אני לא אקח הלוואה, אלא אם כן הריבית תהיה נמוכה יותר.

Yes. אלא אם כן is a fixed expression meaning unless.

It is very common in both spoken and written Hebrew. Literally, its parts do not map neatly into natural English word-for-word, so it is best learned as one unit.

In this sentence: אני לא אקח הלוואה, אלא אם כן הריבית תהיה נמוכה יותר the phrase אלא אם כן introduces the exception to the negative statement: I will not take a loan unless the interest is lower.

אקח is the 1st person singular future form of לקחת = to take.

So:

• לקחת = to take
• אקח = I will take

Because the sentence is negative, אני לא אקח means I will not take or I won’t take.

This verb is a little irregular in the future, so learners often notice that it does not look exactly like the infinitive.

Yes, it could.

Hebrew often drops subject pronouns because the verb already shows the person. So both of these are possible:

• אני לא אקח הלוואה...
• לא אקח הלוואה...

Including אני can make the sentence feel a bit more explicit, personal, or emphatic. In many everyday situations, native speakers may include it or leave it out depending on style and emphasis.

Because את is only used before a definite direct object.

Here, הלוואה means a loan, not the loan, so it is indefinite. That is why there is no את.

Compare:

• אקח הלוואה = I will take a loan
• אקח את ההלוואה = I will take the loan

This is a very common thing English speakers ask about, because English does not have a marker like את.

Because Hebrew normally uses the future tense for real future conditions.

In English, you often say:

• I won’t take a loan unless the interest rate is lower

You do not usually say unless the interest rate will be lower.

But in Hebrew, future conditions commonly use future verbs in both parts:

• לא אקח ... אלא אם כן הריבית תהיה נמוכה יותר

So תהיה is completely normal here. It means will be.

Because ריבית is a feminine singular noun, so both the verb and the adjective must agree with it.

• ריבית = feminine singular
• תהיה = she/it will be, feminine singular
• נמוכה = low, feminine singular

If the noun were masculine singular, you would expect:

• יהיה נמוך

Hebrew adjectives and many verb forms must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

In a financial context, ריבית means interest or interest rate.

In this sentence, the most natural English meaning is the interest rate, because the sentence is about taking a loan. So הריבית תהיה נמוכה יותר means that the loan’s interest would have to be lower.

Yes, both are possible:

• נמוכה יותר
• יותר נמוכה

Both mean lower / more low, and both are grammatical.

In many simple comparisons, adjective + יותר is very common and natural:

• גדול יותר = bigger
• זול יותר = cheaper
• נמוך יותר / נמוכה יותר = lower

So נמוכה יותר is a very standard choice here.

Not exactly.

אלא אם כן is the standard, direct way to say unless.

אם לא means if not, and sometimes it can produce a similar idea, but the structure is different and it can sound less precise or less natural in this kind of sentence.

For example:

• אני לא אקח הלוואה, אלא אם כן הריבית תהיה נמוכה יותר
  = I won’t take a loan unless the interest rate is lower.

A sentence with אם לא would usually be built differently and may shift the emphasis. So for unless, learners should strongly prefer אלא אם כן.

לא is the standard Hebrew word for not.

In this sentence:

• אני לא אקח = I will not take / I won’t take

It comes before the verb, which is the normal Hebrew pattern for simple negation.

A common transliteration is:

Ani lo ekakh halva'ah, ela im ken ha-ribit tihye נמוכה יותר

A more readable full transliteration:

Ani lo ekakh halva'ah, ela im ken ha-ribit tihye nemukha yoter.

Approximate stress:

• aní
• lo
• ekákh
• halva'Áh
• elá
• im
• ken
• ha-ribít
• tihyé
• nemukhá
• yotér

The Hebrew ח in אקח is a throat sound with no exact English equivalent.

Yes, but the original order is very natural.

The sentence starts with the main idea:

• אני לא אקח הלוואה = I won’t take a loan

Then it adds the exception:

• אלא אם כן הריבית תהיה נמוכה יותר = unless the interest rate is lower

That mirrors the way English often works. You could restructure the thought in Hebrew, but this version is clear, natural, and idiomatic.