אני צריך ללכת לחנות אחרי זה.

I need to go to the store after that.

Breakdown of אני צריך ללכת לחנות אחרי זה.

• אני: I
• חנות: store
• ללכת: to go
• ל: to
• להיות צריך: to need
• אחרי: after
• זה: that

Questions & Answers about אני צריך ללכת לחנות אחרי זה.

Why is צריך used here, and what would change if the speaker were female?

צריך means need here, but grammatically it is not a normal verb in this sentence. It behaves more like an adjective and agrees with the speaker in gender and number.

• masculine singular: צריך
• feminine singular: צריכה
• masculine plural: צריכים
• feminine plural: צריכות

So:

• אני צריך ללכת לחנות אחרי זה. = said by a male speaker
• אני צריכה ללכת לחנות אחרי זה. = said by a female speaker

This is very common in Hebrew.

Why is אני included? Can Hebrew leave it out?

Yes, Hebrew can often leave subject pronouns out, especially when the meaning is clear from context.

So you might hear:

• אני צריך ללכת לחנות אחרי זה.
• צריך ללכת לחנות אחרי זה.

Both can mean I need to go to the store after this, depending on context.

However, in the present tense, צריך does not show person clearly, only gender and number, so אני is often included to make the subject explicit.

Why does ללכת start with what looks like two ל letters?

Because ללכת is the infinitive form to go, and the infinitive in Hebrew often begins with ל־ meaning to.

The verb is based on הלך (went / go), and its infinitive is irregular: ללכת.

So even though it may look unusual at first, ללכת is just the normal infinitive to go.

A rough pronunciation is la-LE-khet.

Why is there a ל before חנות?

That ל is the preposition to.

• חנות = store
• לחנות = to a store or to the store, depending on context

In this sentence, it means to the store.

So:

• ללכת לחנות = to go to the store

Where is the word the in לחנות?

It is built into the word.

Hebrew often combines a preposition with the definite article ה־ (the).

Here is what happens:

• ל = to
• החנות = the store
• לחנות = to the store

So לחנות is a contraction of ל + החנות.

This is very normal in Hebrew.

What does אחרי זה mean exactly?

אחרי זה literally means after this or after that, depending on context. In natural English, it often corresponds to:

• after this
• after that
• afterwards
• later

In everyday Hebrew, אחרי זה and אחר כך are both common for afterwards / later, though אחרי זה is a bit more literally after this/that.

Is the word order fixed, or can אחרי זה move?

The word order is fairly flexible.

The original sentence:

• אני צריך ללכת לחנות אחרי זה.

is a very natural neutral order.

But you could also say:

• אחרי זה אני צריך ללכת לחנות.

This puts more focus on after this.

Both are natural. Hebrew often allows time expressions like אחרי זה to appear at the end or near the beginning.

How do you pronounce the whole sentence?

A common transliteration is:

Ani tsarikh lalekhet la-khanut akharei zeh.

Approximate pronunciation:

• אני = ah-NEE
• צריך = tsa-REEKH
• ללכת = la-LE-khet
• לחנות = la-kha-NOOT
• אחרי זה = akha-REI zeh

Two sounds may be unfamiliar to English speakers:

• ח / כ in words like חנות and אחרי is a throaty sound, like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch
• צ in צריך sounds like ts

Is צריך ללכת the same as must go?

Not exactly.

צריך ללכת usually means need to go. It can express necessity, but it is often less strong than must.

Compare:

• אני צריך ללכת = I need to go
• אני חייב ללכת = I must go / I have to go

So צריך is common and natural for ordinary necessity, while חייב is often stronger.

Why is there no separate verb meaning need in the present tense here?

In this kind of sentence, Hebrew commonly uses צריך / צריכה plus an infinitive instead of a normal present-tense verb meaning need.

So the pattern is:

• אני צריך + infinitive
• אני צריכה + infinitive

Examples:

• אני צריך לעבוד = I need to work
• אני צריכה ללמוד = I need to study

This is one of the most important everyday sentence patterns in Hebrew.

Could לחנות ever mean to a store instead of to the store?

Yes, in principle ל + noun can sometimes be understood as to a store if the noun is indefinite. But in this sentence, most learners are taught to understand לחנות as to the store, because this type of contraction commonly reflects ל + ה.

If you specifically wanted to emphasize to a store, you would often rely on context, or say something like:

• לחנות כלשהי = to some store
• לאיזו חנות = to some / a certain store

But in everyday speech, לחנות is very naturally understood as to the store here.

Can I translate אחרי זה literally every time as after this?

Not always.

Literal translation is useful for understanding the structure, but in real English the best translation depends on context. אחרי זה can sound more natural in English as:

• after this
• after that
• later
• afterwards

So even if the Hebrew words are literally after this, the natural English meaning may be broader.