Hun begynte å spy.

Because hun is the subject form of the pronoun, meaning the person doing the action.

• hun = she
• henne = her

In this sentence, she is the one who begynte and spy, so Norwegian uses hun.

Compare:

• Hun begynte å spy. = She started vomiting.
• Jeg så henne. = I saw her.

Begynte is the past tense of å begynne, meaning to begin or to start.

Common forms are:

• å begynne = to begin
• begynner = begins / is beginning
• begynte = began / started
• har begynt = has begun / has started

So the sentence is in the past. It describes something that started at some point earlier.

That å is the infinitive marker, similar to English to in to vomit.

After begynne, Norwegian normally uses:

• begynne å + infinitive

So:

• Hun begynte å spy.

This is the normal pattern, just like:

• Hun begynte å le. = She started to laugh.
• Han begynte å løpe. = He started to run.

In Norwegian, the finite verb is the verb that shows tense. Here, that verb is begynte.

The second verb, spy, stays in the infinitive because it depends on begynte.

So the structure is:

• Hun = subject
• begynte = finite verb, past tense
• å spy = infinitive phrase

This is very common in Norwegian:

• Jeg prøvde å sove.
• De likte å danse.
• Vi håpet å vinne.

No, it is not related to the English word spy.

In Norwegian, å spy means to vomit or to throw up.

Its common forms are:

• å spy
• spyr
• spydde
• har spydd

So even though it looks familiar to an English speaker, it is a completely different word.

There are other options, and they can sound more or less direct.

Common alternatives include:

• å spy = to vomit, to throw up
  
  • direct, everyday, a bit blunt
• å kaste opp = to throw up
  
  • very common, often a bit more neutral
• å brekke seg = to retch / gag
  
  • not exactly the same meaning

So you could also say:

• Hun begynte å kaste opp.

That often sounds a little more natural in many everyday situations.

A few pronunciation points matter here:

• begynte does not sound like the English word begin
• the y sound in Norwegian is a vowel English does not really have
• spy does not sound like the English word spy

Useful notes:

• begynte is roughly be-YUN-te, but with a Norwegian y sound
• å is pronounced like a long o sound
• spy has the same Norwegian y vowel, not English eye

If you know French or German, the y is somewhat like French u or German ü.

So both begynte and spy contain sounds that English speakers often need to practice.

It normally means that the vomiting started.

So the idea is not just nausea, but the action itself beginning.

If you wanted to say she felt like vomiting, Norwegian would usually use something else, for example:

• Hun var kvalm. = She was nauseous.
• Hun måtte spy. = She had to vomit.
• Hun holdt på å spy. = She was about to vomit / nearly vomited, depending on context.

So begynte å spy is stronger than just feeling sick.

Norwegian is a V2 language, which means the finite verb usually comes in the second position in a main clause.

In the original sentence:

• Hun begynte å spy.

If you move something else to the front, the verb still stays second:

• Plutselig begynte hun å spy. = Suddenly, she started vomiting.
• I går begynte hun å spy. = Yesterday, she started vomiting.

Notice that when something comes first, hun moves after the verb:

• Plutselig begynte hun ...
• not Plutselig hun begynte ...

That is a very important Norwegian word-order rule.

Yes, you might hear that, but begynte å spy is usually the safest and most natural choice.

• begynte å is very common and standard for beginning an action
• startet å does occur, but many learners are better off using begynte å first

So:

• Hun begynte å spy. = very natural
• Hun startet å spy. = possible, but often less neutral

For everyday Norwegian, begynte å is the pattern to remember.