היא צריכה ללכת לחנות עכשיו.

She needs to go to the store now.

Breakdown of היא צריכה ללכת לחנות עכשיו.

• היא: she
• עכשיו: now
• חנות: store
• ללכת: to go
• ל: to
• להיות צריך: to need

Questions & Answers about היא צריכה ללכת לחנות עכשיו.

How do you pronounce היא צריכה ללכת לחנות עכשיו?

A common pronunciation is:

hi tsrikhá lalékhet la-khanút akhsháv

A few notes:

• היא = hi
• צריכה = tsri-KHA
• ללכת = la-LE-khet
• לחנות = la-kha-NUT
• עכשיו = akh-SHAV

The sound ח is like the ch in Scottish loch or German Bach.

Why is it צריכה and not צריך?

Because היא means she, and צריך changes for gender and number.

Here are the singular forms:

• הוא צריך = he needs / has to
• היא צריכה = she needs / has to

So the sentence uses צריכה because the subject is feminine singular.

Is צריכה a verb?

In Modern Hebrew, צריך / צריכה behaves a bit differently from a normal verb. It is often taught as a word meaning need or must, and it agrees with the subject in gender and number.

So:

• אני צריך = I need (spoken by a male)
• אני צריכה = I need (spoken by a female)
• היא צריכה = she needs

With an infinitive after it, it means need to or have to:

• צריכה ללכת = needs to go

Why is there no word for is in the sentence?

Because in present-tense Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not said.

So Hebrew often says:

• היא צריכה
  literally something like she need-feminine

but in natural English that becomes:

• she needs
• she has to

This is completely normal Hebrew.

Why does ללכת begin with ל־?

That ל־ is part of the infinitive form, similar to English to in to go.

So:

• ללכת = to go / to walk

This ל־ is not the same as the to in to the store. It is just the usual marker found on many Hebrew infinitives.

Why is there another ל־ in לחנות?

Because this one is the regular preposition to.

So the sentence contains two different kinds of ל־:

• ללכת = to go
• לחנות = to the store / to a store

That is why you see two ל prefixes in the same sentence.

Where did the ה of החנות go?

When the preposition ל־ joins a noun with ה־ (the), Hebrew usually merges them.

So:

• ל + החנות becomes לחנות

In fully pointed Hebrew, to the store would be written לַחֲנוּת.

So the ה has not really disappeared by accident; this is a normal contraction pattern.

Does לחנות mean to the store or to a store?

In unpointed Hebrew, it can be ambiguous.

• לַחֲנוּת = to the store
• לְחֲנוּת = to a store

Without vowel marks, both are written לחנות. Usually context or the translation tells you which meaning is intended.

Does ללכת mean to go or to walk?

It can mean both, depending on context.

In many everyday sentences, ללכת is simply the normal word for to go:

• אני הולך הביתה = I’m going home
• היא צריכה ללכת לחנות = she needs to go to the store

Sometimes it can also emphasize actual walking, but in this sentence English go is the natural translation.

Can you leave out היא?

Often, yes.

You can say:

• צריכה ללכת לחנות עכשיו

if it is already clear who you are talking about.

Hebrew often drops subject pronouns when the context makes them obvious, especially when the rest of the sentence already shows gender and number. Here, צריכה already tells you the subject is feminine singular.

Why is עכשיו at the end?

Because that is a very normal, neutral place for a time word in Hebrew.

So:

• היא צריכה ללכת לחנות עכשיו

sounds natural and straightforward.

Hebrew word order is fairly flexible, though. You could also hear:

• עכשיו היא צריכה ללכת לחנות
• היא עכשיו צריכה ללכת לחנות

The version with עכשיו at the end is just a simple, standard way to say it.

Does צריכה mean needs to or has to?

It can mean either one, depending on context.

צריך / צריכה often expresses general necessity, so English may translate it as:

• needs to
• has to
• sometimes even must

If you want a stronger sense of obligation, Hebrew often uses חייב / חייבת:

• היא חייבת ללכת לחנות עכשיו = she absolutely has to go to the store now

So צריכה is a very common, flexible word for need / have to.