العمل يهمه.

يهمه is يهمّ + ـه.

• يهمّ = matters to / concerns
• ـه = him

So the word as a whole means it matters to him or it concerns him.

Because ـه here is an attached object pronoun, not a subject pronoun.

• هو means he and is a separate subject pronoun.
• ـه means him and attaches directly to verbs, nouns, and prepositions.

So يهمه means it concerns him, not he concerns.

The thing that matters is العمل.

The person affected is ـه in يهمه.

So Arabic is expressing the idea more like:

Work concerns him
rather than
He cares about work

That is why the work comes out as the main thing in the sentence.

Because it starts with العمل, a noun, it is commonly treated as a nominal sentence in Arabic grammar.

A simple way to understand it is:

• العمل = the topic, work
• يهمه = what is being said about it, matters to him

So the structure is roughly As for work, it matters to him.

Yes. يهمه العمل is also possible.

The difference is mostly one of focus or style:

• العمل يهمه puts work first, so it sounds more topical: Work, it matters to him.
• يهمه العمل starts with the verb and sounds more like a straightforward verbal statement: Work matters to him.

In many contexts, the English translation will be the same.

It can mean either, depending on context.

In Arabic, الـ is often used with generic or abstract nouns more naturally than in English. So العمل may mean:

• the work
• the job
• work in a general sense

So even if English just says work, Arabic may still use العمل.

A common full vocalization is:

العَمَلُ يَهُمُّهُ

A rough pronunciation is:

al-ʿamalu yahummuhu

Key points:

• العَمَلُ ends with ـُ in full formal vocalization
• يَهُمُّهُ has a doubled m sound because of the shadda on م

In normal unvowelled writing, these short vowels are usually not written.

Because Arabic does not have to match English word-for-word.

With this verb, Arabic often uses a direct attached pronoun:

• يهمني = it matters to me
• يهمك = it matters to you
• يهمه = it matters to him

So even though English says to him, Arabic expresses that idea through the attached pronoun.

Not exactly.

• العمل يهمه means work matters to him / is important to him / concerns him
• يهتمّ بالعمل means he is interested in the work / he pays attention to the work

They are related, but not identical.
يهمه focuses on importance or concern, while يهتمّ بـ often focuses more on interest, care, or attention.

You change the attached pronoun at the end of the verb:

• يهمني = it matters to me
• يهمك = it matters to you (masculine singular)
• يهمكِ = it matters to you (feminine singular)
• يهمه = it matters to him
• يهمها = it matters to her
• يهمنا = it matters to us
• يهمهم = it matters to them

So for example:

• العمل يهمني = Work matters to me
• العمل يهمها = Work matters to her