Dit bly privaat.

Here bly means remains / stays.

So Dit bly privaat means something like It remains private or It stays private.

This is a very common use of bly in Afrikaans:

• bly kalm = stay calm
• bly stil = stay quiet
• bly oop = stay open

Be careful: bly can also mean live/reside in other contexts:

• Ek bly in Kaapstad = I live in Cape Town

So the exact meaning depends on context.

Using is would simply describe a state:

• Dit is privaat = It is private

Using bly adds the idea that the state continues:

• Dit bly privaat = It remains private / It stays private

So bly emphasizes continuation or no change.

Dit usually means it.

In this sentence, Dit refers to some thing, information, matter, arrangement, or situation already known from context.

Examples:

• Die gesprek? Dit bly privaat. = The conversation? It remains private.
• Jou data? Dit bly privaat. = Your data? It remains private.

Afrikaans uses dit very often the same way English uses it.

Yes. Privaat is an adjective here, meaning private.

In Dit bly privaat, the structure is:

• Dit = subject
• bly = verb
• privaat = adjective describing the subject

This is similar to English:

• It stays private

Afrikaans often uses adjectives after linking verbs like wees or bly:

• Dit is maklik = It is easy
• Dit bly belangrik = It remains important
• Hy word kwaad = He becomes angry

Because Afrikaans is often more direct and compact than English.

Dit bly privaat is a perfectly natural short sentence. Afrikaans does not need extra words here. The pattern is simply:

subject + bly + adjective

Examples:

• Dit bly veilig = It remains safe
• Alles bly dieselfde = Everything remains the same
• Die plan bly geheim = The plan remains secret

So the short structure is normal and idiomatic.

Not by itself.

Dit bly privaat is a statement, not a command. It means:

• It remains private
• It stays private

If you wanted to say Keep it private, Afrikaans would more likely say something like:

• Hou dit privaat
• Laat dit privaat bly

So bly here is describing a condition, not giving an instruction.

The word order is very straightforward:

Dit + bly + privaat

• subject
• verb
• adjective/complement

This is the normal order in a simple main clause in Afrikaans.

Compare:

• Dit is belangrik = It is important
• Hy bly stil = He stays quiet
• Die deur bly oop = The door stays open

Afrikaans main clauses usually keep the verb in the second position, and that is exactly what happens here.

The negative would usually be:

Dit bly nie privaat nie.

Afrikaans typically uses a double negative:

• nie after the verb or later in the clause
• another nie at the end

So:

• Dit bly privaat. = It remains private.
• Dit bly nie privaat nie. = It does not remain private.

This double nie pattern is one of the most important features of Afrikaans.

A simple learner-friendly approximation is:

pri-VAHT

A bit more carefully:

• pri- like pree
• -vaat with a broad a sound, somewhat like vaht

The stress is usually on the second syllable: pri-VAAT.

If you are a beginner, saying something close to pree-VAHT will usually be understood.

Yes. That means It will remain private.

Compare:

• Dit bly privaat = It remains private / It stays private
• Dit sal privaat bly = It will remain private

In the second sentence, the future marker sal is added, and the verb bly moves to the end of the clause, which is normal in Afrikaans.

So this is a useful comparison:

• main clause: Dit bly privaat
• with modal/future helper: Dit sal privaat bly

Yes, it is natural and idiomatic.

It sounds like something you might see in contexts such as:

• privacy policies
• confidential communication
• personal data notices
• promises of discretion

For example:

• Jou inligting bly privaat. = Your information remains private.
• Alles wat jy sê, bly privaat. = Everything you say remains private.

So even though the sentence is short, it sounds very normal in real Afrikaans.