יש לי חבר חדש.

new

Breakdown of יש לי חבר חדש.

• יש: there is
• לי: to me
• חבר: friend

Questions & Answers about יש לי חבר חדש.

Why does Hebrew say יש לי instead of using a verb meaning have?

In Hebrew, possession is very often expressed with יש ל־... instead of a separate verb like English to have.

So:

• יש = there is / there are
• לי = to me

Literally, יש לי חבר חדש is something like There is to me a new friend.

That is the normal Hebrew way to say I have a new friend.

A few related examples:

• יש לי ספר. = I have a book.
• יש לה אחות. = She has a sister.
• אין לי זמן. = I don’t have time.

So this structure is extremely important in Hebrew.

What does each word in יש לי חבר חדש mean?

Word by word:

• יש = there is / there are
• לי = to me / for me
• חבר = friend (masculine)
• חדש = new (masculine)

So the full sentence means I have a new friend.

A more literal breakdown is:

• יש לי = I have
• חבר חדש = a new friend

How do you pronounce יש לי חבר חדש?

A common pronunciation is:

yesh li khaver khadash

Notes:

• יש sounds like yesh
• לי sounds like lee
• חבר is often pronounced khaver in modern Israeli Hebrew
• חדש is khadash

The sound written here as kh is the Hebrew letter ח, a throat sound that does not exist in standard English. Many learners pronounce it like a strong h at first, which is understandable.

Stress:

• חָבֵר → kha-VER
• חָדָשׁ → kha-DASH

Why is חדש after חבר? In English we say new friend.

In Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun, not before it.

So:

• חבר חדש = friend new = new friend
• ספר טוב = book good = good book
• ילדה קטנה = girl small = small girl

This is one of the most basic word-order differences between Hebrew and English.

Why is there no word for a in the sentence?

Hebrew has no indefinite article. That means there is no separate word for a or an.

So:

• חבר חדש can mean a new friend
• ספר can mean a book
• ילד can mean a boy

Hebrew does have a definite article, ה־, which means the:

• חבר חדש = a new friend
• החבר החדש = the new friend

So the sentence does not need a word for a.

Why is חדש in the masculine form?

Because חבר is a masculine noun, the adjective must match it.

In Hebrew, adjectives agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• definiteness

Here:

• חבר = masculine singular
• חדש = masculine singular

So they match correctly.

If the noun were feminine, the adjective would change too:

• חברה חדשה = a new female friend / a new girlfriend

How would I say I have a new female friend?

You would usually say:

יש לי חברה חדשה.

Breakdown:

• חברה = female friend / girlfriend
• חדשה = new (feminine singular)

Notice that both the noun and the adjective are feminine.

So:

• חבר חדש = new male friend
• חברה חדשה = new female friend

Does חבר only mean friend, or can it mean boyfriend too?

Yes, חבר can sometimes mean boyfriend, depending on context.

Similarly:

• חברה can mean female friend
• חברה can also mean girlfriend

So יש לי חבר חדש could mean:

• I have a new friend
  or sometimes
• I have a new boyfriend

The exact meaning depends on context, tone, and situation.

If someone wants to make it very clear they mean just a friend, they may choose other wording depending on the context, but חבר is extremely common.

Can יש mean both there is and there are?

Yes. In everyday Hebrew, יש is used for both singular and plural existence.

So:

• יש לי חבר. = I have a friend.
• יש לי חברים. = I have friends.

Unlike English, Hebrew does not change יש to a separate plural form like there are in normal usage.

How would I make this sentence negative?

You replace יש with אין.

So:

• יש לי חבר חדש. = I have a new friend.
• אין לי חבר חדש. = I do not have a new friend.

This same pattern is very common:

• יש לי זמן. = I have time.
• אין לי זמן. = I don’t have time.

Can I also say אני יש לי חבר חדש?

In normal Hebrew, no. You usually just say:

יש לי חבר חדש.

The word אני is not needed, because לי already tells you who has the friend: to me = I have.

Hebrew often leaves out subject pronouns when the meaning is already clear.

So the natural sentence is simply:

יש לי חבר חדש.

What happens if I want to say the new friend instead of a new friend?

Then both the noun and the adjective take the definite article ה־:

• החבר החדש = the new friend

This is important. In Hebrew, when a noun is definite and has an adjective, the adjective is also usually definite.

Compare:

• חבר חדש = a new friend
• החבר החדש = the new friend

So if you wanted the full sentence:

• יש לי החבר החדש is not correct for normal possession here
• but יש לי חבר חדש = I have a new friend
• and in another context, החבר החדש שלי = my new friend

How would I say my new friend more directly?

A very common way is:

החבר החדש שלי

This literally means the friend the-new of-mine, but in natural English it is my new friend.

Compare the two patterns:

• יש לי חבר חדש = I have a new friend
• החבר החדש שלי = my new friend

Both are useful, but they do different jobs:

• one is a full sentence
• the other is a noun phrase

How would I say this in the plural?

For I have new friends, you would say:

יש לי חברים חדשים.

Breakdown:

• חברים = friends (masculine plural)
• חדשים = new (masculine plural)

Again, the adjective must agree with the noun.

For feminine plural:

• יש לי חברות חדשות. = I have new female friends.

Is the word order fixed, or can it change?

The neutral, standard word order is:

יש לי חבר חדש.

That is the normal way to say it.

Hebrew can sometimes change word order for emphasis, style, or contrast, but for a learner, this is the correct default pattern.

So the safest structure to remember is:

יש + ל־person + noun + adjective

For example:

• יש לי ספר טוב. = I have a good book.
• יש לה עבודה חדשה. = She has a new job.