Ek voel skaam wanneer almal na my kyk.

Because skaam is an adjective, meaning shy or ashamed/embarrassed, and after voel Afrikaans often uses an adjective to describe how someone feels.

So:

• Ek voel skaam = I feel shy / embarrassed
• Skaamheid would be a noun meaning shyness, and it would not fit naturally here.

This works much like English I feel shy, not I feel shyness.

Skaam can cover a few related ideas, depending on context:

• shy
• embarrassed
• ashamed

In this sentence, because of wanneer almal na my kyk (when everyone looks at me), it most naturally means shy or self-conscious / embarrassed.

So the sentence suggests the speaker feels uncomfortable because of other people’s attention.

Because the verb kyk usually goes with na when it means look at.

So:

• kyk na iemand = look at someone
• almal kyk na my = everyone looks at me

This is different from English, where look at has two words, but in Afrikaans you should think of kyk na as a set expression.

Because after a preposition like na, Afrikaans uses the object form of the pronoun.

So:

• ek = I
• my = me

That is why you get:

• na my = at me

Just like English says at me, not at I.

Because wanneer almal na my kyk is a subordinate clause, introduced by wanneer (when). In Afrikaans, subordinate clauses usually send the finite verb to the end.

Compare:

• Main clause: Almal kyk na my. = Everyone looks at me.
• Subordinate clause: wanneer almal na my kyk = when everyone looks at me

So the final kyk is normal Afrikaans word order after wanneer.

Wanneer means when.

In this sentence, wanneer is a very natural choice:

• Ek voel skaam wanneer almal na my kyk.

You may also hear as used in some contexts where English would use when, especially in more conversational language. But for learners, wanneer is the clearest and safest word here.

So if you want to sound straightforward and correct, wanneer is excellent.

Almal means everyone or all people.

In this sentence:

• wanneer almal na my kyk = when everyone looks at me

It refers to people in general, not things.

A useful comparison:

• almal = everyone
• alles = everything
• al = all

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• Ek voel skaam = I feel shy / embarrassed
• Ek is skaam = I am shy

Ek voel skaam focuses on the feeling in that moment or in that situation.

Ek is skaam sounds more like a personal characteristic, though it can also describe a current state depending on context.

So in this sentence, voel is a good choice because it highlights the emotional reaction.

Yes. It is in the present tense, and it can describe either:

• a general truth about the speaker, or
• something that usually happens

So Ek voel skaam wanneer almal na my kyk can mean:

• I feel shy when everyone looks at me
• in other words, whenever that happens, I feel shy

Afrikaans often uses the present tense for this kind of repeated or general situation.

Yes. You can move the wanneer clause to the front:

• Wanneer almal na my kyk, voel ek skaam.

This means the same thing.

Notice what happens in the main clause after the fronted subordinate clause:

• not ek voel
• but voel ek

That is because Afrikaans keeps the verb in second position in the main clause.

So both are correct:

• Ek voel skaam wanneer almal na my kyk.
• Wanneer almal na my kyk, voel ek skaam.

Kyk is pronounced roughly like the English word cake, but with an Afrikaans sound that is not exactly the same.

A simple learner-friendly guide:

• kyk sounds approximately like kake without the final -e, or a bit like English cake said very short and crisp.

A few other words in the sentence:

• Ek = like eck
• voel = like fool but with v
• skaam = like skaam with a long aa sound
• wanneer = vuh-NEER
• almal = AHL-mal
• na my = nah may

Exact pronunciation varies by accent, but this should help you get close.

Usually kyk na my means look at me.

Depending on context, it can sometimes also feel like watch me, but if you specifically want watch, Afrikaans often uses dophou or a more context-specific expression.

In this sentence, the natural meaning is clearly:

• everyone is looking at me

So the focus is on attention being directed at the speaker.

It could, but shy or embarrassed is more likely in this context.

If someone says:

• Ek voel skaam wanneer almal na my kyk

the idea is usually that they feel awkward or self-conscious under attention.

If you wanted a stronger idea of ashamed because of guilt or wrongdoing, Afrikaans might use other wording depending on context.

So for this sentence, a learner should mainly understand skaam as shy / embarrassed.