Learn Dutch: Je bent wat benauwd en je gezicht is bleek. - You are somewhat short of breath and your face is pale.

While wat is the question word for "what", it is very often used as an adverb (a word that modifies an adjective) to mean "somewhat" or "a little". Here, it softens the adjective benauwd, so instead of saying someone is severely short of breath, they are just wat benauwd (a little short of breath). You will see this all the time in everyday Dutch to make statements less blunt or dramatic.

benauwd is translated as "short of breath" here. Are there other ways to use it?

Yes! Benauwd is a very versatile word. In a medical context like this, it means "short of breath" or "wheezy". But it can also describe a room that is "stuffy" or "oppressive" (lacking fresh air), or a psychological feeling of being "anxious" or "claustrophobic". The physical feeling of a tight chest connects all these meanings.

Why is the word order in the second half just je gezicht is bleek? Doesn't the verb usually move?

The verb doesn't move here because en (and) is a coordinating conjunction. Connecting words like en, maar (but), of (or), and want (because) glue two main sentences together without changing the word order in the second half. So, je gezicht (your face) remains the normal subject, followed directly by the verb is.

Is it okay to say jouw gezicht instead of je gezicht?