יש חשש רציני.

There is serious concern.

Breakdown of יש חשש רציני.

• יש: there is
• רציני: serious
• חשש: concern; apprehension

Questions & Answers about יש חשש רציני.

What does יש mean here?

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

So יש חשש רציני literally means something like:

• there is a serious concern
• there exists a serious concern

It does not mean has by itself. In other contexts, יש לי means I have, but that is literally there is to me.

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Why is there no word for a in the sentence?

Hebrew does not have an indefinite article like English a / an.

So חשש רציני can mean:

• a serious concern
• serious concern (depending on context)

If the noun were definite, Hebrew would use ה־:

• החשש הרציני = the serious concern

In this sentence, the noun is indefinite, so there is no ה־.

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Why does the adjective רציני come after חשש?