זהב יקר.

Gold is expensive.

Breakdown of זהב יקר.

• יקר: expensive
• זהב: gold

Questions & Answers about זהב יקר.

How do you pronounce זהב יקר?

A common pronunciation is za-HAV ya-KAR.

• זהב = za-HAV
• יקר = ya-KAR

The stress is usually on the last syllable of each word.

Why isn’t there a word for is in this sentence?

In Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not written or said in the present tense.

So:

• זהב יקר = Gold is expensive / precious

But in past or future, Hebrew does use forms of to be:

• זהב היה יקר = Gold was expensive
• זהב יהיה יקר = Gold will be expensive

This kind of present-tense sentence with no written is is very common in Hebrew.

Why is the adjective after the noun?

In Hebrew, adjectives normally come after the noun.

So:

• זהב יקר literally follows the pattern gold expensive

This is normal Hebrew word order. English usually puts adjectives before nouns, but Hebrew usually places them after.

What does יקר mean here exactly: , , or ?