התחתית של כלי החרס עבה מדי.

In present-tense Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted. So התחתית של כלי החרס עבה מדי literally looks like the bottom of the clay vessel too thick, but it naturally means The bottom of the clay vessel is too thick.

If the sentence were in the past or future, Hebrew would normally use forms of להיות.

תחתית means bottom, base, or lower part. The prefix ה־ is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• תחתית = bottom
• התחתית = the bottom

It is related to תחת, which has the basic idea of under or beneath.

It is singular.

כלי means something like vessel, container, utensil, or tool, depending on context. Here it means a single vessel.

The plural is כלים.

This is a very common point of confusion for English speakers, because כלי does not look obviously singular at first.

חרס refers to earthenware, pottery, or fired clay. In some contexts it can also mean a potsherd or piece of pottery.

In the phrase כלי חרס, it describes the material of the vessel, so the phrase means an earthenware vessel or a clay vessel.

Because כלי החרס is a construct chain (called סמיכות in Hebrew).

In a construct chain, the first noun usually does not take ה־. Instead, definiteness is normally shown on the last noun.

So:

• כלי חרס = an earthenware vessel
• כלי החרס = the earthenware vessel

That is why you see ה־ on החרס, not on כלי.

Hebrew has two common ways to express of relationships:

1. a construct chain
2. a phrase with של

So both of these are possible:

• התחתית של כלי החרס
• תחתית כלי החרס

The version with של is very natural in modern Hebrew and often easier to understand, especially in everyday speech.

Also, if you use the direct construct form, you would normally say תחתית כלי החרס, not התחתית כלי החרס.

It agrees with תחתית, which is a feminine singular noun.

With vowel marks, the feminine form here is עֲבָה. In ordinary unpointed Hebrew, it is written עבה, which can look the same as the masculine spelling to a learner.

So the agreement is correct: the subject is feminine singular, and the adjective is feminine singular as well.

מדי means too or overly.

In Hebrew, it usually comes after the adjective or adverb it modifies:

• עבה מדי = too thick
• יקר מדי = too expensive
• לאט מדי = too slowly

So Hebrew says the equivalent of thick too, not too thick in word order.

A simple transliteration is:

ha-takhtit shel kli ha-cheres ava midai

A few pronunciation notes:

• ח is a throaty kh/ch sound, like in Scottish loch or German Bach
• כּלי is kli, one syllable
• מדי is midai

If you cannot produce the ח sound yet, many modern speakers will still understand you if you use a softer h-like sound.

Yes. That is a correct alternative.

It uses the direct construct-chain style instead of של, so it feels a bit more compact and sometimes a bit more formal or written.

So both are good:

• התחתית של כלי החרס עבה מדי
• תחתית כלי החרס עבה מדי

What would sound wrong is התחתית כלי החרס, because the first noun in a direct construct chain normally does not take ה־.