Questions & Answers about חבל לי לבטל, כי חיכיתי לפגישה הזאת כל השבוע.
In this sentence, חבל לי is an idiomatic way to express regret.
Literally, it is something like it’s a shame/pity to me, but in natural English it often means:
- I’m sorry to...
- I regret...
- It’s a shame for me to...
So חבל לי לבטל means something like I’m sorry to cancel or I feel bad about canceling.
This is a very common Hebrew pattern:
- חבל לי ללכת = I’m sorry to leave / I feel bad about leaving
- חבל לי על הכסף = I’m sorry about the money / It’s a pity about the money
The word לי means to me / for me.
Hebrew often uses this kind of structure where English would use a subject adjective like I’m sorry or I’m sad. Instead, Hebrew says something closer to:
- חבל לי = it’s a pity for me
- קשה לי = it’s hard for me
- נעים לי = it’s pleasant for me
So לי marks the person who feels the regret.
Compare:
- חבל לי לבטל = I’m sorry to cancel
- חבל לו לבטל = He’s sorry to cancel
- חבל להם לבטל = They’re sorry to cancel