הדג של האישה טעים יותר, אבל המרק של האיש פחות יקר.

The woman's fish is tastier, but the man's soup is less expensive.

Breakdown of הדג של האישה טעים יותר, אבל המרק של האיש פחות יקר.

• איש: man
• אישה: woman
• אבל: but
• של: of
• מרק: soup
• דג: fish
• טעים: tasty
• יותר: more
• פחות: less
• יקר: expensive

Questions & Answers about הדג של האישה טעים יותר, אבל המרק של האיש פחות יקר.

Why do so many words in this sentence start with ה־?

ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So in this sentence:

• הדג = the fish
• האישה = the woman
• המרק = the soup
• האיש = the man

A native English speaker often notices that Hebrew attaches the directly to the front of the noun instead of writing it as a separate word.

What does של mean here?

של is a very common way to show possession. It often corresponds to English of or 's.

So:

• הדג של האישה = the fish of the woman = the woman's fish
• המרק של האיש = the soup of the man = the man's soup

For beginners, של is one of the most useful possession patterns in Hebrew.

Why is there a the on both sides of של?

Because both nouns are definite in this sentence.

• הדג של האישה means the woman's fish
• not just a woman's fish

Hebrew can mark definiteness on the possessed thing and also on the possessor:

• הדג = the fish
• האישה = the woman

So the phrase is literally something like the fish of the woman, even though natural English would usually say the woman's fish.

Could Hebrew say this without של?

Yes. Hebrew also has a construct-state pattern, often called smikhut.

For example:

• דג האישה
• מרק האיש

These can also mean the woman's fish and the man's soup.

However, של is extremely common and often feels simpler and more natural in everyday speech, especially for learners. So הדג של האישה and המרק של האיש are perfectly normal.

Why is there no word for is in the sentence?

In present-tense Hebrew, there is usually no separate word for is / are / am.

So:

• הדג של האישה טעים יותר literally looks like the fish of the woman tasty more
• but it means the woman's fish is tastier

And:

• המרק של האיש פחות יקר literally looks like the soup of the man less expensive
• but it means the man's soup is less expensive

This missing present-tense to be is very common in Hebrew and often surprises English speakers.

Why are טעים and יקר in masculine singular form?

Because they agree with the nouns they describe:

• דג is masculine singular, so the adjective is טעים
• מרק is masculine singular, so the adjective is יקר

Hebrew adjectives change for gender and number.

For comparison:

• masculine singular: טעים
• feminine singular: טעימה
• masculine plural: טעימים
• feminine plural: טעימות

So if the noun were feminine, you would need a different adjective form.

Why is it טעים יותר but פחות יקר?

This is a very good question, because the word order is not identical.

• יותר can appear after the adjective: טעים יותר
• and very often also before it: יותר טעים

Both are used.

But פחות is normally placed before the adjective:

• פחות יקר = less expensive

So:

• טעים יותר is natural
• פחות יקר is natural
• יקר פחות would usually sound much less natural

This is one of those patterns that learners mostly absorb through exposure.

How do יותר and פחות work in Hebrew?

They are used to make comparisons.

• יותר = more
• פחות = less

So:

• טעים יותר = more tasty = tastier
• פחות יקר = less expensive

Hebrew often builds comparisons this way instead of using a special ending like English -er.

Tastier than what? Less expensive than what? Why is the second part of the comparison missing?

Hebrew, like English, can leave the comparison target unstated if the context already makes it clear.

So טעים יותר can simply mean tastier, with the listener expected to understand than the other one or than before or whatever the context is.

If you want to say than explicitly in Hebrew, you usually use מ־ attached to the next word.

Example:

• הדג של האישה טעים יותר מהמרק של האיש
• The woman's fish is tastier than the man's soup

And similarly:

• המרק של האיש פחות יקר מהמרק של האישה
• The man's soup is less expensive than the woman's soup

Is פחות יקר the most natural way to say cheaper?

It is correct and natural, but many speakers would also often say זול יותר, which literally means more cheap, that is, cheaper.

So these are both fine:

• פחות יקר = less expensive
• זול יותר = cheaper

The sentence you were given uses פחות יקר, which is a very clear and straightforward comparative structure.

What does אבל do in this sentence?

אבל means but.

It connects the two parts of the sentence:

• הדג של האישה טעים יותר
• אבל
• המרק של האיש פחות יקר

So the sentence is contrasting two ideas:

• the woman's fish is tastier
• but the man's soup is less expensive

This works very much like English but.

How would I pronounce the whole sentence?

A simple pronunciation guide is:

ha-dag shel ha-i-SHA ta-IM yo-TER, a-VAL ha-ma-RAK shel ha-ISH pa-KHOT ya-KAR

A few helpful notes:

• ח in פחות is a throaty sound, often written as kh
• אישה is i-SHA
• איש is ish
• טעים is ta-IM

A more standard transliteration would be:

ha-dag shel ha-isha ta'im yoter, aval ha-marak shel ha-ish pakhot yakar