אין קפה.

There is no coffee.

Breakdown of אין קפה.

• קפה: coffee
• אין: there is no

Questions & Answers about אין קפה.

What does אין mean in this sentence?

אין is the Hebrew word used to say that something does not exist / is not present / there is no ....

So אין קפה means there is no coffee.

In sentences like this, אין is the natural opposite of יש, which means there is / there are:

• יש קפה = there is coffee
• אין קפה = there is no coffee

Why is there no word for is in אין קפה?

In Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense.

So where English says:

• There is no coffee

Hebrew often just says:

• אין קפה

This is completely normal. Hebrew does not need a separate present-tense is here.

How do you pronounce אין קפה?

A common Israeli pronunciation is:

ein ka-FEH

A rough guide for English speakers:

• אין ≈ ein / ayn
• קפה = ka-FEH, with the stress on the last syllable

So the whole sentence is pronounced roughly:

ein ka-FEH

Why doesn’t קפה have the in front of it?

Because the sentence is talking about coffee in a general sense, not a specific coffee.

• אין קפה = there is no coffee
• אין הקפה would sound wrong in normal Hebrew

If you want to refer to a specific thing, Hebrew usually marks that clearly with ה־. But after אין, when talking generally about whether something is available or exists, Hebrew normally uses the noun without the.

What is the difference between אין and לא?

This is a very common question.

אין is used for non-existence / absence in the present:

• אין קפה = there is no coffee
• אין זמן = there is no time

לא is the regular word for not, and it usually negates verbs:

• אני לא שותה קפה = I do not drink coffee
• הוא לא כאן = he is not here

So in this sentence, אין is correct because the idea is there is no coffee, not coffee does not ... do something.

Is אין קפה the same as saying just No coffee in English?

Often, yes.

Depending on context, אין קפה can sound like:

• There is no coffee
• No coffee
• We don’t have coffee

Hebrew often leaves context to do some of the work. So the exact English wording may change, even though the Hebrew sentence stays very short.

Can אין קפה also mean I don’t have coffee?

By itself, אין קפה usually means there is no coffee or there isn’t any coffee.

If you specifically want to say I don’t have coffee, Hebrew normally says:

• אין לי קפה

Literally, that is something like there is not to me coffee, which is how Hebrew commonly expresses have / don’t have.

So:

• אין קפה = there is no coffee
• אין לי קפה = I don’t have coffee

Is קפה masculine or feminine, and does it matter here?

קפה is generally treated as masculine in Modern Hebrew.

For this sentence, though, it does not matter, because אין does not change for gender here.

You only start noticing the gender more clearly in other contexts, for example with adjectives or pronouns.

Can the words be reversed, like קפה אין?

Normally, the natural order is:

אין קפה

That is the standard, neutral way to say it.

You might sometimes hear unusual word order in poetry, very emotional speech, or for special emphasis, but for a learner, אין קפה is the correct pattern to use.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral?

It is neutral and very common.

A native speaker could use אין קפה in everyday conversation, at home, in a café, at work, or in a simple written message.

It is short, natural Hebrew.