בלילה אני לא שותה קפה; אני שותה שוקולד חם.

בלילה means at night or during the night.

In Hebrew, short prepositions are usually attached directly to the next word. Here:

• ב־ = in / at
• לילה = night

So the basic idea is in the night / at night.

Also, Hebrew often contracts ב + ה into one written form. So ב + הלילה becomes בלילה. This kind of attached preposition is very common in Hebrew.

Because Hebrew often uses a singular time word in a general, habitual way.

So:

• בבוקר = in the morning
• בערב = in the evening
• בלילה = at night

These expressions often describe a routine or usual time, not one specific occasion. In this sentence, בלילה most naturally means something like at night / when it is night / at nighttime as a habit.

Hebrew word order is more flexible than English word order.

Putting בלילה first sets the time frame right away: At night, ...

So:

• בלילה אני לא שותה קפה = At night, I don’t drink coffee
• אני לא שותה קפה בלילה = I don’t drink coffee at night

Both are grammatical. The version with בלילה first gives the time expression a little more emphasis or makes it the topic of the sentence.

Hebrew uses לא to negate the verb. There is no extra helping verb like English do.

So:

• אני שותה = I drink / I am drinking
• אני לא שותה = I do not drink / I am not drinking

For an English speaker, this is important: Hebrew does not say something equivalent to I do not do drink. You just put לא before the verb.

שותה is a present-tense form.

In Hebrew, the present tense can cover several ideas that English separates:

• I drink
• I am drinking
• I do drink

The exact meaning depends on context. In this sentence, because of בלילה and the general statement about beverages, the most natural meaning is habitual:

At night, I don’t drink coffee; I drink hot chocolate.

The repetition helps make the contrast clear:

• אני לא שותה קפה
• אני שותה שוקולד חם

In English, you might also repeat I for the same reason: I don’t drink coffee; I drink hot chocolate.

Also, in Hebrew present tense, the verb by itself does not clearly show person the way English does. So subject pronouns like אני are often kept, especially when clarity or contrast matters.

In pronunciation, yes; in ordinary unpointed spelling, not necessarily.

For this verb, the masculine singular and feminine singular present forms are often written the same way:

• masculine: שׁוֹתֶה = shoTE
• feminine: שׁוֹתָה = shoTA

Without vowel marks, both are usually written שותה.

So from plain spelling alone, you often cannot tell whether the speaker is male or female. You would know from context, pronunciation, or added vowel marks.

Because את is used only before a definite direct object.

Here, קפה and שוקולד חם are indefinite or generic:

• I don’t drink coffee
• I drink hot chocolate

So there is no את.

Compare:

• אני לא שותה קפה = I don’t drink coffee
• אני לא שותה את הקפה הזה = I’m not drinking this coffee

In the second sentence, הקפה הזה is specific and definite, so את appears.

Because in Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun.

So:

• שוקולד חם = hot chocolate
• literally: chocolate hot

This is normal Hebrew word order for noun + adjective.

Also, the adjective must agree with the noun. Here:

• שוקולד is masculine singular
• so the adjective is חם, also masculine singular

If it were definite, both words would become definite:

• השוקולד החם = the hot chocolate

The semicolon links two closely related clauses and shows a contrast without needing an extra word.

So the sentence means:

At night I don’t drink coffee; I drink hot chocolate.

Hebrew can express that contrast just with punctuation and context. But if you want, you can also add a word like אבל:

• בלילה אני לא שותה קפה, אבל אני שותה שוקולד חם.

That is also perfectly natural, and it makes the contrast more explicit.