המרק זול יותר מהסלט.

The soup is cheaper than the salad.

Breakdown of המרק זול יותר מהסלט.

• סלט: salad
• מרק: soup
• זול: cheap
• יותר: more
• מ: than

Questions & Answers about המרק זול יותר מהסלט.

Why is there no word for is in the sentence?

In present-tense Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted.

So המרק זול literally looks like the soup cheap, but it means the soup is cheap.

That is completely normal Hebrew grammar.

How does Hebrew express cheaper than here?

Hebrew usually does not make comparatives by adding an ending like English -er.

Instead, it commonly uses this pattern:

noun + adjective + יותר + מ־ + thing compared to

So here:

• זול = cheap
• יותר = more
• מ־ = than / from

So זול יותר מהסלט is literally something like cheap more than the salad, which English naturally translates as cheaper than the salad.

What exactly is מהסלט? Is מה here the word what?

No. Here מהסלט is not the question word what.

It is made of:

• מ־ = than / from
• הסלט = the salad

So:

מ־ + הסלט = מהסלט

In this sentence, it means than the salad.

Why is the adjective זול and not זולה?

Because מרק is a masculine singular noun, and Hebrew adjectives must agree with the noun they describe.

The forms are:

• זול = masculine singular
• זולה = feminine singular
• זולים = masculine plural
• זולות = feminine plural

Since המרק is masculine singular, זול is the correct form.

Why do המרק and הסלט both start with ה־?

ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• המרק = the soup
• הסלט = the salad

The sentence is talking about specific items, not soup and salad in general.

Why doesn’t זול also have ה־?

Because here זול is a predicate adjective, not part of the noun phrase.

Compare:

• המרק זול = the soup is cheap
• המרק הזול = the cheap soup

So:

• after the noun as part of the sentence predicate: זול
• directly describing the noun inside the noun phrase: הזול

That is an important distinction in Hebrew.

What would change if it meant than a salad or just than salad, not than the salad?

Then you would remove the definite article ה־ from the second noun.

So:

• מהסלט = than the salad
• מסלט = than a salad / than salad

The comparison prefix מ־ still stays there; only the definiteness changes.

How is this sentence pronounced?

A simple pronunciation guide is:

ha-maRAK zol yoTER me-ha-saLAT

More word by word:

• המרק = ha-marak
• זול = zol
• יותר = yoter
• מהסלט = me-ha-salat

The main stress is usually on the last syllable of marak, yoter, and salat.

Can I reuse this pattern with other adjectives?

Yes. This is a very useful pattern.

You can use:

[noun] + [adjective] + יותר + מ־...

For example:

• הקפה יקר יותר מהתה = the coffee is more expensive than the tea
• הבית גדול יותר מהדירה = the house is bigger than the apartment
• הקינוח טעים יותר מהמרק = the dessert is tastier than the soup

So once you understand זול יותר מ־, you can build many similar sentences.