Hierdie onderdeel is klein.

Hierdie means this in this sentence.

So Hierdie onderdeel means this part / this component / this section, depending on context.

A useful thing to know is that hierdie can also mean these when the noun is plural. Afrikaans does not change it the way English changes this to these.

• Hierdie onderdeel = this part
• Hierdie onderdele = these parts

Die usually means the, while hierdie means this or these.

So:

• die onderdeel = the part
• hierdie onderdeel = this part

Because hierdie already identifies the noun, you do not add die before it.

Onderdeel often means part, component, section, or element.

The best English choice depends on context:

• in a machine: component or part
• in a document or course: section
• in a larger whole: part

It is a very normal word for something that forms part of a bigger whole.

Its plural is onderdele.

Afrikaans is is the present-tense form of to be, just like English is.

In a sentence like this, it links the subject to a description:

• Hierdie onderdeel = the subject
• is = linking verb
• klein = description

So the structure works very much like English:

• This part is small.

This is the normal basic word order for a simple statement in Afrikaans:

subject + verb + description

So:

• Hierdie onderdeel = subject
• is = verb
• klein = adjective/complement

That is why it looks very similar to English.

Afrikaans word order becomes more different from English in longer sentences, especially when other verbs, subordinate clauses, or adverbs are involved. But in a simple sentence like this, the pattern is straightforward.

Here klein comes after is, so it is being used as a predicate adjective: it describes the subject after the verb.

In this position, Afrikaans adjectives normally do not change.

• Die onderdeel is klein. = The part is small.

If an adjective comes directly before a noun, Afrikaans sometimes uses a different form, but klein itself often still stays klein:

• 'n klein onderdeel = a small part

So in this sentence, klein is exactly the form you would expect.

No. Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender the way languages like Dutch or German do.

That means words like hierdie do not change for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns.

So hierdie works for all nouns:

• hierdie boek = this book
• hierdie tafel = this table
• hierdie onderdeel = this part

This is one reason Afrikaans grammar is often simpler than that of some related languages.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

HEER-dee ON-der-deel is klayn

A few notes:

• Hierdie: the first part sounds roughly like heer
• onderdeel: onder sounds a bit like ON-der, and deel sounds like dale but with a purer vowel
• klein rhymes roughly with line, but starts with kl-

Pronunciation varies a little by speaker and accent, so this is only an approximation.

You would usually change onderdeel to onderdele:

Hierdie onderdele is klein.

That means These parts/components are small.

Notice that:

• hierdie stays the same
• is also stays is
• the noun changes to the plural onderdele

You would usually say:

Daardie onderdeel is klein.

Here daardie means that or those.

So the contrast is:

• Hierdie onderdeel is klein. = This part is small.
• Daardie onderdeel is klein. = That part is small.

This is a very useful pair to learn together:

• hierdie = this / these
• daardie = that / those