בת דודה שלי עובדת במזרח העיר, ולכן היא יוצאת מהבית כבר בשש ורבע.

In modern Hebrew, cousins are often named by gender:

• בן דוד = male cousin
• בת דודה = female cousin

Historically, these expressions are connected to דוד (uncle) and דודה (aunt), but in everyday Hebrew they function simply as the normal words for cousin.

So בת דודה שלי just means my female cousin.

Hebrew usually expresses possession by putting שלי (my) after the noun:

• בת דודה שלי = my female cousin
• literally: female cousin of me / cousin שלי

This is very normal in Hebrew. English says my cousin, but Hebrew often says cousin my.

Because the phrase is already definite due to שלי.

When a noun is followed by a possessive phrase like שלי, שלך, שלו, etc., it is already understood as definite:

• הספר = the book
• הספר שלי = my book

But with expressions like בת דודה שלי, Hebrew normally does not add ה to the first word. The possession already makes it definite enough.

Because the subject is feminine singular: בת דודה שלי.

In the present tense, Hebrew verbs agree with gender and number:

• עובד = masculine singular
• עובדת = feminine singular
• עובדים = masculine plural / mixed plural
• עובדות = feminine plural

Since the cousin is female, Hebrew uses עובדת.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Hebrew present-tense forms often cover both:

• she works
• she is working

In this sentence, the meaning is habitual, so עובדת is understood as works.

The same is true for יוצאת later in the sentence: here it means she leaves, not she is leaving right now.

This contains a common Hebrew structure called a construct chain.

• מזרח = east
• העיר = the city
• מזרח העיר = the east of the city / the eastern part of the city

Then Hebrew adds ב־ (in / at) to the front:

• במזרח העיר = in the eastern part of the city

So the phrase means she works on the east side of the city.

Because במזרח העיר usually refers to a location within the city: the eastern area of it.

If you wanted to say east of the city as a location outside it, Hebrew would more naturally say something like:

• ממזרח לעיר = east of the city

So:

• במזרח העיר = in the eastern part of the city
• ממזרח לעיר = east of the city

That is an important distinction.

That is normal in a construct chain.

In Hebrew construct phrases, the second noun often carries the definiteness, and the whole phrase becomes definite because of it:

• מרכז העיר = the city center
• סוף היום = the end of the day
• מזרח העיר = the east/eastern part of the city

So even though מזרח itself has no ה, the whole phrase is definite because of העיר.

ולכן means and therefore, and so, or simply therefore.

It is made of:

• ו־ = and
• לכן = therefore / so

It sounds a bit more formal or structured than just אז (so), though both can sometimes work.

So this sentence has a clear cause-and-result structure:

• she works in the east side of the city,
• therefore she leaves home early.

Yes, Hebrew could sometimes leave it out, but keeping it is very natural.

• ולכן היא יוצאת... = and therefore she leaves...
• ולכן יוצאת... = possible in some contexts, but less natural here

Hebrew often repeats the subject pronoun in a new clause, especially after a connector like ולכן, for clarity and smoothness.

Because the verb לצאת (to go out / to leave) normally goes with מ־ (from).

So Hebrew thinks of this as:

• לצאת מהבית = to go out from the house/home

This is different from English, which just says leave the house without from.

So:

• יוצאת מהבית = leaves home / goes out of the house

Using את would not fit this verb in normal Hebrew.

Because מ־ combines with the definite article ה־:

• מן / מ־ = from
• הבית = the house / the home
• מהבית = from the house / from home

This kind of contraction is very common in Hebrew:

• ב + ה → often written together, as in בבית / בהר depending on the word
• ל + ה → לבית, etc.
• מ + ה → מהבית

In this sentence, מהבית is the normal everyday form.

כבר literally means already, but with times it often means something like:

• already at
• as early as

So כבר בשש ורבע suggests that 6:15 is early from the speaker’s point of view.

Without כבר, the sentence would simply state the time. With כבר, it adds the nuance of that’s early.

Hebrew uses ב־ before clock times to mean at:

• בשש = at six

Then:

• ורבע = and a quarter

So:

• שש ורבע = six and a quarter
• בשש ורבע = at 6:15 / at a quarter past six

This is a very common way to tell time in Hebrew.

Because Hebrew often puts כבר before the time expression when it wants to stress the idea of so early / already at that time.

• כבר בשש ורבע = already at 6:15 / as early as 6:15

You may also hear different word orders in Hebrew, but this placement is very natural and emphasizes the early hour nicely.