זה מנהג ישן במשפחה שלנו, אבל גם הילדים אוהבים אותו.

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

So:

• זה מנהג ישן
  literally: this old custom
• natural English: This is an old custom

This is very normal in Hebrew. In present-tense sentences like X is Y, Hebrew often just puts the two parts next to each other, with no separate word for is.

But in past or future, Hebrew does use forms of to be, for example:

• זה היה מנהג ישן = This was an old custom
• זה יהיה מנהג ישן = This will be an old custom

Here זה means something like this or this is.

In this kind of sentence, זה often introduces or identifies something:

• זה ספר = This is a book
• זה מנהג ישן = This is an old custom

Depending on context, זה can also mean it, this, or even that in casual usage. But in this sentence, the most natural understanding is This is...

Also, זה is grammatically masculine singular, which fits מנהג because מנהג is a masculine noun.

מנהג means custom, tradition, or practice.

It is a masculine noun. That matters because words that refer back to it must agree with it. For example:

• מנהג ישן = an old custom
  (ישן is masculine singular)
• אוהבים אותו = love/like it
  (אותו is masculine singular it/him)

If the noun were feminine, the adjective and pronoun would be different.

In Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• מנהג ישן = an old custom
• ילד קטן = a small boy
• משפחה גדולה = a big family

This is the normal word order in Hebrew:

noun + adjective

Also, the adjective must match the noun in gender and number:

• מנהג ישן = masculine singular
• משפחה ישנה = feminine singular
• מנהגים ישנים = masculine plural
• משפחות ישנות = feminine plural

Because here the phrase means an old custom, not the old custom.

Compare:

• זה מנהג ישן = This is an old custom
• זה המנהג הישן = This is the old custom

In Hebrew, if the noun is indefinite, there is no word for a/an. So מנהג ישן naturally means an old custom.

If the noun is definite, it usually takes ה־, and the adjective also becomes definite:

• המנהג הישן = the old custom

So the sentence is talking about it as a custom, not identifying it as the specific old custom.

Because the preposition ב־ (in) combines with the definite article ה־ (the).

So:

• ב + המשפחה becomes במשפחה

This kind of contraction is very common in Hebrew:

• ב + ה → בַ / בֶ / בְ in pronunciation, usually just written ב
• ל + ה → לַ / לֶ / לְ, written ל
• כ + ה → כַ / כֶ / כְ, written כ

In unpointed modern Hebrew writing, you usually just see:

• בבית = in the house
• במשפחה = in the family

So במשפחה שלנו means in our family.

In Hebrew, a noun with a possessive phrase like שלנו (our) is usually treated as definite.

So Hebrew normally says:

• המשפחה שלנו = literally the family of ours
• natural English: our family

That is why the noun appears with ה־:

• במשפחה שלנו = in our family

This is different from English, where you do not say the our family. Hebrew and English organize possession differently here.

Because Hebrew possessive words like שלי, שלך, שלו, שלה, שלנו often come after the noun.

So Hebrew says:

• המשפחה שלנו = literally the family our
• הספר שלי = my book
• החברים שלהם = their friends

This is the normal Hebrew pattern.

English puts the possessive before the noun:

• our family
• my book
• their friends

Hebrew usually puts it after.

אבל means but.

גם means also, too, or sometimes even, depending on context.

So:

• אבל = but
• אבל גם הילדים... = but the children also... / but even the children...

In this sentence, גם adds the idea that the children too like it, perhaps in addition to adults or older family members.

So the structure is something like:

• It’s an old family custom, but the children also like it.

The word גם highlights הילדים.

Placing גם before הילדים gives emphasis to the children as the thing being added.

• גם הילדים אוהבים אותו
  = the children also like it / even the children like it

This often means: not only others, the children too.

If you move גם, the emphasis can shift. Hebrew allows some flexibility, but גם הילדים is a very natural way to say the children also / even the children.

So here גם is attached conceptually to הילדים.

Yes, הילדים means the children.

In context, it most likely refers to a specific group already understood from the situation, probably the children in the family.

Hebrew often uses the definite article where English might also use the, especially when the group is understood from context.

So:

• ילדים = children
• הילדים = the children

In this sentence, it sounds natural because we are talking about a known family setting: in our family... the children also like it.

אוהבים is the present tense masculine plural form of the verb לאהוב (to love / to like).

It agrees with הילדים, which is a masculine plural noun grammatically.

So:

• הילד אוהב = the boy likes/loves
• הילדים אוהבים = the children like/love

Even if the group includes girls, Hebrew often uses the masculine plural form for mixed groups.

If the subject were feminine plural, you would get:

• הילדות אוהבות = the girls like/love

Literally, אוהבים comes from לאהוב, which usually means to love.

But in everyday Hebrew, it can also correspond to English like, especially with things, activities, foods, customs, and so on.

So in this sentence, depending on tone and translation choice, it could be:

• the children love it
• the children like it

Both are possible. With a family custom, English often uses like more naturally, but love is not wrong.

אותו means him or it as a direct object, masculine singular.

Here it refers back to מנהג (custom), which is masculine singular.

So:

• אוהבים אותו = love/like it

Hebrew object pronouns must match the noun’s grammatical gender and number, not just natural gender.

Because מנהג is masculine singular, Hebrew uses:

• אותו = masculine singular object pronoun

If the noun were feminine singular, you would use:

• אותה

For example:

• המסורת יפה. הילדים אוהבים אותה.
  The tradition is יפה. The children like it.

In Hebrew, the same object pronoun can mean him or it, depending on what it refers to.

So:

• אותו = him or it (masculine singular direct object)
• אותה = her or it (feminine singular direct object)

Hebrew does not have a completely separate set of object pronouns for inanimate it the way English does.

Since מנהג is masculine, Hebrew says:

• אוהבים אותו

Even though in English we translate it as it, not him.

A simple transliteration is:

Ze minhag yashan ba-mishpakha shelanu, aval gam ha-yeladim ohavim oto.

A few pronunciation notes:

• זה = ze
• מנהג = minhag or minhag with a throaty h
• ישן = yashan
• במשפחה = ba-mishpakha
• שלנו = shelanu
• אבל = aval
• גם = gam
• הילדים = ha-yeladim
• אוהבים = ohavim
• אותו = oto

Transliterations vary, so you may see small spelling differences in English letters.