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Learn Hardcore Hebrew: את רוצה מים? - Do you want water?

Hardcore Hebrew
/Lesson 1
/את רוצה מים?

את רוצה מים?

Word

את רוצה מים?

Meaning

Do you want water?

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Hebrew

Lesson

Breakdown of את רוצה מים?

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Questions & Answers about את רוצה מים?

Is את here the word you, or the direct-object marker את?

Here, את means you and is the feminine singular subject pronoun.

This is a very common point of confusion, because Hebrew also has a different word spelled את that marks a definite direct object.

How to tell the difference here:

In את רוצה מים?, את comes before the verb and means you.
The object-marker את would come before a definite object, for example: אני רוצה את המים = I want the water.

So in this sentence, את definitely means you.

Is this sentence being said to a woman or a girl?

Yes. את רוצה מים? is addressed to one female.

If you were speaking to one male, you would say:

אתה רוצה מים?

So:

את = you to one female
אתה = you to one male

Why is רוצה used here?

רוצה is the present-tense form of the verb לרצות = to want.

In this sentence, it means want or wants, depending on context. With את, it means:

you want

So the structure is basically:

את = you
רוצה = want
מים = water

Together: You want water?

Why is רוצה pronounced differently for a man and a woman even though it is spelled the same?

Because everyday Hebrew usually does not write most vowels.

So the same spelling, רוצה, can be read as:

rotze when the subject is masculine singular
rotza when the subject is feminine singular

Examples:

אתה רוצה מים? = ata rotze mayim?
את רוצה מים? = at rotza mayim?

The spelling stays the same, but the pronunciation changes.

How do I pronounce the whole sentence?

A common pronunciation is:

at rotza mayim?

Roughly:

את = aht
רוצה = ro-TSA
מים = MA-yim

The voice usually rises a little at the end because it is a yes/no question.

Why is there no word like do in the question, as in Do you want water?

Hebrew does not use a helping verb like English do in questions.

English:

Do you want water?

Hebrew:

את רוצה מים?

Hebrew simply uses the normal sentence pattern, and the question is shown by:

intonation in speech
a question mark in writing

So this sentence is literally closer to:

You want water? but it naturally means:
Do you want water?

Is the word order normal here?

Yes. את רוצה מים? has a very normal word order for modern Hebrew:

subject + verb + object

את = subject
רוצה = verb
מים = object

In casual spoken Hebrew, people may also omit the pronoun if the context is clear:

רוצה מים?

But because present-tense Hebrew verbs do not clearly show person, keeping את often makes the sentence clearer.

Why is there no את before מים?

Because the direct-object marker את is only used before a definite direct object.

Here, מים just means water in a general sense, so there is no object marker.

Compare:

את רוצה מים? = Do you want water?
את רוצה את המים? = Do you want the water?

In the second sentence, את is the direct-object marker because המים is definite: the water.

What exactly is מים? Is it singular or plural?

מים means water.

It looks like a plural form, and in Hebrew it often behaves grammatically like a plural masculine noun, even though in meaning it is the uncountable noun water.

For example:

מים קרים = cold water
Literally, this is cold-plural water

So learners often notice that מים is not treated exactly like English water grammatically.

Could I also say האם את רוצה מים?

Yes. האם את רוצה מים? is completely grammatical.

But there is a difference in tone:

את רוצה מים? = normal, everyday, conversational
האם את רוצה מים? = more formal, more written, sometimes more careful

In ordinary speech, most people would simply say:

את רוצה מים?

Can the pronoun את be left out?

Yes, sometimes.

You may hear:

רוצה מים?

This can sound natural in conversation, especially when it is obvious who the speaker is addressing.

However, in the present tense, Hebrew verbs do not show person very clearly, so leaving out the pronoun can create ambiguity. That is one reason את רוצה מים? is often clearer than just רוצה מים?

How would I answer this question?

Some common answers are:

כן. = Yes.
כן, אני רוצה מים. = Yes, I want water.
כן, בבקשה. = Yes, please.
לא. = No.
לא, תודה. = No, thanks.

So if someone asks את רוצה מים?, a very natural reply is:

כן, בבקשה.

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