אני רוצה להכיר את השכנה החדשה.

I want to get to know the new female neighbor.

Breakdown of אני רוצה להכיר את השכנה החדשה.

• אני: I
• חדש: new
• לרצות: to want
• את: direct object marker
• שכנה: female neighbor
• להכיר: to know

Questions & Answers about אני רוצה להכיר את השכנה החדשה.

Why is רוצה used here, and does it change depending on who is speaking?

Yes. In Hebrew present tense, the verb agrees with the speaker’s gender.

• A male speaker says אני רוצה and pronounces it ani rotze.
• A female speaker also writes אני רוצה, but pronounces it ani rotza.

So the spelling is the same in normal unpointed Hebrew, but the pronunciation changes.

Why is there a ל־ at the start of להכיר?

The ל־ is part of the Hebrew infinitive, like English to in to know / to meet / to get to know.

So:

• רוצה = want
• להכיר = to get to know / to become acquainted with

This pattern is very common in Hebrew:

• אני רוצה ללמוד = I want to study
• אני רוצה לאכול = I want to eat

What does להכיר mean exactly?

להכיר usually means to get to know, to become acquainted with, or to know someone/something through familiarity.

With people, Hebrew usually uses להכיר, not לדעת.

A helpful comparison:

• להכיר מישהו = to know someone personally / to get to know someone
• לדעת = to know a fact, know information, know how

So in this sentence, להכיר is the natural choice because it is about a person.

How is להכיר different from לפגוש?

Good question. They are related, but not the same.

• לפגוש = to meet someone
• להכיר = to get to know someone / to become acquainted with someone

So:

• אני רוצה לפגוש את השכנה החדשה = I want to meet the new neighbor.
• אני רוצה להכיר את השכנה החדשה = I want to get to know the new neighbor.

The second one suggests more than just a first meeting.

Why is את in the sentence?

את marks a definite direct object. It does not really get translated into English.

In this sentence, the object is השכנה החדשה = the new neighbor, which is definite because of ה־.

So Hebrew uses את:

• אני רוצה להכיר את השכנה החדשה

But if the object were indefinite, את would usually disappear:

• אני רוצה להכיר שכנה חדשה = I want to get to know a new neighbor.

Why does ה appear on both השכנה and החדשה?

Because in Hebrew, when a noun is definite, its adjective is usually definite too.

So:

• שכנה חדשה = a new neighbor
• השכנה החדשה = the new neighbor

Hebrew marks definiteness on both the noun and the adjective:

• השכנה = the neighbor
• החדשה = the new

This is very normal Hebrew grammar.

Why does חדשה come after שכנה?

Because Hebrew adjectives normally come after the noun they describe.

So Hebrew says:

• שכנה חדשה

Literally, that is closer to neighbor new in word order, even though the natural English translation is new neighbor.

This is the regular pattern in Hebrew:

• בית גדול = big house
• ילדה חכמה = smart girl
• השכנה החדשה = the new neighbor

Why is it שכנה and not some other form?

שכנה is the feminine singular form and means female neighbor.

Related forms:

• שכן = male neighbor
• שכנה = female neighbor
• שכנים = neighbors (masculine plural or mixed group)
• שכנות = female neighbors

So this sentence specifically refers to a female neighbor. If it were a male neighbor, it would be:

• אני רוצה להכיר את השכן החדש

Does חדשה also have to be feminine because of שכנה?

Exactly. Hebrew adjectives agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• definiteness

Since שכנה is:

• feminine
• singular
• definite

the adjective must match:

• חדשה = feminine singular
• החדשה = feminine singular definite

That is why you get:

• השכנה החדשה

and not השכנה החדש.

Can אני be left out?

Sometimes, yes, but in the present tense Hebrew often keeps the subject pronoun for clarity.

That is because present-tense forms like רוצה do not clearly show person by themselves. Without אני, רוצה could mean:

• I want
• you want
• he wants
• she wants

depending on context and pronunciation.

So אני רוצה is very natural and common.

How would this sentence be pronounced?

Approximately:

• ani rotze lehakir et ha-shkhena ha-chadasha if a man is speaking
• ani rotza lehakir et ha-shkhena ha-chadasha if a woman is speaking

A few pronunciation notes:

• ח in חדשה is a throaty sound, like ch in Scottish loch or German Bach.
• The כ in שכנה also has that kh sound.
• The כ in להכיר is pronounced as a regular k.

If you say it with an English accent, that is still fine at the beginner stage; the main grammar points matter more first.