היא אוהבת קפה, אבל הוא לא אוהב חלב.

She likes coffee, but he does not like milk.

Breakdown of היא אוהבת קפה, אבל הוא לא אוהב חלב.

• הוא: he
• קפה: coffee
• היא: she
• אבל: but
• לא: not
• חלב: milk
• לאהוב: to like

Questions & Answers about היא אוהבת קפה, אבל הוא לא אוהב חלב.

Why is it אוהבת with היא, but אוהב with הוא?

Because in Hebrew, the present-tense form of the verb changes to match the subject’s gender and number.

• היא אוהבת = she likes
• הוא אוהב = he likes

So:

• אוהב = masculine singular
• אוהבת = feminine singular

This is very normal in Hebrew. English does not usually mark gender on verbs, but Hebrew often does in the present tense.

Do I have to say היא and הוא, or could I leave them out?

You can sometimes leave them out, because אוהבת already tells you the subject is feminine singular, and אוהב tells you it is masculine singular.

So these are possible in context:

• אוהבת קפה = [She] likes coffee
• לא אוהב חלב = [He] doesn’t like milk

However, in your sentence, keeping היא and הוא is very natural because it makes the contrast clearer:

• She likes coffee, but he doesn’t like milk.

So the pronouns are not just grammatical; they also help with emphasis and clarity.

Why is there no word for does in does not like?

Hebrew does not use an auxiliary verb like English do/does in this kind of sentence.

English:

• He does not like milk

Hebrew:

• הוא לא אוהב חלב

Here:

• לא = not
• אוהב = likes / like

So Hebrew simply puts לא before the verb to make it negative.

What exactly does לא do here?

לא means not.

It usually comes before the verb:

• הוא אוהב = he likes
• הוא לא אוהב = he does not like / he doesn’t like

This is the standard way to negate a present-tense sentence in Hebrew.

Why is there no את before קפה or חלב?

Because את is only used before a definite direct object.

Compare:

• היא אוהבת קפה = She likes coffee
  No את, because coffee here is general/indefinite.

• היא אוהבת את הקפה = She likes the coffee
  Here you do use את, because הקפה = the coffee, which is definite.

In your sentence, both קפה and חלב are being used in a general sense, so there is no את.

Why is there no word for a or the before coffee and milk?

Hebrew has no indefinite article, so there is no separate word for a/an.

• קפה can mean coffee or a coffee, depending on context.
• חלב can mean milk in a general sense.

If you want to say the, Hebrew adds ה־ to the beginning of the noun:

• קפה = coffee

• הקפה = the coffee

• חלב = milk
• החלב = the milk

So your sentence is talking about coffee and milk generally, not specific coffee or specific milk.

What does אבל mean, and is it in the normal position?

אבל means but.

Yes, it is in a very normal position: it connects the two clauses just like English does.

• היא אוהבת קפה, אבל הוא לא אוהב חלב.
• She likes coffee, but he doesn’t like milk.

So the structure is very familiar to an English speaker here.

Is the word order basically the same as in English?

Yes, in this sentence the word order is very similar to English:

• היא = subject
• אוהבת = verb
• קפה = object

Then:

• אבל = but
• הוא = subject
• לא אוהב = negative verb phrase
• חלב = object

So both clauses are basically subject + verb + object, which makes this sentence beginner-friendly.

That said, Hebrew word order can be more flexible than English in other contexts.

How do you pronounce the sentence?

A simple pronunciation guide is:

hi o-HE-vet ka-FE, a-VAL hu lo o-HEV kha-LAV

A few notes:

• היא = hi
• הוא = hu
• אוהבת = o-HE-vet
• אבל = a-VAL
• לא = lo
• אוהב = o-HEV
• חלב = kha-LAV

The ח in חלב is a throaty sound that English does not really have. It is often written as kh in transliteration.

Why are there no vowel marks, and how am I supposed to know how to read it?

Most modern Hebrew is normally written without vowel marks (ניקוד).

So native speakers usually read:

• היא
• אוהבת
• קפה
• אבל
• הוא
• לא
• אוהב
• חלב

without any vowel symbols.

Learners usually figure out the vowels from:

• vocabulary they already know
• common patterns
• context
• dictionaries or materials with transliteration / ניקוד

This can feel difficult at first, but it becomes much easier as you learn common word patterns.

Is אוהב / אוהבת really a verb, or is it something like an adjective?

In modern Hebrew, you should think of אוהב / אוהבת as the normal present-tense verb meaning likes / love(s).

Historically, these forms are related to a participle pattern, which is why they behave a bit differently from English present tense and agree in gender and number.

For a learner, the important practical point is:

• הוא אוהב = he likes
• היא אוהבת = she likes

So even if the grammar background is more complex, you can safely treat them as standard present-tense verb forms.

Could this sentence also mean she loves coffee, but he doesn’t love milk?

Yes, אוהב / אוהבת can mean either like or love, depending on context.

In many everyday sentences, it is translated as like:

• היא אוהבת קפה = She likes coffee

But in other contexts it can clearly mean love:

• אני אוהב אותך = I love you

So the exact strength of the meaning depends on the context. In your sentence, likes is the most natural English translation.