אני לא יכולה להיכנס לחדר עכשיו, כי יש פגישה.

יכולה is the feminine singular form of can / be able to.

So:

• אני לא יכולה = I (female speaker) cannot
• אני לא יכול = I (male speaker) cannot

In Hebrew, even with אני (I), adjectives and some predicate words still change for gender.

Not exactly in the same way English can is.

In this sentence, יכולה comes from יכול, which often behaves like an adjective or predicate meaning able. Hebrew expresses can as something like am able to.

So:

• אני יכולה להיכנס = literally, roughly I am able to enter
• English translates it naturally as I can enter

That is why יכולה changes for gender.

להיכנס means to enter / to go in.

The ל־ at the beginning is the normal marker for the infinitive in Hebrew, similar to English to:

• להיכנס = to enter
• ללכת = to go
• לשבת = to sit

So:

• יכולה להיכנס = can enter / am able to enter

In Hebrew, after להיכנס, it is very common to use ל־ directly before the place:

• להיכנס לחדר = to enter the room
• להיכנס לבית = to enter the house

This is the most natural everyday structure.

You may also see longer forms in some contexts, but להיכנס לחדר is completely standard and natural.

Because in Hebrew, when the preposition ל־ (to, into) comes before ה־ (the), they combine.

So:

• ל + החדר → לחדר

This kind of contraction is very common:

• לבית = to the house
• למשרד = to the office
• לחדר = to the room

So לחדר means to the room / into the room.

There is one—it is just absorbed into the preposition.

Hebrew often combines prepositions with the definite article:

• ב + ה → ב
• ל + ה → ל
• כ + ה → כ

So לחדר already includes the.

That means:

• חדר = a room / room
• לחדר = to the room / into the room

עכשיו means now, and Hebrew allows some flexibility with adverb placement.

This sentence has:

• אני לא יכולה להיכנס לחדר עכשיו

This is very natural.

You could also hear:

• עכשיו אני לא יכולה להיכנס לחדר
• אני עכשיו לא יכולה להיכנס לחדר

But the original version sounds very normal and straightforward. Putting עכשיו after לחדר keeps the sentence flowing naturally.

כי means because here.

It introduces the reason:

• אני לא יכולה להיכנס לחדר עכשיו = the statement
• כי יש פגישה = the reason

So כי connects the two parts just like English because.

יש means there is / there are.

So:

• יש פגישה = there is a meeting

Hebrew uses יש to express existence or presence. There is no extra word like English there in the same way; יש already carries that meaning.

Examples:

• יש זמן = there is time
• יש בעיה = there is a problem
• יש פגישה = there is a meeting

Because after יש, Hebrew usually uses an indefinite noun when introducing something that exists or is happening.

So:

• יש פגישה = there is a meeting

That sounds natural.

Using יש with a definite noun like הפגישה is usually not the normal choice in simple sentences like this. If you want to talk about a specific meeting, Hebrew often uses a different structure depending on the context.

In this sentence, יש פגישה simply means that a meeting is taking place, which is why the speaker cannot enter.

Because לא and אין do different jobs.

• לא negates verbs and predicate expressions:
  • אני לא יכולה = I cannot
• אין means there is not / there are not:
  • אין פגישה = there is no meeting

So in this sentence:

• אני לא יכולה is correct, because the speaker is negating being able
• If you said אין פגישה, that would mean there is no meeting, which is the opposite of the reason given

Almost the same, but one word changes:

• Female speaker: אני לא יכולה להיכנס לחדר עכשיו, כי יש פגישה.
• Male speaker: אני לא יכול להיכנס לחדר עכשיו, כי יש פגישה.

Everything stays the same except יכולה / יכול.

The given sentence is very natural, but Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible.

For example, you might also hear:

• אני לא יכולה עכשיו להיכנס לחדר, כי יש פגישה.
• כי יש פגישה, אני לא יכולה להיכנס לחדר עכשיו.

These versions are possible, but the original sentence is the most neutral and natural for everyday speech.

It is pronounced roughly lehikanes.

The word comes from the root כ־נ־ס, which is related to entering. In the hitpa’el pattern, the infinitive becomes להיכנס.

You do not need to master the whole system immediately, but it helps to know that Hebrew verbs often appear in fixed patterns, and להיכנס is one of them.

So even if the root is כנס, the full verb form is naturally להיכנס.