Hierdie werkplek is onveilig.

Hierdie is the Afrikaans demonstrative for this or these. In this sentence, it means this because werkplek is singular.

A useful thing to remember is that Afrikaans uses hierdie for both singular and plural:

• Hierdie werkplek = this workplace
• Hierdie werkplekke = these workplaces

So the noun, not hierdie itself, tells you whether it is singular or plural.

Hierdie points to something specific and near the speaker, like English this.

Die usually means the.

So:

• hierdie werkplek = this workplace
• die werkplek = the workplace

You do not normally use both together. In other words, Afrikaans does not say something like the this workplace.

Werkplek is a compound noun:

• werk = work
• plek = place

So it literally means workplace.

Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, often writes compound nouns as a single word. English sometimes does this too, but Afrikaans is generally more consistent about it.

Onveilig is an adjective.

It is built from:

• veilig = safe
• on- = a negative prefix, similar to English un-

So onveilig works like unsafe.

This on- prefix is very common in Afrikaans:

• moontlik = possible

• onmoontlik = impossible

• gelukkig = happy / fortunate
• ongelukkig = unhappy / unfortunate

Because the adjective comes after is.

In Afrikaans, adjectives used after a linking verb such as is usually stay in their basic form:

• Die werkplek is onveilig.

But when an adjective comes directly before a noun, it often takes -e:

• 'n onveilige werkplek = an unsafe workplace

So:

• after is: onveilig
• before the noun: onveilige

Yes. That is also correct.

There are two natural ways to express this idea:

• Hierdie werkplek is onveilig.
• Hierdie werkplek is nie veilig nie.

The second version uses normal Afrikaans negation with nie ... nie.

The meaning is very close:

• onveilig is a single-word adjective, like unsafe
• nie veilig nie is more like not safe

Sometimes onveilig can sound a little more compact or formal, but in many situations they are interchangeable.

Is is the present-tense form of wees, which means to be.

A very useful feature of Afrikaans is that this form does not change for person or number in the present tense:

• Ek is = I am
• Jy is = you are
• Hy is = he is
• Ons is = we are
• Hulle is = they are

So even if you change the subject, is stays the same.

A simple learner-friendly guide is:

• Hierdie ≈ HEER-dee
• werkplek ≈ VERK-plek
• is ≈ iss
• onveilig ≈ on-FAY-likh

A few important pronunciation notes:

• w in Afrikaans sounds like English v, so werkplek starts with a v sound
• v in veilig is often pronounced closer to an English f
• the final g in onveilig is the guttural Afrikaans sound, not a hard English g

If you want to sound natural, it helps to focus especially on the w = v sound and the final guttural g.

You usually make it a yes-no question by putting the verb first:

Is hierdie werkplek onveilig?

That is the normal Afrikaans word order for a simple question.

So the pattern is:

• statement: Hierdie werkplek is onveilig.
• question: Is hierdie werkplek onveilig?

You can say:

Hierdie werkplekke is onveilig.

Changes to notice:

• werkplek becomes werkplekke
• hierdie stays the same
• is also stays the same

So Afrikaans keeps the sentence structure very simple even when you switch to plural.