הבית קרוב לתחנה, אבל המשרד רחוק.

The house is near the station, but the office is far.

Breakdown of הבית קרוב לתחנה, אבל המשרד רחוק.

• בית: house
• אבל: but
• ל: to
• משרד: office
• תחנה: station
• קרוב: near
• רחוק: far

Questions & Answers about הבית קרוב לתחנה, אבל המשרד רחוק.

Why do הבית and המשרד both start with ה?

The ה is the Hebrew definite article, equivalent to the in English.

• בית = house
• הבית = the house
• משרד = office
• המשרד = the office

So in this sentence, both nouns are definite: the house and the office.

Why is there no Hebrew word for is in this sentence?

In Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense.

So:

• הבית קרוב לתחנה literally looks like the house near to-the-station
• but it means the house is near the station

And:

• המשרד רחוק literally looks like the office far
• but it means the office is far

This is very normal in Hebrew. In past and future, forms of to be can appear, but in present-tense sentences like this, they are usually omitted.

Why is it לתחנה and not ל התחנה?

Because Hebrew commonly combines the preposition ל (to / for) with the definite article ה (the).

So:

• ל + ה + תחנה becomes
• לתחנה

This is a very common contraction in Hebrew.

Compare:

• לבית = to the house
• למשרד = to the office
• לתחנה = to the station

So קרוב לתחנה means near the station.

Why does קרוב use ל here?

The adjective קרוב often goes with ל־ when you say that something is close to something.

So:

• קרוב לתחנה = close to / near the station
• קרוב לבית = close to the house
• קרוב אליי = close to me

This is just the normal pattern Hebrew uses with קרוב.

Why doesn’t רחוק also have ל after it?

Because רחוק does not usually work the same way as קרוב.

In this sentence, המשרד רחוק simply means the office is far or the office is far away. The sentence does not say what it is far from.

If you want to say far from, Hebrew often uses מ־:

• המשרד רחוק מהתחנה = the office is far from the station

So:

• קרוב ל־ = near / close to
• רחוק מ־ = far from

But רחוק can also stand by itself, as it does here.

Why are קרוב and רחוק in that form?

They are in the masculine singular form, because the nouns they describe are masculine singular:

• הבית is masculine singular
• המשרד is masculine singular

So the adjectives match:

• קרוב = masculine singular
• רחוק = masculine singular

This kind of agreement is very important in Hebrew.

What would happen if the noun were feminine?

Then the adjective would usually change to the feminine singular form.

For example:

• התחנה קרובה = the station is near
• העיר רחוקה = the city is far

So:

• masculine singular: קרוב / רחוק
• feminine singular: קרובה / רחוקה

If the noun were plural, the adjective would change again.

Is קרוב an adjective or something else here?

Here, קרוב is functioning as an adjective in a predicate sentence.

The same is true for רחוק.

In English, we say:

• The house is near the station
• The office is far

In Hebrew, the structure is often:

• noun + adjective/complement

So קרוב and רחוק are describing the subject, even though there is no separate word for is.

Why is the word order הבית קרוב לתחנה and not something else?

This is a very normal Hebrew word order for a present-tense nominal sentence:

• subject + description

So:

• הבית = the subject
• קרוב לתחנה = what is said about it

Likewise:

• המשרד = the subject
• רחוק = what is said about it

Hebrew can sometimes vary word order for emphasis, but this sentence uses the most straightforward, neutral structure.

What does אבל do in the sentence?

אבל means but.

It connects the two parts of the sentence:

• הבית קרוב לתחנה = the house is near the station
• אבל = but
• המשרד רחוק = the office is far

So it shows contrast between the two ideas.

Could I say ליד התחנה instead of קרוב לתחנה?

Yes, often you can, but the nuance is slightly different.

• קרוב לתחנה = near the station / close to the station
• ליד התחנה = next to / beside / by the station

קרוב ל־ usually means generally near. ליד often suggests something more immediately beside it.

So they can overlap, but they are not always identical.

How is this sentence pronounced?

A common pronunciation guide would be:

ha-BÁ-yit ka-RÓV la-ta-cha-NÁ, a-VÁL ha-mis-RÁD ra-CHÓK

A few notes:

• הבית = ha-bayit
• קרוב = karov
• לתחנה = latachana
• אבל = aval
• המשרד = hamisrad
• רחוק = rachok

The ch sound in רחוק and תחנה is the throaty Hebrew sound, like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch.

Can this sentence be translated literally word for word into English?

Not very naturally.

A word-for-word breakdown is roughly:

• הבית = the house
• קרוב = near / close
• לתחנה = to the station
• אבל = but
• המשרד = the office
• רחוק = far

But natural English needs adjustment:

• The house is near the station, but the office is far.

So a literal breakdown helps you understand the Hebrew structure, but it is not always the best final translation.