בשבת אנחנו רוצות לארח כמה חברות בבית ולהכין כיבוד פשוט.

Hebrew very often puts a time expression first to set the scene. So בשבת means on Shabbat / on Saturday, and starting with it is a natural way to frame the whole sentence.

Also, the prefix ב־ can mean in, on, or at, depending on context. With days or time expressions, it often comes out as on.

Not exactly. In the present tense, Hebrew verbs mainly show gender and number, not person very clearly.

So רוצות means feminine plural wanting, which could fit:

• אנחנו רוצות = we want
• הן רוצות = they want

Adding אנחנו makes it clear that the subject is we.

Because the speakers are an all-female group.

• רוצות = feminine plural
• רוצים = masculine plural

In Hebrew, masculine plural is also the default for a mixed group, so if the group were mixed or all male, you would normally say אנחנו רוצים.

Because the sentence is talking about a current desire or plan about a future time.

So the logic is:

• right now: we want
• for שבת: to host and prepare

Hebrew often uses present tense this way when a time expression like בשבת makes the future meaning clear.

Because they are infinitives: to host and to prepare.

After רוצה / רוצות (want / want to), Hebrew normally uses an infinitive:

• רוצות לארח = want to host
• רוצות להכין = want to prepare

The ל־ is the normal marker you often see on Hebrew infinitives.

In Hebrew, each verb usually keeps its own infinitive form.

So:

• לארח ולהכין = to host and to prepare

That is more natural than trying to let one ל־ cover both verbs.

Also, ו־ simply means and, and it attaches directly to the next word.

Because את is used before a definite direct object, and כמה חברות is indefinite: some / a few friends.

Compare:

• לארח כמה חברות = to host some friends
• לארח את החברות = to host the friends (specific, known friends)

So no את here is exactly what you would expect.

Here it means some or a few.

So כמה חברות means a few female friends / some female friends.

In other contexts, כמה can also mean how many, but here the sentence is not a question, so it is understood as some / a few.

Usually, no. כמה is commonly used with both masculine and feminine nouns in modern Hebrew.

So you can have:

• כמה חברות = a few female friends
• כמה חברים = a few male friends / friends

The noun itself shows the gender and number.

It can mean either, depending on context.

• חברות = female friends
• חברות = companies

In this sentence, the context clearly points to female friends, because you host them at home and prepare refreshments for them.

Because short prepositions like ב־ (in/at), ל־ (to), and כ־ (as/like) attach directly to the next word.

When the noun is definite, the separate ה־ article is usually absorbed rather than written separately. So:

• ב + הבית becomes בבית

That is why you see one written word.

It can mean either, depending on context.

In this sentence, בבית most naturally means at home or at the house. Hebrew often uses בבית in that broader, natural sense, not only the literal inside the house meaning.

כיבוד is a common Hebrew word for refreshments, light snacks, or something small you serve guests.

It is grammatically masculine singular, so the adjective also appears in masculine singular:

• כיבוד פשוט = simple refreshments / simple snacks

Even though the idea may be plural in English, Hebrew often treats כיבוד as a collective singular noun. That is why it is פשוט, not פשוטה or פשוטים.