יש לי דירה קטנה וחדשה.

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Breakdown of יש לי דירה קטנה וחדשה.

• חדש: new
• יש: there is
• לי: to me

Questions & Answers about יש לי דירה קטנה וחדשה.

Why does Hebrew use יש לי instead of a single verb meaning I have?

In Modern Hebrew, possession is usually expressed with יש ל־... rather than with a separate verb like English to have.

• יש = there is / there exists
• לי = to me / for me

So יש לי דירה קטנה וחדשה is literally something like:

There is to me a small, new apartment.

That is the normal Hebrew way to say I have a small, new apartment.

What exactly does לי mean?

לי means to me or for me.

It is made from:

• ל־ = to
• ־י = me / my as a suffix

So:

• לי = to me
• לך = to you
• לו = to him
• לה = to her

In this sentence, לי is part of the possession structure יש לי = I have.

Why isn’t אני used in this sentence?