האינסטלטור בודק אם יש נזילה מתחת לכיור.

In Hebrew, the present tense often covers both the simple present and the present progressive.

So בודק can mean:

• checks
• is checking

Which one sounds best depends on context. In this sentence, English would usually say is checking, but Hebrew uses the same form for both.

Hebrew does not build the present tense the way English does.

English:

• The plumber is checking

Hebrew:

• האינסטלטור בודק

There is no separate word for is here. Hebrew present-tense sentences usually just use the present-tense verb form by itself.

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

So:

• אינסטלטור = a plumber / plumber
• האינסטלטור = the plumber

This ה־ is very common in Hebrew and gets attached directly to the noun.

Here, אם means if / whether in the sense of introducing an indirect question.

So בודק אם יש נזילה means:

• is checking if there is a leak
• or more naturally, is checking whether there is a leak

It does not mean a conditional if like:

• If it rains, I’ll stay home

Hebrew uses the same word, but the meaning is determined by context.

Hebrew uses יש to express existence: there is / there are.

So:

• יש נזילה = there is a leak
• literally, something like there exists a leak

This is the normal Hebrew way to say that something exists or is present.

A key point for English speakers: יש is not exactly a normal verb like English is. It is an existential word used very often in Hebrew.

Because the sentence means there is a leak, not there is the leak.

In Hebrew, after יש, an indefinite noun is very common when you are introducing something new:

• יש נזילה = there is a leak
• יש בעיה = there is a problem

If you said יש הנזילה, that would usually sound unnatural in this kind of sentence.

מתחת means under / underneath / beneath.

In modern everyday Hebrew, מתחת ל־ is the normal way to say under something:

• מתחת לכיור = under the sink

The word תחת exists, but in modern spoken Hebrew it is less common in this meaning and can sound more formal, literary, or different in tone depending on context.

So for everyday Hebrew, מתחת ל־ is the form learners will hear most often.

Because the preposition ל־ is attached to the noun, and when ל־ combines with ה־ (the), the two merge.

So:

• ל + הכיור becomes לכיור
• pronunciation: la-kiyor

This is a very common Hebrew pattern:

• לבית = to the house
• לחדר = to the room
• לכיור = to the sink / at the sink, depending on context

After מתחת, ל־ is used idiomatically, so מתחת לכיור means under the sink.

Yes, ל־ often means to, but Hebrew prepositions do not always match English prepositions one-for-one.

After words like מתחת (underneath) or מעל (above), Hebrew commonly uses ל־ before the noun:

• מתחת לשולחן = under the table
• מעל לכיסא = above the chair
• מתחת לכיור = under the sink

So here, you should think of מתחת ל־ as a fixed pattern meaning under something.

A natural pronunciation is:

ha-instalátor bodék im yesh nezilá mitáchat la-kiyór

A few notes:

• האינסטלטור = ha-instalator
• בודק = bodek
• אם = im
• יש = yesh
• נזילה = nezila
• מתחת = mitachat
• לכיור = la-kiyor

In everyday speech, stress is usually near the end of many Hebrew words, such as:

• instalaTÓR
• boDÉK
• neziLÁ
• kiYÓR

No, אינסטלטור is a loanword. It comes from a European-language source and is used in modern Hebrew to mean plumber.

This is very normal in Hebrew, especially for professions, technology, and modern objects. Even though it is not originally Hebrew, it behaves like a regular Hebrew noun:

• אינסטלטור = plumber
• האינסטלטור = the plumber

Because the subject האינסטלטור is singular and masculine.

So Hebrew uses the masculine singular present-tense form:

• בודק = masculine singular

If the subject were feminine, it would be:

• האינסטלטורית בודקת = the female plumber is checking

If the subject were plural, the verb form would also change.

This is an important feature of Hebrew: verbs in the present tense agree with the subject in gender and number.

Yes, Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible, but this sentence uses the most straightforward and natural order:

• האינסטלטור בודק אם יש נזילה מתחת לכיור

That is basically:

• The plumber checks/is checking if there is a leak under the sink

You might sometimes hear slight variations for emphasis, but for learners this is the standard order to aim for:

subject + verb + clause

So this version is a very good model sentence.

Because there is no direct object here that requires את.

Hebrew uses את before a definite direct object, like:

• הוא בודק את הכיור = He is checking the sink

But in your sentence, the plumber is not directly checking the leak as an object. Instead, he is checking whether there is a leak:

• בודק אם יש נזילה

That whole if/whether clause comes after the verb, so את is not used.