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הארוחה במסעדה הזאת טעימה, אבל יקרה.

הארוחה במסעדה הזאת טעימה, אבל יקרה.
The meal in this restaurant is tasty, but expensive.

Breakdown of הארוחה במסעדה הזאת טעימה, אבל יקרה.

זאת
this
אבל
but
ב
in
מסעדה
restaurant
ארוחה
meal
טעים
tasty
יקר
expensive
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Questions & Answers about הארוחה במסעדה הזאת טעימה, אבל יקרה.

Why does הארוחה start with ה־?

ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, like the in English.

  • ארוחה = meal
  • הארוחה = the meal

So הארוחה means the meal.

What does במסעדה mean, and why is it written as one word?

במסעדה is made of two parts:

  • ב־ = in / at
  • מסעדה = restaurant

Together: במסעדה = in a restaurant or at a restaurant, depending on context.

Hebrew often attaches short prepositions like ב־ directly to the following word, so they become one written word.

Why does the sentence say במסעדה הזאת and not put הזאת before the noun like English this restaurant?

In Hebrew, demonstratives like this usually come after the noun.

So:

  • המסעדה הזאת = this restaurant
  • literally: the restaurant this

That is normal Hebrew word order. English says this restaurant, but Hebrew says the restaurant this.

In your sentence, because of the preposition ב־, it becomes במסעדה הזאת = in this restaurant.

Why is there no separate word for is in the sentence?

In the present tense, Hebrew usually does not use a word for is / am / are.

So:

  • הארוחה ... טעימה literally looks like the meal ... tasty
  • but it means the meal ... is tasty

This is completely normal in Hebrew. Present-tense to be is usually omitted.

Why is it טעימה and not טעים?

Because הארוחה (the meal) is a feminine singular noun, the adjective must agree with it.

  • masculine singular: טעים = tasty
  • feminine singular: טעימה = tasty

Since ארוחה is feminine, Hebrew uses טעימה.

Why is it יקרה and not יקר?

For the same reason as טעימה: the adjective must match הארוחה in gender and number.

  • יקר = masculine singular expensive
  • יקרה = feminine singular expensive

Because ארוחה is feminine singular, יקרה is the correct form.

Why don’t the adjectives have ה־ on them? Why not something like הטעימה or היקרה?

Here the adjectives are being used predicatively, not directly attached before/after the noun as part of a noun phrase.

Compare:

  • הארוחה טעימה = the meal is tasty
  • הארוחה יקרה = the meal is expensive

In this kind of sentence, the adjective usually does not take ה־.

But when the adjective is directly part of a definite noun phrase, it does take ה־:

  • הארוחה הטעימה = the tasty meal
  • המסעדה היקרה = the expensive restaurant

So in your sentence, טעימה and יקרה mean is tasty and is expensive, not the tasty and the expensive.

What exactly does אבל mean, and where does it go in the sentence?

אבל means but.

It connects two ideas:

  • הארוחה במסעדה הזאת טעימה = The meal in this restaurant is tasty
  • אבל יקרה = but expensive

Hebrew uses אבל much like English but. It usually comes between the two parts of the sentence.

Why is the second part just אבל יקרה and not אבל הארוחה יקרה?

Hebrew often leaves out words that are already understood from context.

So:

  • full version: הארוחה במסעדה הזאת טעימה, אבל הארוחה יקרה
  • natural version: הארוחה במסעדה הזאת טעימה, אבל יקרה

The subject הארוחה does not need to be repeated, because it is already clear that expensive describes the meal.

English can do something similar:

  • The meal is tasty, but expensive.
Does במסעדה הזאת mean in this restaurant or at this restaurant?

It can often be understood as either in this restaurant or at this restaurant, depending on context.

The preposition ב־ basically means in, at, or sometimes inside, but English chooses the most natural wording depending on the situation.

With restaurants, English often prefers at this restaurant, even though the Hebrew literally uses in.

What is the basic dictionary form of הזאת?

The basic form here is זאת, a feminine singular demonstrative meaning this.

It matches מסעדה, which is a feminine noun.

Useful comparison:

  • masculine singular: זה = this
  • feminine singular: זאת / זו = this

So:

  • הספר הזה = this book
  • המסעדה הזאת = this restaurant
How do I know that מסעדה and ארוחה are feminine?

There is no single perfect rule, but many Hebrew nouns ending in ־ה are feminine, and both מסעדה and ארוחה are feminine nouns.

That is why words agreeing with them also take feminine forms:

  • מסעדה טובה = a good restaurant
  • ארוחה טעימה = a tasty meal

You often have to learn noun gender along with the noun itself.

Is the word order in this sentence normal Hebrew?

Yes. The sentence structure is very natural:

  • הארוחה = subject
  • במסעדה הזאת = a phrase describing where
  • טעימה = adjective/predicate
  • אבל יקרה = contrasting second description

So the pattern is roughly:

The meal + in this restaurant + tasty, but expensive.

That is a normal and common way to build a sentence in Hebrew.