יש לך מים?

there is

Breakdown of יש לך מים?

• מים: water
• לך: to you

Questions & Answers about יש לך מים?

What does יש mean here? Is it the verb to have?

Not exactly. Hebrew usually does not use a normal verb meaning to have in everyday present-tense sentences.

Instead, Hebrew says possession with:

• יש = there is / there are
• plus a word like לי / לך / לו = to me / to you / to him

So יש לך מים? is literally something like:

• Is there to you water?

Natural English:

• Do you have water?
• Have you got water?

So יש is the existence word, not a direct equivalent of English have.

Why is לך used? What exactly does it mean?

לך means to you.

In Hebrew possession structures, to someone often expresses someone has.

Examples:

• יש לי מים = I have water
• יש לך מים = you have water
• יש לו מים = he has water
• יש לה מים = she has water

So in יש לך מים?, the idea is:

• יש = there is
• לך = to you
• מים = water

Together: Do you have water?