יש פה מאה אנשים.

יש is the Hebrew existential word for there is / there are.

So:

• יש פה אדם אחד = There is one person here
• יש פה מאה אנשים = There are a hundred people here

A very important point: יש does not change for singular vs. plural.
English has there is and there are, but Hebrew just uses יש for both.

Because Hebrew usually does not use a present-tense form of to be in simple sentences.

In ordinary present-tense Hebrew, you often just put the words next to each other:

• הוא פה = He is here
• הם עייפים = They are tired

But when you want to say that something exists or is present, Hebrew uses יש:

• יש מים = There is water
• יש פה מאה אנשים = There are a hundred people here

So יש is not exactly the same as English are. It is more like an existence word: there is/there are.

פה means here.

You could also say כאן, which also means here:

• יש פה מאה אנשים
• יש כאן מאה אנשים

Both are correct.

The difference is mostly about style:

• פה = very common in everyday speech
• כאן = also common, but can sound a little more neutral or slightly more formal

So in conversation, פה sounds completely natural.

This is a very common Hebrew pattern:

יש + place + thing/person

So literally, the sentence is something like:

• There exist here a hundred people

That sounds strange in English, but it is normal in Hebrew.

This order is very natural when introducing what is in a place:

• יש פה בעיה = There is a problem here
• יש בבית ילד = There is a child in the house
• יש פה מאה אנשים = There are a hundred people here

You can move things around for emphasis, but this version is the most neutral and natural.

Because אנשים is the normal plural of איש when you mean people.

• איש = man / person
• אנשים = people

The form אישים does exist, but it usually means something more like:

• figures
• personalities
• important individuals

So in a normal sentence about a crowd, אנשים is the right word.

Because with a number like מאה (a hundred), Hebrew normally uses a plural noun here:

• מאה אנשים = a hundred people
• מאה בתים = a hundred houses
• מאה ספרים = a hundred books

So אנשים is plural because the sentence is talking about many people.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

yesh po me-ah ana-SHIM

A few notes:

• יש = yesh
• פה = po
• מאה = me-ah
  (two parts/syllables, because of the א)
• אנשים = ana-SHIM

So the whole sentence is:

yesh po me-ah ana-SHIM

You replace יש with אין.

So:

• יש פה מאה אנשים = There are a hundred people here
• אין פה מאה אנשים = There aren’t a hundred people here

And:

• אין פה אנשים = There are no people here

So אין is the negative counterpart of יש in existential sentences.

You might see or hear ישנם in more formal Hebrew, especially in writing, but in normal everyday speech יש is much more natural.

So for a learner, the best version to use is:

יש פה מאה אנשים

That is the standard, natural spoken form.

Usually it means the literal number 100.

But like English, Hebrew speakers can also use numbers a bit loosely for emphasis. So in some contexts, מאה can mean something like a ton of or so many.

Still, if there is no special context or dramatic tone, the normal interpretation is the exact number:

There are 100 people here.