Sy voel skuldig.

Here, sy means she.

A native English speaker may notice that sy can also mean his in other contexts. In this sentence, though, it is clearly the subject pronoun because it comes before the verb voel.

So:

• Sy voel skuldig. = She feels guilty.

Because Afrikaans uses voel = feel as the main verb here, just like English does.

Compare:

• Sy voel skuldig. = She feels guilty.
• Sy is skuldig. = She is guilty.

These do not mean exactly the same thing:

• voel skuldig = she experiences the feeling of guilt
• is skuldig = she is guilty, possibly in a factual, moral, or legal sense

So if you want feels guilty, voel is the right verb.

Skuldig is an adjective. It describes a state or quality, in this case guilty.

In Sy voel skuldig, it comes after the verb and describes how she feels.

This is normal in Afrikaans:

• Ek voel moeg. = I feel tired.
• Hy lyk gelukkig. = He looks happy.
• Sy voel skuldig. = She feels guilty.

Because it is being used after the verb, not directly before a noun.

In Afrikaans, adjectives often stay in their basic form when they are used predicatively, meaning after a verb like is, voel, lyk, or word.

So:

• Sy voel skuldig. = correct

But before a noun, Afrikaans adjectives often take -e:

• die skuldige vrou = the guilty woman

So the difference is:

• after a verb: skuldig
• before a noun: skuldige

Yes, in this simple sentence it is very similar to English:

• Sy = subject
• voel = verb
• skuldig = adjective/complement

So:

• Sy voel skuldig.
• She feels guilty.

This is a straightforward main clause in normal word order.

No, not in standard Afrikaans for this meaning.

You simply say:

• Sy voel skuldig.

Afrikaans does not need an extra object like herself here. English also normally just says she feels guilty, not she feels herself guilty.

The basic verb is voel, meaning to feel.

Examples:

• Ek voel = I feel
• Jy voel = you feel
• Hy voel = he feels
• Sy voel = she feels
• Ons voel = we feel

Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form depending on the subject the way English verbs do. So unlike English I feel but she feels, Afrikaans keeps voel the same.

That is why you get:

• Ek voel skuldig.
• Sy voel skuldig.

not a changed form of voel.

In a main-clause yes/no question, Afrikaans usually puts the verb first:

• Voel sy skuldig? = Does she feel guilty?

This is a very common pattern:

• Is sy moeg? = Is she tired?
• Lyk hy gelukkig? = Does he look happy?
• Voel sy skuldig? = Does she feel guilty?

Afrikaans normally uses double negation:

• Sy voel nie skuldig nie. = She does not feel guilty.

This is a key Afrikaans pattern:

• first nie usually comes after the verb or the main part being negated
• second nie comes at the end of the clause

So:

• Sy voel skuldig.
• Sy voel nie skuldig nie.

No. Skuldig can refer to legal guilt, moral guilt, or emotional guilt, depending on context.

So Sy voel skuldig most naturally means she has a feeling of guilt. It does not automatically mean she committed a crime. It could just mean she feels bad about something.

If you say:

• Sy is skuldig.

that can sound more like she is guilty, including in a legal or factual sense.

A rough guide for an English speaker:

• Sy: roughly like say, but with an Afrikaans vowel quality
• voel: roughly like fool with a v sound at the start
• skuldig: roughly SKUL-dikh, with the final g being the throaty Afrikaans sound, not an English g

The hardest sound for many learners is the g in skuldig. It is usually a guttural sound made at the back of the throat.

Yes. Voel is used for both.

Physical feeling:

• Ek voel koud. = I feel cold.
• Sy voel siek. = She feels sick.

Emotional feeling:

• Hy voel gelukkig. = He feels happy.
• Sy voel skuldig. = She feels guilty.

So voel is a very useful everyday verb in Afrikaans.