Hy bely sy liefde.

It is a simple subject–verb–object sentence:

• Hy = subject (he)
• bely = verb
• sy liefde = direct object (his love)

So the sentence pattern is very similar to English: He + confesses/professes + his love.

Bely usually means confess, profess, or declare openly.

In this sentence, it has a romantic sense, so English translations like these all work depending on context:

• He confesses his love
• He professes his love
• He declares his love

The verb can also be used in religious or moral contexts, such as confessing faith or admitting guilt, so it can sound a little more formal or weighty than a very casual English verb.

Yes, sy can mean different things depending on how it is used.

Here it is a possessive word before a noun:

• sy liefde = his love

But sy can also be a subject pronoun:

• Sy bely haar liefde = She confesses her love

So the role in the sentence tells you what it means.

A useful comparison:

• hy = he
• sy = she
• sy + noun = his + noun
• haar + noun = her + noun

So:

• Hy bely sy liefde = He confesses his love
• Hy bely haar liefde would mean He confesses her love, which is a different idea

Because sy already determines the noun.

In Afrikaans, just like in English, you normally do not use the with a possessive:

• sy liefde = his love
• not the his love

So liefde does not need die here.

In this simple main clause, yes — it is very close to English:

• Hy bely sy liefde.
• He confesses his love.

Afrikaans often looks very familiar to English learners in basic main clauses.

However, Afrikaans has stricter verb-position rules in some other sentence types. For example, in a subordinate clause:

• Ek weet dat hy sy liefde bely.
• I know that he confesses his love.

Here the verb comes at the end of the clause after dat.

A rough English-style guide would be:

• Hy ≈ hay (with an h)
• bely ≈ buh-LAY
• sy ≈ say
• liefde ≈ LEEF-duh

So the whole sentence is roughly:

hay buh-LAY say LEEF-duh

That is only an approximation, but it is close enough to help a beginner.

It is a normal real Afrikaans word, but it is a bit more formal or emotionally marked than a very plain everyday verb.

In a romantic sentence, Hy bely sy liefde sounds somewhat literary, serious, or dramatic — like He professes/confesses his love.

A more neutral alternative could be:

• Hy verklaar sy liefde. = He declares his love.

So bely is correct, but it is not the most casual possible choice.

The usual past form would be:

Hy het sy liefde bely.
= He confessed / has confessed his love.

This is useful because Afrikaans often uses het + past participle for the past.

Also notice something important: with bely, you do not add ge-.

So it is:

• het bely

not:

• het gebely

That is because verbs beginning with certain inseparable prefixes, including be-, usually do not take ge- in the participle.

Correct — Afrikaans is much simpler than languages like German or Dutch in this respect.

Liefde stays liefde. It does not change for:

• grammatical gender
• case
• the role it plays in the sentence

So whether it is the object here or used elsewhere, the noun itself usually stays the same.

That is one reason Afrikaans grammar can feel quite approachable for English speakers.