הפעם אני לא רוצה לבטל את הפגישה.

This time I do not want to cancel the meeting.

Breakdown of הפעם אני לא רוצה לבטל את הפגישה.

• אני: I
• לרצות: to want
• לא: not
• את: direct object marker
• פגישה: meeting
• לבטל: to cancel
• הפעם: this time

Questions & Answers about הפעם אני לא רוצה לבטל את הפגישה.

Why does הפעם mean this time?

פעם means time, occasion, or sometimes once, depending on context. In everyday Hebrew, הפעם is a very common expression meaning this time.

So:

• פעם = time / occasion
• הפעם = this time

Literally it looks like the time, but idiomatically it is used the way English uses this time.

Why is אני included? Couldn't Hebrew just say לא רוצה?

Hebrew often includes the subject pronoun in the present tense because the present-tense verb form usually does not show person clearly.

Here, רוצה tells you singular and gender, but not specifically I, you, or she/he by itself. So אני makes it clear that the subject is I.

In casual speech, people sometimes drop אני if the context is obvious, but the full sentence with אני is standard and clear.

Does רוצה show whether the speaker is male or female?

Yes, but only in pronunciation, not in normal unpointed spelling.

The written form רוצה can be:

• רוֹצֶה = masculine singular, pronounced rotze
• רוֹצָה = feminine singular, pronounced rotza

So from the spelling alone, you cannot tell whether the speaker is male or female unless there is vowel marking or enough context.

How does the negation work in אני לא רוצה?

Hebrew uses לא to say not. It goes before the verb or verbal expression being negated.

So:

• אני רוצה = I want
• אני לא רוצה = I do not want / I don't want

Unlike English, Hebrew does not need a helping verb like do here. You simply add לא.

Why is it לבטל and not just בטל?

לבטל is the infinitive form, meaning to cancel.

In Hebrew, infinitives usually begin with ל־, which often corresponds to English to:

• לבטל = to cancel
• ללכת = to go
• לראות = to see

So רוצה לבטל means want to cancel.

What does את do in את הפגישה?

את is the direct object marker. It does not have a separate meaning in English, but it tells you that the next word is the definite direct object of the verb.

Here:

• לבטל = to cancel
• הפגישה = the meeting
• את הפגישה = marks the meeting as the thing being canceled

A very important rule: Hebrew usually uses את only before a definite direct object.

So:

• לבטל פגישה = to cancel a meeting
• לבטל את הפגישה = to cancel the meeting

Why is it הפגישה instead of just פגישה?

Because the sentence is talking about the meeting, not just a meeting.

• פגישה = a meeting / meeting
• הפגישה = the meeting

Since the object is definite, Hebrew also uses את before it: את הפגישה.

So את and ה־ often go together in this kind of sentence.

What kind of word is פגישה?

פגישה is a feminine noun meaning meeting.

You can tell it is feminine because of its form and because in Hebrew it behaves like a feminine noun in agreement patterns.

Examples:

• פגישה טובה = a good meeting
• הפגישה חשובה = the meeting is important

In this sentence, it appears with the definite article: הפגישה = the meeting.

Why is הפעם at the beginning of the sentence?

Putting הפעם first gives it emphasis. It highlights the idea of this time as a contrast.

So the sentence has a nuance like:

• This time, I don't want to cancel the meeting.

Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible. You could also say:

• אני לא רוצה לבטל את הפגישה הפעם

That is also understandable, but starting with הפעם makes the contrast stronger and sounds very natural.

How would a native speaker pronounce the whole sentence?

A common pronunciation would be:

ha-pa'am ani lo rotze levatel et ha-pgisha
if the speaker is male

or

ha-pa'am ani lo rotza levatel et ha-pgisha
if the speaker is female

A few pronunciation notes:

• הפעם = ha-pa'am
• רוצה = rotze / rotza
• לבטל = levatel
• את = et
• הפגישה = ha-pgisha

The stress is usually near the end of פגישה: pgiSHA.