Hy smeer die fietsketting.

• Hy = he
• smeer = smears, greases, lubricates, or spreads depending on context
• die = the
• fietsketting = bicycle chain / bike chain

So the sentence structure is very direct: He greases the bicycle chain.

Yes, smeer is related to English smear, but in Afrikaans it is also commonly used for applying grease, oil, butter, cream, and similar substances.

In this sentence, smeer is best understood as:

• grease
• lubricate
• oil

So although the basic idea is to spread something onto something, here it naturally means he is greasing the bike chain.

Afrikaans verbs do not usually change according to the subject the way English verbs do.

For example:

• Ek smeer = I grease
• Jy smeer = you grease
• Hy smeer = he greases
• Ons smeer = we grease

The verb stays smeer in all these cases. This is one of the simpler parts of Afrikaans grammar.

Yes. Die is the definite article, like English the.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans generally uses die for:

• singular nouns: die ketting = the chain
• plural nouns: die kettings = the chains

So unlike some languages, Afrikaans does not have different forms of the for gender or case here.

Afrikaans often writes compound nouns as a single word.

So:

• fiets = bicycle
• ketting = chain
• fietsketting = bicycle chain

This is very common in Afrikaans and similar to Dutch and German. English often writes these as two words, but Afrikaans usually combines them.

Yes. This is the basic Afrikaans main-clause word order:

Subject + Verb + Object

So:

• Hy = subject
• smeer = verb
• die fietsketting = object

That makes the sentence very similar to English:

• He greases the bicycle chain.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Afrikaans simple present often covers both:

• a general/habitual action: He greases the bicycle chain
• an action happening now: He is greasing the bicycle chain

If you need to know which one is meant, the surrounding context usually tells you.

A rough guide:

• Hy sounds a bit like hay, but with the Afrikaans y/ei sound
• smeer sounds roughly like smeer in English, with a long ee sound
• die in Afrikaans is usually pronounced like dee
• fietsketting is roughly feets-ketting

A syllable breakdown:

• fiets-ket-ting

A learner tip:

• die is not pronounced like English die
• in Afrikaans, die usually sounds like dee

Afrikaans usually uses double negation.

So:

• Hy smeer die fietsketting. = He greases the bicycle chain.
• Hy smeer nie die fietsketting nie. = He does not grease the bicycle chain.

Notice the two nie words:

1. one after the verb phrase begins
2. one at the end of the clause

That double nie ... nie pattern is very important in standard Afrikaans.

The normal past tense is formed with het + ge- past participle:

• Hy het die fietsketting gesmeer.
• He greased the bicycle chain.

Breakdown:

• hy = he
• het = has / auxiliary used for the past
• die fietsketting = the bicycle chain
• gesmeer = greased

So the past tense is not made by changing smeer itself the way English changes grease to greased.

You might hear constructions like that in some contexts, but Hy smeer die fietsketting is the most direct and natural way to say He greases the bicycle chain.

Adding aan can sometimes make it sound more like:

• he is working on / fiddling with / applying something to the chain

If your goal is simply to say that he lubricates the chain, the original sentence is the clearest choice.