חכי דקה; אני רוצה לבדוק עוד פעם את הכתובת.

Wait a minute; I want to check the address one more time.

Breakdown of חכי דקה; אני רוצה לבדוק עוד פעם את הכתובת.

• אני: I
• לרצות: to want
• את: direct object marker
• לחכות: to wait
• דקה: minute
• כתובת: address
• לבדוק: to check
• עוד פעם: one more time

Questions & Answers about חכי דקה; אני רוצה לבדוק עוד פעם את הכתובת.

Why is the first word חכי?

חכי is the imperative form meaning wait! when speaking to one female.

So the sentence is being addressed to a woman or girl.

Related forms:

• חכה = wait! to one male
• חכי = wait! to one female
• חכו = wait! to more than one person

This is a very common kind of agreement in Hebrew commands.

Does חכי דקה literally mean wait a minute?

Yes. דקה literally means minute.

But just like in English, wait a minute does not always mean a full 60 seconds. It often just means:

• hold on
• wait a second
• just a moment

So חכי דקה is a natural everyday expression, not a precise statement about time.

Why is it דקה and not הדקה?

Because this expression is being used indefinitely, like a minute, not the minute.

Hebrew often leaves nouns without ה־ when the meaning is indefinite or general. In this phrase, the speaker is not referring to some specific known minute, just saying wait a moment.

How do I pronounce the first sound in חכי?

The letter ח is usually pronounced like a throaty kh sound, similar to:

• the ch in German Bach
• the ch in Scottish loch

It is not like English h, and not like English ch in chair.

So חכי sounds roughly like khaki, but with the Hebrew kh sound, not exactly like the English color word.

What does אני רוצה mean grammatically?

אני means I, and רוצה means want.

So אני רוצה = I want.

In Hebrew, the present-tense form רוצה agrees with the speaker's gender:

• a male speaker says אני רוצה pronounced roughly ani rotze
• a female speaker also writes אני רוצה, but pronounces it roughly ani rotsa

In normal unpointed Hebrew writing, both are spelled the same, so you usually know the gender only from context or speech.

Why does Hebrew use לבדוק after רוצה?

Because Hebrew usually follows want with an infinitive, just like English uses to + verb.

So:

• רוצה = wants / want
• לבדוק = to check

Together:

• אני רוצה לבדוק = I want to check

The ל־ at the beginning of לבדוק is the normal marker for the infinitive in many Hebrew verbs, similar to English to.

What does לבדוק mean exactly?

לבדוק means to check, to examine, or to look into.

In this sentence, it means something like:

• check
• verify
• make sure about

It comes from the root בדק, which is connected with checking or examining something.

What does עוד פעם mean?

עוד פעם means again or one more time.

Literally, it is something like another time:

• עוד = more / another
• פעם = time / occurrence

So לבדוק עוד פעם means to check again.

This is very common in spoken Hebrew. Another common word for again is שוב. For example:

• אני רוצה לבדוק שוב את הכתובת

That version is also correct, and may sound a little shorter or slightly more formal depending on context.

What is the word את doing here? Is it the word for you?

Here, את is not the pronoun you.

In this sentence, את is the direct object marker. Hebrew uses את before a definite direct object.

So in:

• את הכתובת

the word את marks הכתובת as the specific thing being checked.

This is one of the most important Hebrew grammar points for English speakers, because English has no exact equivalent. Usually, you do not translate this את into English.

Why is את used before הכתובת, but not before every noun?

Because את is usually used only before a definite direct object.

Here, הכתובת means the address, which is definite because of ה־.

So:

• אני רוצה לבדוק את הכתובת = I want to check the address

But with an indefinite noun, Hebrew usually does not use את:

• אני רוצה לבדוק כתובת = I want to check an address

So the combination את + noun is strongly connected with definiteness.

Why is it הכתובת?

The prefix ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, equivalent to English the.

So:

• כתובת = address
• הכתובת = the address

In this sentence, the speaker means a specific address, not just any address. That is why the noun is definite.

Could the sentence also say אני רוצה לבדוק את הכתובת עוד פעם?

Yes. That would also be natural Hebrew.

Both of these are fine:

• אני רוצה לבדוק עוד פעם את הכתובת
• אני רוצה לבדוק את הכתובת עוד פעם

The difference is mostly one of rhythm and emphasis, not basic meaning.

Very roughly:

• עוד פעם before the object can feel like the speaker is emphasizing the repetition a bit earlier
• עוד פעם after the object can sound slightly more neutral in some contexts

But both are common and understandable.

Would native speakers always use the imperative חכי, or could they say something else?

They could definitely say something else too.

In spoken Hebrew, people often use the future form as a kind of command:

• תחכי דקה

That also means wait a minute when speaking to one female.

So:

• חכי דקה = direct imperative, fully correct and natural
• תחכי דקה = also very common in everyday speech

Both are useful to recognize.

Why is there a semicolon in the sentence?

The semicolon separates two closely connected parts:

• חכי דקה
• אני רוצה לבדוק עוד פעם את הכתובת

It shows that the second clause explains the first: wait a second; I want to check the address again.

In informal writing, many people would also use a comma or even a period instead. The semicolon just creates a slightly cleaner written connection between the two clauses.