זה לא תירוץ טוב; פשוט שכחת לבדוק את הכתובת לפני שיצאת.

In this sentence, זה is best understood as this/that in the sense of this is not a good excuse.

Hebrew often uses זה in places where English would use this, that, or even it more flexibly. So:

• זה לא תירוץ טוב = That’s not a good excuse / This isn’t a good excuse

It does not have to refer only to something physically near, the way this often does in English.

Because Hebrew usually leaves out the present-tense verb to be.

So instead of saying a word equivalent to is, Hebrew simply says:

• זה לא תירוץ טוב literally: this not excuse good

But the natural meaning is:

• This/that is not a good excuse

This is very normal in Hebrew in the present tense.

תירוץ means excuse.

Very often it has a somewhat negative feel, like an excuse someone gives to justify a mistake or avoid responsibility. In this sentence, that negative sense fits well:

• זה לא תירוץ טוב = That’s not a good excuse

Hebrew also has סיבה for reason. Compare:

• סיבה = reason, cause
• תירוץ = excuse, often sounding less convincing or more defensive

So here, תירוץ is stronger and more critical than סיבה would be.

Because תירוץ is a masculine noun.

Adjectives in Hebrew usually agree with the noun they describe in gender and number:

• masculine singular: טוב
• feminine singular: טובה
• masculine plural: טובים
• feminine plural: טובות

So:

• תירוץ טוב = a good excuse

If the noun were feminine, you would use טובה.

Here פשוט means simply or just.

So:

• פשוט שכחת... = You simply forgot... / You just forgot...

Although פשוט can also mean simple, in this sentence it functions more like an adverb, emphasizing that the explanation is straightforward: there is no special excuse; you just forgot.

שכחת is the past tense of לשכוח (to forget), and here it means you forgot.

More specifically, it can be:

• you forgot (masculine singular)
• you forgot (feminine singular)

In standard spelling without vowels, both masculine and feminine singular often look the same in the past tense for many verbs.

So from the written form alone, שכחת can address either:

• one man/boy
• one woman/girl

Context usually tells you which one is meant.

Because the verb itself already shows the subject.

In Hebrew, past-tense verbs usually contain the person/number/gender information, so a separate subject pronoun is often unnecessary.

So instead of saying:

• אתה שכחת = you forgot (masculine)
• את שכחת = you forgot (feminine)

Hebrew can simply say:

• שכחת = you forgot

The pronoun can be added for emphasis, contrast, or clarity, but it is not required.

Because Hebrew, like English, often uses forget + infinitive.

So:

• שכחת לבדוק = you forgot to check

Breakdown:

• שכחת = you forgot
• לבדוק = to check

This pattern is very common:

• התחלתי ללמוד = I started to study / studying
• רציתי ללכת = I wanted to go
• שכחתי להתקשר = I forgot to call

Because את marks a definite direct object.

In Hebrew, when the direct object is definite, you usually put את before it. Since הכתובת means the address, it is definite, so Hebrew says:

• לבדוק את הכתובת = to check the address

Compare:

• בדקתי כתובת = I checked an address / I checked address information
• בדקתי את הכתובת = I checked the address

Important: this את is not the pronoun you (feminine singular). It is a grammatical marker.

הכתובת means the address.

It comes from:

• כתובת = address
• הכתובת = the address

The ה־ is the definite article, equivalent to the.

A common pronunciation is roughly:

• ha-kto-vet

The stress is typically on the last syllable: ha-kto-VET.

It means before you left.

Breakdown:

• לפני = before
• ש־ = that / when / which / a connector introducing a clause
• יצאת = you left / you went out

So literally it is something like:

• before that you-left

But natural English is:

• before you left

This is a very common Hebrew structure:

• לפני שהגעתי = before I arrived
• אחרי שסיימנו = after we finished
• כשהוא דיבר = when he spoke / while he was speaking

It can mean both, depending on context.

The verb is from לצאת, which basically means to go out, to leave, or to exit.

So in this sentence:

• לפני שיצאת = before you left

That is the most natural translation here. But in another context, it could be closer to:

• before you went out

For example:

• leaving the house
• heading out somewhere
• departing from a place

Yes. The semicolon separates two closely related statements:

• זה לא תירוץ טוב
• פשוט שכחת לבדוק את הכתובת לפני שיצאת

In English, you might also see:

• a semicolon
• a dash
• a period
• sometimes a comma in less formal writing

The semicolon here gives a slightly more formal, clear separation between:

1. rejecting the excuse
2. stating what really happened

Yes.

Both שכחת and יצאת can refer to you singular masculine or feminine in ordinary unpointed Hebrew spelling.

So this written sentence could be said to:

• one man
• one woman

If you add pronouns, you can make it explicit:

• אתה פשוט שכחת לבדוק את הכתובת לפני שיצאת = to a male
• את פשוט שכחת לבדוק את הכתובת לפני שיצאת = to a female

But without the pronoun, the written form is usually ambiguous unless context makes it clear.

Because פשוט naturally comes before the verb here to modify the whole statement: you simply forgot.

So:

• פשוט שכחת... = you simply forgot...

That word order sounds natural and idiomatic. Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible, but this placement is the most straightforward for the intended meaning.

If you moved פשוט, the sentence might sound less natural or create a different emphasis.

Yes. A few natural alternatives are possible, depending on tone.

For example:

• זה לא תירוץ; פשוט שכחת לבדוק את הכתובת לפני שיצאת.
  = That’s not an excuse; you just forgot to check the address before you left.

• זה לא תירוץ טוב בכלל; פשוט שכחת לבדוק את הכתובת לפני שיצאת.
  = That’s not a good excuse at all...

• פשוט שכחת לבדוק את הכתובת לפני שיצאת, זה הכול.
  = You just forgot to check the address before you left, that’s all.

But the original sentence is fully natural and clear.