הוא הודה שוב שהאשמה לא רק שלה, אלא גם שלו.

Here הודה means admitted or acknowledged.

The verb להודות can mean different things depending on context:

• to admit / acknowledge
• to thank

In this sentence, because it is followed by a ש־ clause (שהאשמה...), it clearly means he admitted that...

So:

• הוא הודה = he admitted

שוב means again.

So:

• הוא הודה שוב = he admitted again

Its position is very natural in Hebrew: verb + שוב.
You will often see:

• אמר שוב = said again
• שאל שוב = asked again
• ניסה שוב = tried again

Hebrew is somewhat flexible with adverbs, but הודה שוב is the most straightforward wording here.

The ש־ here means that.

So:

• הוא הודה שהאשמה... = He admitted that the blame...

This ש־ introduces a subordinate clause, just like that in English.

Compare:

• אני יודע שהוא כאן = I know that he is here
• היא אמרה שהיא עייפה = She said that she was tired

So שהאשמה is really:

• ש + האשמה
• that + the blame

Because האשמה is a noun meaning the blame or the fault, while guilty in English is usually an adjective.

This sentence is built around a noun phrase:

• האשמה לא רק שלה, אלא גם שלו
• the blame is not only hers, but also his

So Hebrew is expressing the idea as the blame/fault, not she is guilty / he is guilty.

Related words:

• אשמה = blame, guilt, fault
• אשם = guilty (masculine adjective)
• אשמה can also sometimes relate to guilt in a broader sense, depending on context

This is a very common Hebrew structure meaning:

• not only ... but also ...

In your sentence:

• לא רק שלה, אלא גם שלו
• not only hers, but also his

Breakdown:

• לא רק = not only
• אלא גם = but also

You can use this pattern in many sentences:

• הוא לא רק חכם, אלא גם מצחיק = He is not only smart, but also funny
• זה לא רק יקר, אלא גם מיותר = It’s not only expensive, but also unnecessary

שלה means hers / of her and שלו means his / of him.

Here they refer back to האשמה:

• האשמה ... שלה = the blame is hers / her blame
• האשמה ... שלו = the blame is his / his blame

Hebrew often uses של־ forms this way:

• שלי = mine
• שלך = yours
• שלו = his
• שלה = hers
• שלנו = ours

So the sentence is literally structured like:

• the blame is not only hers, but also his

No. שלה and שלו agree with the person being referred to, not with the noun האשמה.

So:

• שלה = hers / of her → feminine person
• שלו = his / of him → masculine person

The noun האשמה is feminine, but that does not force both forms to be feminine. The forms reflect:

• her blame
• his blame

So the contrast is about whose blame it is, not about the gender of האשמה.

Yes, in a way.

Hebrew often leaves out the present-tense is/are. So:

• האשמה לא רק שלה, אלא גם שלו literally looks like:
• the blame not only hers, but also his

But the meaning is:

• the blame is not only hers, but also his

This is completely normal in Hebrew. In the present tense, the verb to be is usually not written.

So you can mentally supply:

• האשמה היא לא רק שלה, אלא גם שלו

But Hebrew usually prefers the shorter version without היא here.

Yes, it could, but the sentence you have is more natural and smoother.

Compare:

• שהאשמה לא רק שלה, אלא גם שלו = natural, concise
• שהאשמה היא לא רק שלה, אלא גם שלו = possible, but a bit heavier

In many Hebrew nominal sentences, especially when the meaning is clear, Hebrew prefers to omit היא.

So the version in your sentence is standard and idiomatic.

The comma helps separate the two parts of the contrast:

• לא רק שלה
• אלא גם שלו

This is similar to English punctuation in:

• not only hers, but also his

In Hebrew, punctuation can be a little flexible, but a comma is very common and helpful with this structure, especially in written Hebrew.

A simple transliteration is:

Hu hodá shúv sheha-ashmá lo rak shelá, elá gam sheló.

A few pronunciation notes:

• הודה = hodá (stress on the last syllable)
• שוב = shúv
• האשמה = ha-ashmá
• שלה = shelá
• אלא = elá
• שלו = sheló

The stress pattern is important, especially in words like הודה, האשמה, שלה, and שלו.

Sometimes yes, but admitted or acknowledged is usually better here.

Confessed can sound stronger in English, as if someone admitted something shameful or serious. Hebrew הודה does not always carry that stronger tone. In this sentence, it simply means he admitted or acknowledged that the blame was also his.

So the best natural translation is usually:

• He admitted again that the blame was not only hers, but also his.

It breaks down like this:

• הוא = he
• הודה = admitted
• שוב = again
• ש = that
• האשמה = the blame / the fault
• לא רק = not only
• שלה = hers
• אלא גם = but also
• שלו = his

So the structure is:

He + admitted + again + that-clause

And inside the that-clause:

the blame + not only + hers + but also + his

That makes it a very good example of:

1. a reporting verb (הודה)
2. a ש־ clause
3. the pattern לא רק ... אלא גם ...