Hy loer in die kamer.

In Afrikaans, in can be used where English would naturally say into, especially with verbs like loer. So Hy loer in die kamer is understood as He peeks into the room.

English makes a stronger distinction between in and into than Afrikaans often does in this kind of sentence.

Hy means he. It is the third-person singular masculine subject pronoun.

So:

• hy = he
• sy = she
• dit = it

Afrikaans verbs usually do not change for person in the present tense.

So you get:

• ek loer = I peek
• jy loer = you peek
• hy loer = he peeks
• ons loer = we peek

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not add an -s equivalent here.

Die means the.

Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for nouns, and it does not change for grammatical gender. That is much simpler than in many other languages.

So:

• die kamer = the room

This is normal Afrikaans main-clause word order:

• Hy = subject
• loer = verb
• in die kamer = prepositional phrase

In a simple statement, the finite verb normally comes early in the sentence, usually right after the subject.

So the structure is very similar to English here:

• He peeks into the room
• Hy loer in die kamer

A rough guide:

• hy: roughly like English hay, but not exactly the same
• loer: the oe sounds like the oo in food

So loer begins with a sound like loo-.

Pronunciation varies a bit by accent, but that approximation is good enough for a learner.

Yes, but the meaning changes a little.

• kyk = look
• loer = peek / peep / sneak a look

So loer has a more specific feel. It suggests someone is looking in a quick, curious, or slightly secretive way.

You would say:

Hy loer nie in die kamer nie.

Afrikaans typically uses double negation:

• one nie after the verb or the relevant part of the sentence
• another nie at the end of the clause

That is a very common Afrikaans pattern.

Yes, if you mean the room, you need die:

• in die kamer = in the room / into the room

If you meant a room, you would say:

• in 'n kamer = in a room

So the article matters just as it does in English.