talking about traffic, roadworks, navigation, or travel.

For example:

• Ons moes 'n ompad vat. = We had to take a detour.
• Daar is 'n ompad weens padwerke. = There is a detour because of roadworks.

So it is a practical word to know.

No. One of the helpful things about Afrikaans is that nouns are much simpler than in many other European languages.

In this sentence:

• die stays die
• dorp stays dorp
• ompad stays ompad

There is no grammatical case ending here, and there is no gender-based article change.

A rough guide for English speakers:

• Die ≈ dee
• ompad ≈ AWM-paht
• gaan ≈ a long khaan / ghaan sound, with a broad vowel
• deur ≈ something like dyoor or duhr, depending on accent
• die ≈ dee
• dorp ≈ dorp with a short o

A broad approximate pronunciation of the full sentence could be:

dee AWM-paht ghaan dyoor dee dorp

Exact pronunciation varies by accent, but that should get you close.

Yes. That is a good literal understanding.

Even if English sometimes prefers a slightly more natural translation such as The detour passes through the town or The detour runs through the town, the literal wording matches the Afrikaans structure very well:

• Die ompad = The detour
• gaan = goes
• deur die dorp = through the town

So the sentence is straightforward both grammatically and literally.