Hy is hier; sy is egter daar.

Hy means he, and sy here means she.

So the structure is:

• Hy = he
• sy = she

A useful extra note: sy can also mean his in other contexts, but in this sentence it is clearly she because it is being used as the subject before is.

Because each clause has its own subject and verb:

• Hy is hier
• sy is egter daar

In Afrikaans, just like in English, each full clause normally needs its own verb. So you cannot usually leave out the second is here.

Also, is is very convenient in Afrikaans because it stays the same with all persons:

• ek is
• jy is
• hy is
• ons is

So unlike English, you do not need to learn forms like am / is / are.

They mean here and there:

• hier = here
• daar = there

They are common location words in Afrikaans. In this sentence they contrast the two people’s locations:

• Hy is hier = he is here
• sy is egter daar = she is, however, there

Egter means however, nevertheless, or though in a contrasting sense.

Here it shows a contrast between the two clauses:

• He is here; however, she is there.

So egter is not just adding information; it is signaling that the second clause contrasts with the first.

A small style note: egter often sounds a bit more formal or written than everyday spoken English but. It is perfectly normal Afrikaans, but in casual speech many speakers might more naturally use maar.

Because Afrikaans main clauses normally follow a verb-second pattern.

That means the finite verb usually comes very early in the clause, typically in the second position:

• sy is egter daar

Here:

1. sy = first element
2. is = verb in second position
3. egter = adverb after the verb
4. daar = place word

So sy egter is daar would sound wrong in standard Afrikaans.

Yes. In many everyday situations, maar would sound more natural:

• Hy is hier, maar sy is daar.

That means He is here, but she is there.

The difference is roughly:

• maar = but
• egter = however / nevertheless

So egter often feels a little more formal or literary, while maar is very common in ordinary speech.

The semicolon links two closely related full clauses:

• Hy is hier
• sy is egter daar

It shows that the ideas belong together, but each side could also stand as its own sentence.

You could also write:

• Hy is hier. Sy is egter daar.
• Hy is hier, maar sy is daar.

So the semicolon is a punctuation choice, not a special grammar rule of Afrikaans.

A rough guide for an English speaker is:

• hy ≈ hay with a light h
• sy ≈ say
• hier ≈ something like heer or here said quickly, depending on accent
• daar ≈ close to there, but with an aa sound more like dah-r

A couple of cautions:

• These are only rough English approximations.
• Afrikaans pronunciation varies somewhat by accent.
• The r in Afrikaans may sound different from English r, depending on the speaker.

If you are learning pronunciation seriously, it is best to listen to native audio rather than relying only on English-style approximations.

Yes, it is grammatical and natural, especially in writing.

It has a slightly neat, contrastive feel because of egter and the semicolon. In very casual speech, many speakers would probably say something simpler like:

• Hy is hier, maar sy is daar.

But the original sentence is absolutely good Afrikaans.