Questions & Answers about למה את צוחקת עליי?
What does each word in למה את צוחקת עליי? mean literally?
A word-by-word breakdown is:
- למה = why
- את = you (addressing one female)
- צוחקת = laughing / are laughing (feminine singular form)
- עליי = at me / literally on me
So the structure is very close to:
Why + you (fem.) + laughing + at me?
Hebrew often does not need a separate word for are in the present tense.
Why does the sentence use את?
את is the pronoun you when speaking to one woman or girl.
Hebrew changes you depending on gender and number:
- אתה = you (one male)
- את = you (one female)
- אתם = you (plural masculine or mixed group)
- אתן = you (plural feminine)
So this sentence is specifically addressed to a female.
If you were speaking to a male, you would say:
למה אתה צוחק עליי?
Why is it צוחקת and not צוחק?