את בטוחה שזה המספר שלו?

Are you sure that this is his number?

Breakdown of את בטוחה שזה המספר שלו?

• זה: this
• את: you
• ש: that
• מספר: number
• שלו: his
• בטוח: sure

Questions & Answers about את בטוחה שזה המספר שלו?

Why does the sentence use את and בטוחה?

Because the speaker is talking to one female person.

• את = you when speaking to one woman
• בטוחה = sure/certain in the feminine singular form

Hebrew usually makes adjectives agree with the person they describe.

If you were speaking to one man, you would say:

אתה בטוח שזה המספר שלו?

If you were speaking to a group, the forms would change again.

Where is the word are? Why isn’t there a verb in the sentence?

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

So English Are you sure...? becomes literally something like:

You sure that this is his number?

That is completely normal in Hebrew.
The sentence does not need a present-tense form of to be.

What does שזה mean?

שזה is made of two parts:

• ש־ = that
• זה = this / this is / that is, depending on context

So שזה means roughly that this is or that that is.

After words like בטוח / בטוחה (sure), Hebrew very often uses ש־ to introduce the next clause:

• אני בטוח ש... = I’m sure that...
• את בטוחה ש... = Are you sure that...

In natural English, the that is often omitted, but in Hebrew it is very common.

Why is זה used here?

Here זה points to something and links it to המספר שלו.

In this sentence, it functions like:

• this is
• that is

depending on the situation.

So זה המספר שלו means this/that is his number.

Also, מספר is a masculine singular noun, and זה is the masculine singular demonstrative form, so they fit together well.

Why is it המספר שלו and not just מספר שלו?

Because Hebrew normally makes possessed nouns definite in this kind of structure.

So where English says:

• his number

Hebrew often says literally:

• the number of his = המספר שלו

This is very normal Hebrew.

You will see the same pattern in many other phrases:

• הבית שלי = my house
• החבר שלה = her boyfriend / her friend
• השם שלהם = their name

What exactly does שלו mean?

שלו means his.

It comes from של plus a pronoun ending.

Some common forms are:

• שלי = my / mine
• שלך = your / yours (to a man)
• שלך = your / yours (to a woman; same spelling, different pronunciation in fully vocalized Hebrew)
• שלו = his
• שלה = her
• שלהם / שלהן = their

So המספר שלו = his number.

Could Hebrew also say מספרו instead of המספר שלו?

Yes, מספרו also means his number.

But there is a difference in style:

• המספר שלו = more common in everyday modern Hebrew
• מספרו = more formal, literary, or less conversational

A native speaker in normal speech is much more likely to say המספר שלו.

How does Hebrew mark that this is a question?

Mostly by intonation in speech, and by a question mark in writing.

Unlike English, Hebrew does not usually change word order for yes/no questions.

So:

• את בטוחה שזה המספר שלו. = statement
• את בטוחה שזה המספר שלו? = question

You can also add האם at the beginning for a more formal style:

האם את בטוחה שזה המספר שלו?

That sounds more formal or written.

Can the subject את be left out?

Sometimes yes, especially in conversation, if the context is already clear.

For example, someone might say:

בטוחה שזה המספר שלו?

That can still mean Are you sure that’s his number?

But including את is perfectly natural and often clearer, especially for learners.

How is the sentence pronounced?

A common pronunciation is:

at betuCHA sheZE ha-misPAR sheLO?

Stress usually falls like this:

• betuCHA
• sheZE
• misPAR
• sheLO

A more natural flowing pronunciation may sound a little connected, especially around שזה and המספר.

What would change if I were talking to a man instead of a woman?

You would change both the pronoun and the adjective:

• to a woman: את בטוחה שזה המספר שלו?
• to a man: אתה בטוח שזה המספר שלו?

That is because Hebrew marks gender in the second person and in adjectives.

So this is an important pattern to notice:

• את / בטוחה
• אתה / בטוח