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Learn Hardcore Hebrew: יש חלון גדול במטבח. - There is a big window in the kitchen.

Hardcore Hebrew
/Lesson 5
/יש חלון גדול במטבח.

יש חלון גדול במטבח.

יש חלון גדול במטבח.yesh chalon gadol bamitbach

There is a big window in the kitchen.

Breakdown of יש חלון גדול במטבח.

Questions & Answers about יש חלון גדול במטבח.

What does יש mean here?

יש is the Hebrew word used to express existence, like there is or there are in English.

So:

יש חלון גדול במטבח = There is a big window in the kitchen

A very literal breakdown would be:

יש = there is / there are
חלון = window
גדול = big
במטבח = in the kitchen

Hebrew uses יש for both singular and plural:

יש חלון = there is a window
יש חלונות = there are windows

Why doesn’t the sentence have a separate word for there?

In Hebrew, יש already carries the whole idea of there is / there are. English uses a dummy word there, but Hebrew does not need a separate equivalent in this kind of sentence.

So יש is not just is. It specifically means that something exists or is present.

Why is it חלון גדול and not גדול חלון?

מטבח

kitchen

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

So:

חלון גדול = big window
literally: window big

This is very normal in Hebrew:

בית גדול = big house
ילד קטן = small boy
ספר מעניין = interesting book

So the word order in this part of the sentence is completely regular.

Why is there no word for a before חלון?

Hebrew does not have an indefinite article like English a or an.

So:

חלון can mean a window or just window, depending on context.

If you want the window, Hebrew adds ה־ to the noun:

חלון = a window
החלון = the window

In this sentence, חלון גדול means a big window.

If I wanted to say the big window, how would that work?

In Hebrew, when a noun is definite, the adjective must also be definite.

So:

חלון גדול = a big window
החלון הגדול = the big window

Notice that both words get ה־:

החלון = the window
הגדול = the big

This is a very important Hebrew pattern.

Why is it גדול specifically? Does it agree with חלון?

Yes. Hebrew adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number.

חלון is a masculine singular noun, so the adjective is also masculine singular:

חלון גדול = a big window

Other forms of big would be:

גדולה = feminine singular
גדולים = masculine plural
גדולות = feminine plural

For example:

דלת גדולה = a big door
חלונות גדולים = big windows

How do I know that חלון is masculine?

Usually, you learn the gender of each noun as part of the word. There is not always a perfect rule.

In this case, חלון is masculine, so it takes masculine agreement:

חלון גדול

A learner often has to memorize noun gender gradually through exposure.

Why is במטבח written as one word?

Because the preposition ב־ meaning in is attached directly to the noun.

So:

ב־ = in
מטבח = kitchen
במטבח = in a kitchen / in the kitchen, depending on pronunciation and context

Hebrew often attaches short prepositions like:

ב־ = in
ל־ = to / for
כ־ = as / like
מ־ = from

directly to the following word.

Does במטבח mean in a kitchen or in the kitchen?

Without vowel marks, במטבח can represent either pronunciation:

be-mitbakh = in a kitchen
ba-mitbakh = in the kitchen

In normal unpointed Hebrew writing, both are spelled the same: במטבח.

If the meaning shown to the learner is in the kitchen, then the intended pronunciation is ba-mitbakh.

This happens because:

ב + ה often combine into בַּ (ba-)

So:

במטבח can stand for בַּמטבח = in the kitchen

How do you pronounce the whole sentence?

A common pronunciation would be:

yesh khalón gadól ba-mitbákh

A rough breakdown:

יש = yesh
חלון = kha-lon
- the ח is a throaty sound that English does not really have
גדול = ga-dol
במטבח = ba-mit-bakh if it means in the kitchen

If that במטבח were meant as in a kitchen, it would be pronounced be-mit-bakh instead.

Can Hebrew also say the location first, like In the kitchen there is a big window?

Yes. Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible.

You can say:

יש חלון גדול במטבח = There is a big window in the kitchen
במטבח יש חלון גדול = In the kitchen there is a big window

Both are natural. The version starting with יש is a very neutral way to introduce something that exists.

Is יש only for singular things?

No. יש works with both singular and plural nouns.

Examples:

יש חלון = there is a window
יש חלונות = there are windows

So the word יש itself does not change for number.

How would I make this sentence negative?

To say there is not / there are not, Hebrew normally uses אין.

So:

יש חלון גדול במטבח = There is a big window in the kitchen
אין חלון גדול במטבח = There is no big window in the kitchen

This אין is the usual negative partner of יש in existential sentences.

Is there an actual verb to be in this sentence?

Not in the same way English has is.

Hebrew often does not use a present-tense verb to be in ordinary descriptive sentences. But in existential sentences like this one, Hebrew uses יש to mean there is / there are.

So יש is doing the job of expressing existence, not simply acting like the English verb is.

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