Sy lyk bekommerd, maar die dokter sê dit is nie gevaarlik nie.

She looks worried, but the doctor says it is not dangerous.

Breakdown of Sy lyk bekommerd, maar die dokter sê dit is nie gevaarlik nie.

• sy: she
• wees: to be
• nie: not
• dit: it

Questions & Answers about Sy lyk bekommerd, maar die dokter sê dit is nie gevaarlik nie.

Why does the sentence start with Sy? Is that just she?

Yes. Sy here means she.

It is capitalized only because it is the first word of the sentence. In the middle of a sentence, it would be sy.

One thing that can confuse English speakers is that sy can also be a possessive word meaning his in other contexts, but here it is clearly the subject pronoun she.

Why is lyk used here instead of a form of is?

Lyk means looks or seems.

So Sy lyk bekommerd is literally something like She looks worried or She seems worried, not She is worried.

That is an important difference:

• Sy is bekommerd = She is worried
• Sy lyk bekommerd = She looks worried / seems worried

Afrikaans often uses lyk in the same kinds of situations where English uses look or seem.

Why is it bekommerd and not something like bekommerde?