Die bykos is lekker.

Yes. Die is the Afrikaans definite article, and in this sentence it means the.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans does not change the article for gender the way some languages do. So die can be used for many nouns where English would simply say the.

Bykos means a side dish or something served along with the main food.

It is made up of:

• by- = additional / alongside
• kos = food

So the word has the sense of extra food served with something else.

Yes. Is in Afrikaans is the present-tense form of to be, just like English is.

So in Die bykos is lekker, is links the subject and the description:

• Die bykos = the side dish
• is = is
• lekker = tasty / nice

Lekker is an adjective here. It describes the noun phrase by saying what the side dish is like: tasty, nice, good.

Afrikaans learners should know that lekker is a very common word and can be used in a wider range of ways than English tasty. Depending on context, it can mean:

• tasty
• nice
• pleasant
• enjoyable

In this sentence, it most naturally means tasty or delicious.

Yes. This is the normal word order for a simple main clause in Afrikaans:

subject + verb + complement

So:

• Die bykos = subject
• is = verb
• lekker = complement / description

This is very similar to English:

• The side dish is tasty.

Not in this sentence.

After the verb is, Afrikaans usually keeps the adjective in its basic form:

• Die bykos is lekker.
• Die sop is warm.
• Die brood is vars.

So you do not change lekker here.

Afrikaans adjectives can sometimes change when they come before a noun, but after is they usually stay simple.

A helpful rough guide is:

bykos ≈ BAY-koss

Notes:

• by sounds roughly like English bay
• kos has a short o, like in British-style off for many speakers, followed by a clear s

The stress is usually on the first syllable: BY-kos.

A rough pronunciation is:

lekker ≈ LEK-uh or LEK-er

Notes:

• the first syllable lek sounds like English leck
• the kk shows a short, crisp vowel before it
• the final -er is not pronounced exactly like English -er, but LEK-er is a good beginner approximation

The stress is on the first syllable: LEK-ker.

No. Afrikaans die is usually pronounced more like dee, not like the English verb die.

So:

• Afrikaans die ≈ dee
• English die = completely different pronunciation

This is a very common beginner trap.

Yes, absolutely.

• Die bykos is lekker = The side dish is tasty / nice.
• Die bykos smaak lekker = The side dish tastes nice.

Both are natural, but there is a slight difference:

• is lekker describes it more generally
• smaak lekker focuses specifically on the taste

No. That is one of the most useful things to know about Afrikaans.

Lekker can be used for food, but also for many other things:

• Die bykos is lekker. = The side dish is tasty.
• Die weer is lekker. = The weather is nice.
• Ons het lekker gesels. = We had a nice chat.
• Dit was lekker. = That was nice / enjoyable.

So it is a very flexible everyday word.

Yes. The plural is usually bykosse.

So you could say:

• Die bykosse is lekker. = The side dishes are tasty.

Notice something important: in Afrikaans, is is still used with plural subjects in the present tense in sentences like this. Afrikaans verbs usually do not change much for person or number the way English verbs do.