הקפה הזה חזק מדי.

Breakdown of הקפה הזה חזק מדי.

זה
this
קפה
coffee
חזק
strong
מדי
too

Questions & Answers about הקפה הזה חזק מדי.

Why does קפה have ה־ in הקפה?

ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, equivalent to the in English.

  • קפה = coffee
  • הקפה = the coffee

So הקפה הזה means this coffee, literally the coffee this.

Why is הזה after the noun instead of before it?

In Hebrew, demonstratives like הזה (this, masculine singular) usually come after the noun, not before it.

So Hebrew says:

  • הקפה הזה = literally the coffee this

not:

  • this coffee

This is normal Hebrew word order.

Why is it הזה and not הזאת?

Because קפה is a masculine singular noun in Hebrew.

Hebrew demonstratives must agree with the noun in gender and number:

  • masculine singular: הזה
  • feminine singular: הזאת
  • masculine plural: האלה
  • feminine plural: האלה

So:

  • הקפה הזה = correct
  • הקפה הזאת = incorrect
Why is חזק in the masculine form?

Adjectives in Hebrew must agree with the noun they describe.

Since קפה is masculine singular, the adjective also has to be masculine singular:

  • masculine singular: חזק
  • feminine singular: חזקה

So:

  • הקפה הזה חזק מדי = correct
  • הקפה הזה חזקה מדי = incorrect
What does חזק mean here? Does it literally mean strong?

Yes. חזק literally means strong, and it is very natural to use it for coffee.

So when talking about coffee, חזק means something like:

  • too strong
  • too intense
  • too concentrated

This is the normal adjective Hebrew uses in this context.

What does מדי mean?

מדי means too in the sense of excessively.

So:

  • חזק מדי = too strong
  • יקר מדי = too expensive
  • מהיר מדי = too fast

It comes after the adjective or adverb it modifies.

Why does מדי come after חזק?

In Hebrew, מדי normally comes after the adjective:

  • חזק מדי = too strong
  • קשה מדי = too difficult

This is different from English, where too comes before the adjective:

  • too strong
  • too difficult

So this is a word-order difference you just have to get used to.

Do I need the ה־ on both הקפה and הזה?

Yes. In this structure, Hebrew normally uses the definite article on both parts:

  • הקפה הזה = this coffee

This is the standard pattern:

  • הספר הזה = this book
  • הילדה הזאת = this girl
  • האנשים האלה = these people

So קפה הזה would sound wrong in standard Hebrew.

Is the word order in the whole sentence normal?

Yes. הקפה הזה חזק מדי is a very normal Hebrew sentence.

The structure is:

  • הקפה הזה = subject
  • חזק מדי = description/predicate

Hebrew often forms present-tense sentences without a word for is.

So Hebrew says:

  • הקפה הזה חזק מדי

where English says:

  • This coffee is too strong
Where is the Hebrew word for is?

In the present tense, Hebrew usually does not use a separate word for is / are.

So:

  • הקפה הזה חזק מדי = literally this coffee too strong

but it means:

  • This coffee is too strong

This is one of the most important differences between Hebrew and English sentence structure.

How is this sentence pronounced?

A natural pronunciation is:

ha-ka-FE ha-ZE kha-ZAK mi-DEI

A few notes:

  • קפה is stressed on the last syllable: ka-FE
  • הזה is stressed on the second syllable: ha-ZE
  • חזק is usually kha-ZAK
  • מדי is mi-DEI

The ח sound in חזק is the throaty Hebrew sound that English does not really have.

Could I also say הקפה הזה מאוד חזק? What is the difference?

Yes.

  • הקפה הזה מאוד חזק = This coffee is very strong
  • הקפה הזה חזק מדי = This coffee is too strong

The difference is important:

  • מאוד means very
  • מדי means too, implying more than is desirable

So חזק מדי usually suggests a complaint or problem, while מאוד חזק does not necessarily.

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