אני רוצה לדבר איתך עליו אחרי העבודה.

Breakdown of אני רוצה לדבר איתך עליו אחרי העבודה.

אני
I
לרצות
to want
אחרי
after
עבודה
work
לדבר
to talk
איתך
with you
עליו
on it

Questions & Answers about אני רוצה לדבר איתך עליו אחרי העבודה.

Why is אני written here? Can’t Hebrew just say רוצה לדבר...?

Sometimes Hebrew does omit subject pronouns, but in this sentence אני helps make the subject clear.

The main reason is that רוצה in the present tense does not show person clearly by itself. Written without vowels, רוצה could be understood as:

  • I want (if the speaker is male, or female in unpointed writing)
  • he wants
  • sometimes only context tells you exactly who

So אני רוצה clearly means I want.

What does לדבר mean, and why does it start with ל־?

לדבר is the infinitive form of the verb to speak / to talk.

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

So:

  • לדבר = to speak / to talk

In אני רוצה לדבר, the structure is very similar to English:

  • אני רוצה = I want
  • לדבר = to talk

So literally: I want to talk.

Why is it לדבר איתך and not something more like talk to you?

Hebrew uses a different preposition from English here.

In English, we often say talk to you.
In Hebrew, a very common way to express this is לדבר איתך, literally to talk with you.

So even if the English translation says talk to you, the Hebrew often uses with-type wording.

A few useful comparisons:

  • לדבר איתך = to talk with you
  • לדבר אליך = to speak to you (more directional, sometimes more formal or literary)
  • לדבר עם מישהו is also common and means to talk with someone

So איתך is completely natural here.

What exactly is איתך?

איתך means with you.

It is one fused word: a preposition plus a pronoun ending. In modern Hebrew, איתי, איתך, איתו and similar forms are very common.

Examples:

  • איתי = with me
  • איתך = with you
  • איתו = with him
  • איתה = with her

So in this sentence:

  • לדבר איתך = to talk with you
Is איתך masculine or feminine? How do I know whether the speaker is talking to a man or a woman?

In unpointed Hebrew, איתך can represent either:

  • אִתְּךָ = with you (to a male)
  • אִתָּךְ = with you (to a female)

They are written the same in normal everyday spelling, so you usually know from context.

Pronunciation is different:

  • to a male: itkha
  • to a female: itakh / itach

So the written sentence by itself does not tell you which one it is unless there is context.

What does עליו mean here?

Here עליו means about him or about it, depending on context.

It is built from:

  • על = on / about
  • a pronoun ending meaning him / it

So עליו is literally something like on him/it, but in many contexts with לדבר it means about him/it:

  • לדבר עליו = to talk about him / it

This is very common Hebrew grammar: a preposition combines with a pronoun into one word.

Can עליו refer to a thing, or only to a man?

It can refer to either one, as long as the noun is grammatically masculine.

So עליו may mean:

  • about him
  • about it

For example:

  • if you are talking about a man, עליו = about him
  • if you are talking about a masculine noun like הספר (the book), עליו can mean about it

Only context tells you which meaning is intended.

Why is it אחרי העבודה with העבודה and not just אחרי עבודה?

אחרי העבודה literally means after the work / after the job / after work.

In Hebrew, using the definite article here is very natural. It often refers to the workday, the job, or the specific work the speaker means.

So even though English often says simply after work, Hebrew commonly says:

  • אחרי העבודה

This sounds natural and idiomatic.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say אני רוצה לדבר עליו איתך אחרי העבודה?

Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible, but the original order is very natural:

  • אני רוצה לדבר איתך עליו אחרי העבודה

This flows as:

  1. I want
  2. to talk with you
  3. about him/it
  4. after work

You can move parts around for emphasis, but it may sound different in tone or focus.

For example:

  • אני רוצה לדבר עליו איתך אחרי העבודה
    puts עליו a little earlier, which may emphasize about him/it

The original sentence is a safe, natural choice for learners.

Does רוצה show whether the speaker is male or female?

In normal unpointed writing, רוצה looks the same for both masculine and feminine singular, but the pronunciation changes:

  • male speaker: rotse
  • female speaker: rotsa

So:

  • אני רוצה can be said by a man or a woman
  • the written form usually stays the same
  • context or speech tells you which one it is

This is very common in Hebrew: unpointed spelling often leaves gender ambiguous.

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