Ons bly in kontak.

Word by word:

• Ons = we
• bly = stay, remain, or keep being
• in = in
• kontak = contact

So the sentence means We stay in touch or more literally We remain in contact.

Yes, bly can mean live, but it also very often means stay or remain.

That is a very common thing for English speakers to notice, because English separates these ideas more clearly:

• Ek bly in Kaapstad. = I live in Cape Town.
• Bly kalm. = Stay calm.
• Ons bly in kontak. = We stay in touch.

So in this sentence, bly does not mean live. It means remain/stay.

No. In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change form according to the subject the way they often do in English.

Compare:

• Ek bly
• Jy bly
• Hy bly
• Ons bly
• Hulle bly

The verb stays the same. This is one reason Afrikaans grammar often feels simpler than English grammar in the present tense.

Afrikaans main clauses normally follow a verb-second pattern. That means the finite verb usually comes early in the sentence, typically in the second slot.

So:

• Ons = subject
• bly = verb
• in kontak = prepositional phrase

This gives:

• Ons bly in kontak.

If you move something else to the front, the verb still stays in second position:

• Môre bly ons in kontak.
• Met ou vriende bly ons in kontak.

That verb position is a very important feature of Afrikaans sentence structure.

Because in kontak is a fixed expression, much like English in contact.

You would not normally say in die kontak here. The idiom is simply:

• in kontak wees = be in contact
• in kontak bly = stay in contact

So the lack of an article is normal and idiomatic.

Yes. Here kontak is a noun, and it is part of the phrase in kontak.

You can think of it as parallel to English:

• in contact

Afrikaans also uses kontak in other expressions, for example:

• Ek het kontak met haar. = I have contact with her.
• Maak kontak met ons. = Make contact with us / get in touch with us.

So in your sentence, kontak is definitely not a verb.

Grammatically, it is present tense: We stay / remain in contact.

But in real use, it can also express an intention or understanding about the future, especially depending on context. For example, after saying goodbye, Ons bly in kontak can sound like:

• We’ll stay in touch
• Let’s keep in touch
  depending on tone and situation

If you want a clearer let’s idea, Afrikaans often uses:

• Kom ons bly in kontak. = Let’s stay in touch.

The difference is mainly in tone and function:

• Ons bly in kontak. = We stay in touch / We’ll stay in touch
• Kom ons bly in kontak. = Let’s stay in touch

So Kom ons ... is the more direct suggestion or invitation.
Without Kom ons, the sentence sounds more like a statement or assurance.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

• Ons ≈ ons
• bly ≈ blay with an Afrikaans-style diphthong
• in ≈ a short unstressed in
• kontak ≈ KON-tak

Very roughly:

ons blay in KON-tak

A few pronunciation notes:

• bly does not sound exactly like English blee
• kontak has stress on the first syllable: KON-tak
• ons has a short vowel, not a long English oh

Yes, very natural.

Ons bly in kontak is a normal, idiomatic way to express the idea of staying in touch. You may also hear close variants such as:

• Kom ons bly in kontak. = Let’s stay in touch.
• Ek sal met jou in kontak bly. = I’ll stay in touch with you.
• Ons is nog in kontak. = We are still in touch.

So the sentence you have is completely natural and useful in everyday Afrikaans.

Yes, if you want to specify with whom you stay in contact, you can add met:

• Ons bly met hulle in kontak. = We stay in touch with them.
• Ek bly met my vriende in kontak. = I stay in touch with my friends.

However, if the people are already understood from context, Afrikaans often leaves that part out:

• Ons bly in kontak.

That is why the short sentence sounds complete on its own.