חוץ מהמפתח, שום דבר לא חסר בתיק.

חוץ מ־ means except for, apart from, or other than.

So:

• חוץ מהמפתח = except for the key

It is a very common way to introduce an exception in Hebrew.

Examples:

• חוץ מזה, הכול טוב. = Apart from that, everything is fine.
• חוץ ממני, כולם הגיעו. = Everyone arrived except me.

Because חוץ מ־ requires the preposition מ־ (from/of/than, depending on context), and here it combines with the definite noun המפתח (the key).

So:

• מ־ + הַמפתח → מהמפתח

This means from the key / except for the key.

Compare:

• מפתח = a key
• המפתח = the key
• מהמפתח = from the key / except for the key

In this sentence, the English meaning is except for the key, so Hebrew uses the definite form.

Yes, from an English perspective it looks like a double negative, but in standard Hebrew this is normal.

• שום דבר literally means something like not any thing / no thing
• Hebrew still usually keeps לא with the verb:
  • שום דבר לא חסר = nothing is missing

This pattern is very common:

• אף אחד לא בא. = Nobody came.
• שום דבר לא קרה. = Nothing happened.

So although English often avoids double negatives in standard grammar, Hebrew commonly uses them in this structure.

שום דבר literally means any thing or anything, but in negative sentences it usually means nothing.

In this sentence:

• שום דבר לא חסר = nothing is missing

You may also see it in other contexts:

• אני לא יודע שום דבר. = I don’t know anything.
• שום דבר לא עוזר. = Nothing helps.

So its exact translation depends on whether the sentence is negative and how it functions.

חסר means missing, lacking, or absent.

In this sentence:

• שום דבר לא חסר בתיק = nothing is missing from/in the bag

It can work a bit differently depending on context:

• חסר לי כסף. = I’m short of money / I lack money.
• חסרה לי כפית. = I’m missing a spoon.
• הספר חסר. = The book is missing.

So here חסר is describing the state of something: it is missing.

Because שום דבר is grammatically masculine singular.

So the adjective/predicate agrees with it:

• דבר = masculine singular
• therefore: חסר = masculine singular

If the subject were feminine singular, you would use חסרה:

• שום תשובה לא חסרה = No answer is missing

If it were masculine plural:

• שום מסמכים לא חסרים would sound unnatural because שום usually goes with singular count in this type of phrasing, but with a normal plural subject you would say:
• המסמכים לא חסרים = The documents are not missing

בתיק is a combination of:

• ב־ = in
• התיק = the bag

When ב־ joins a noun with ה־ (the), they contract:

• ב־ + התיק → בתיק

So:

• בתיק = in the bag

This kind of contraction is very common in Hebrew:

• בבית = in the house
• בספר = in the book
• במכונית = in the car

The same thing happens with some other prepositions too:

• ל + ה → ל
• כ + ה → כ

Literally, בתיק means in the bag.

But with חסר, Hebrew often uses ב־ where English might say from:

• שום דבר לא חסר בתיק = literally, nothing is missing in the bag
• natural English: nothing is missing from the bag

So the Hebrew preposition is ב־, but the best English translation may use from.

Hebrew often puts an exception phrase first for emphasis or clarity.

So:

• חוץ מהמפתח, שום דבר לא חסר בתיק.

means: As for exceptions, the key is the only thing missing; otherwise nothing is missing.

You could also move it:

• שום דבר לא חסר בתיק חוץ מהמפתח.

That is also natural and may sound slightly more straightforward in some contexts.

The version with חוץ מהמפתח at the beginning gives the exception special focus.

The comma is helpful because חוץ מהמפתח is a fronted introductory phrase.

So the comma marks a pause:

• חוץ מהמפתח, שום דבר לא חסר בתיק.

In informal writing, people are not always consistent with commas, but this punctuation is normal and clear.

Sometimes yes, but it would change the structure.

For example:

• אין שום דבר חסר בתיק. = There is nothing missing in the bag.

That is understandable, but שום דבר לא חסר בתיק is very natural.

The difference is roughly:

• אין... = there is/are not...
• לא חסר = is not missing

Both can work, but the original sentence focuses directly on the idea of missing.

A common pronunciation is:

Chuts meha-mafte’ach, shum davar lo chaser ba-tik.

A slightly more detailed breakdown:

• חוץ = chuts
• מהמפתח = meha-mafte’ach
• שום דבר = shum davar
• לא = lo
• חסר = chaser
• בתיק = ba-tik

Notes:

• ח is the throaty sound, like ch in German Bach or Scottish loch
• מפתח is stressed at the end: maf-te-ACH
• בתיק is usually ba-TIK

Yes. Another common option is מלבד.

For example:

• מלבד המפתח, שום דבר לא חסר בתיק.

This also means apart from the key, nothing is missing in the bag.

Very roughly:

• חוץ מ־ is common and conversational
• מלבד can sound a bit more formal or written

Both are correct and useful to know.