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Questions & Answers about הספר כאן.
How do you pronounce הספר כאן?
It is pronounced roughly ha-SE-fer kan.
- הספר = ha-sefer
- ה = ha- = the
- ספר = sefer = book
- כאן = kan = here
A natural pronunciation is ha-SE-fer kan.
Why is ה attached to ספר?
In Hebrew, the definite article the is usually a prefix, not a separate word.
So:
- ספר = book
- הספר = the book
This is different from English, where the is written separately.
Why is there no word for is in this sentence?
In Hebrew, present-tense sentences like The book is here often do not use a separate word for is.
So Hebrew says:
- הספר כאן
- literally: the book here
But the meaning is still The book is here.
This is very normal in Hebrew. The missing is is understood automatically.