אם הקפה חם מדי, אפשר לשתות מים.

Here אם means if and introduces a condition.

So the sentence starts with a conditional clause: אם הקפה חם מדי = if the coffee is too hot

A useful extra note: the same spelling, אם, can also mean mother, but that is a different word with a different pronunciation. In this sentence it is the conjunction if.

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

So:

• קפה = coffee
• הקפה = the coffee

Hebrew often uses the definite article when referring to a specific thing in the situation, even if English might sometimes sound natural with or without the depending on context.

Yes. קפה is normally masculine in Modern Hebrew.

That can surprise English speakers, because many Hebrew nouns ending in ־ה are feminine. But קפה is a borrowed word, and its grammatical gender is masculine.

That is why the adjective is:

• חם = masculine singular hot

and not a feminine form.

Hebrew adjectives agree with the noun they describe in gender and number.

Since הקפה is masculine singular, the adjective must also be masculine singular:

• קפה חם = hot coffee / the coffee is hot

If the noun were feminine singular, the adjective would have a different form.

מדי means too or overly.

In Hebrew, מדי usually comes after the adjective or adverb it modifies:

• חם מדי = too hot
• יקר מדי = too expensive
• מהר מדי = too quickly

So Hebrew says the equivalent of hot too, even though natural English says too hot.

אפשר literally means something like possible or it is possible.

In very common everyday Hebrew, אפשר + infinitive is used to express a general idea like:

• one can...
• you can...
• it’s possible to...

So:

• אפשר לשתות מים = you can drink water / one can drink water

There is no specific subject like you in the Hebrew sentence. It is intentionally general and impersonal.

Because after אפשר, Hebrew normally uses an infinitive.

• לשתות = to drink

The ל־ here is part of the infinitive form, often corresponding to English to.

So the pattern is:

• אפשר + infinitive
• אפשר לאכול = you can eat
• אפשר ללכת = you can go
• אפשר לשתות = you can drink

Hebrew usually does not need a separate word for then in sentences like this.

English can say:

• If the coffee is too hot, you can drink water.

and it usually leaves out then too.

Hebrew works the same way here:

• אם הקפה חם מדי, אפשר לשתות מים.

The relationship between the two parts is already clear from אם.

Because מים here is indefinite and general: drink water, not drink the water.

In Hebrew, the direct object marker את is used with definite direct objects.

So:

• לשתות מים = to drink water
• לשתות את המים = to drink the water

Since the sentence is talking about water in general, את is not used.

Yes, מים is a plural-form noun. It is one of those Hebrew words that are normally used only in a plural-looking form, even though in English the meaning is simply water.

That means when Hebrew adds adjectives, they are often plural too:

• המים קרים = the water is cold

So even though the meaning is singular in English, the Hebrew form is plural.

Yes. Hebrew can also put the second part first:

• אפשר לשתות מים אם הקפה חם מדי.

That still means the same thing: You can drink water if the coffee is too hot.

The original version starts with the condition, which is very natural: אם הקפה חם מדי, ...

Putting the אם clause first often feels slightly more organized or more like setting the situation first.