השכן אומר שהדואר כבר כאן.

The male neighbor says that the mail is already here.

Breakdown of השכן אומר שהדואר כבר כאן.

• כאן: here
• כבר: already
• לומר: to say
• ש: that
• שכן: male neighbor
• דואר: mail

Questions & Answers about השכן אומר שהדואר כבר כאן.

Why do השכן and הדואר both start with ה?

The prefix ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• שכן = neighbor
• השכן = the neighbor
• דואר = mail / post
• הדואר = the mail

Hebrew adds ה־ directly to the beginning of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

What does אומר mean here, and what form is it?

אומר is the masculine singular present-tense form of the verb לומר, meaning to say.

In context, it can mean:

• says
• is saying

In simple sentences like this, English usually translates it as says.

Because the subject is השכן (the neighbor, masculine singular), the verb is also in the masculine singular form: אומר.

Why is שהדואר written as one word?

Because ש־ is a very common Hebrew prefix meaning that.

So:

• ש = that
• הדואר = the mail
• שהדואר = that the mail

Hebrew often attaches short function words directly to the next word. So instead of writing two separate words, Hebrew combines them.

What exactly does ש־ mean in this sentence?

Here ש־ introduces a subordinate clause and means that.

So the structure is:

• השכן אומר = the neighbor says
• שהדואר כבר כאן = that the mail is already here

This is very common in spoken and written Hebrew.

Why is there no word for is in הדואר כבר כאן?

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

So Hebrew says something closer to:

• the mail already here

But in natural English, that becomes:

• the mail is already here

This is one of the most important differences from English. In the present tense, Hebrew usually does not use a separate word for am / is / are.

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

כבר means already.

In this sentence:

• הדואר כבר כאן = the mail is already here

Its placement is natural and common. Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible, but כבר often appears before the part it is emphasizing, here כאן (here).

What does כאן mean, and is it the same as פה?

כאן means here.

Hebrew also has פה, which also means here. In many everyday situations, they are interchangeable.

So these are both natural:

• הדואר כבר כאן
• הדואר כבר פה

A rough difference:

• כאן can sound a little more neutral or slightly more formal
• פה is very common in everyday speech

But both are extremely common.

How do I know השכן is masculine?

There are two clues:

1. השכן itself is the masculine form of neighbor
2. The verb אומר is also masculine singular

The feminine version would be:

• השכנה אומרת = the female neighbor says

So Hebrew often marks gender both on the noun and on the verb.

How would this sentence change if the subject were feminine?

If the neighbor were feminine, you would usually say:

• השכנה אומרת שהדואר כבר כאן.

Changes:

• השכן → השכנה = the female neighbor
• אומר → אומרת = feminine singular present form

The rest of the sentence stays the same.

How is הדואר pronounced?

הדואר is pronounced roughly ha-do-AR.

A few helpful points:

• ה at the beginning is ha-
• דואר is usually pronounced in two syllables: do-ar
• the stress is normally on the last syllable: ar

So the full word sounds like ha-do-AR.

Does אומר only mean says, or can it also mean is saying?

It can mean both, depending on context.

Hebrew present tense often covers both:

• he says
• he is saying

So השכן אומר could be understood as either:

• the neighbor says
• the neighbor is saying

In a simple standalone sentence, says is usually the most natural English translation.

Could Hebrew also use כי instead of ש־ for that?

Yes, but ש־ is much more common in everyday Hebrew.

You might see:

• השכן אומר שהדואר כבר כאן.

Much more formal or literary Hebrew might use כי, but in normal conversation ש־ is the usual choice.

So for learners, ש־ is the form to focus on first.

Is the word order in this sentence normal Hebrew word order?

Yes. This is a very normal and natural word order.

Structure:

• השכן = subject
• אומר = verb
• שהדואר כבר כאן = clause object/content of what is being said

So the sentence is built very naturally as:

• The neighbor says
• that the mail is already here

Hebrew word order can be flexible, but this version is standard and easy to understand.