אני מחכה ליד תחנת המשטרה.

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Breakdown of אני מחכה ליד תחנת המשטרה.

• ליד: by
• לחכות: to wait
• תחנת משטרה: police station

Questions & Answers about אני מחכה ליד תחנת המשטרה.

How do you pronounce אני מחכה ליד תחנת המשטרה?

A common pronunciation is:

• for a male speaker: ani mekhaké leyad tachanát ha-mishtará
• for a female speaker: ani mekhaká leyad tachanát ha-mishtará

A rough breakdown:

• אני = ani
• מחכה = mekhaké or mekhaká
• ליד = leyad
• תחנת = tachanat
• המשטרה = ha-mishtara

The ח sound in מחכה is the throaty Hebrew kh/ch sound.

Why is there no separate word for am in this sentence?

Because Hebrew usually does not use a separate present-tense word for am / is / are the way English does.

In this sentence, מחכה already means waiting in the present, so אני מחכה means I am waiting.

So Hebrew says:

• אני מחכה = I am waiting

not something like אני am מחכה.

What exactly does מחכה mean here?