במקרה הצלחתי למצוא חניה קרובה יותר מאשר בדרך כלל.

Here במקרה means by chance, accidentally, or as it happened.

So the idea is that finding the closer parking spot was not planned; it just happened luckily.

A useful warning for English speakers: במקרה does not mean in case in this sentence. Hebrew במקרה ש... can mean in case / if it happens that..., but standing alone at the start of this sentence, במקרה means by chance.

הצלחתי is the past tense, first person singular form of להצליח.

So it means:

• I succeeded
• I managed

Breaking it down:

• הצליח = he succeeded
• הצלחתי = I succeeded / I managed

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about something that happened in the past: I managed to find...

Because Hebrew often uses להצליח + infinitive to mean to manage to do something or to succeed in doing something.

So:

• הצלחתי למצוא = I managed to find
• literally: I succeeded to find

The infinitive למצוא means to find.

This is a very common pattern in Hebrew:

• הצלחתי להבין = I managed to understand
• היא הצליחה להגיע בזמן = She managed to arrive on time

You could say מצאתי, but it would mean simply I found.

Using הצלחתי למצוא adds extra nuance: it suggests that finding parking was difficult, unlikely, or somehow an achievement.

So the difference is roughly:

• מצאתי חניה = I found parking
• הצלחתי למצוא חניה = I managed to find parking

In this sentence, הצלחתי למצוא fits well because finding a close parking spot is often not easy.

Because חניה is a feminine singular noun, so the adjective has to agree with it.

That means:

• חניה = feminine singular
• קרובה = feminine singular form of close / near

Compare:

• מקום קרוב = a close/near place
• חניה קרובה = a close/near parking spot

This agreement is very important in Hebrew adjectives.

Hebrew usually forms the comparative by adding יותר after the adjective.

So:

• קרובה = close / near
• קרובה יותר = closer

Unlike English, Hebrew does not usually change the adjective itself the way English changes close to closer. Instead, it keeps the adjective and adds יותר.

More examples:

• גדול = big

• גדול יותר = bigger

• מהיר = fast
• מהיר יותר = faster

מאשר means than.

So:

• קרובה יותר מאשר... = closer than...

In this sentence, it introduces the thing being compared: בדרך כלל = usually.

A natural English rendering is closer than usual.

Also, a useful note: in everyday Hebrew, comparatives are often made with מ־ instead of מאשר, especially in simpler comparisons. But מאשר is perfectly correct and is often a bit more explicit or formal.

Yes, it is understandable and correct.

However, many speakers might also say something like:

• חניה קרובה יותר מהרגיל = parking closer than usual

That version is a little tighter and very common.

The sentence you were given is still useful because it clearly shows the comparison structure:

• adjective + יותר
  • מאשר

בדרך כלל means usually, generally, or as a rule.

Literally, it is something like in a general way:

• דרך = way
• כלל = generality / rule / overall principle

But as a fixed expression, you should just learn בדרך כלל as usually.

Examples:

• אני בדרך כלל קם מוקדם = I usually get up early
• בדרך כלל אין פה מקום = Usually there’s no space here

Because Hebrew has no indefinite article.

So where English says:

• a parking spot

Hebrew simply says:

• חניה

Hebrew does have a definite article, which is the prefix ה־:

• חניה = a parking spot / parking
• החניה = the parking spot / the parking

So in this sentence, חניה is indefinite: I managed to find a parking spot.

It depends on context.

חניה can refer to:

• parking in a general sense
• a parking space / parking spot
• sometimes parking area

In this sentence, the most natural meaning is a parking spot or parking space, because it is described as קרובה יותר — closer.

So the idea is not just parking in general, but a place to park that was closer than usual.