כשעליתי על הסולם ראיתי חור קטן ליד החלון.

כש־ means when. It is a very common shortened form of כאשר.

In Hebrew, it is often attached directly to the next word, so:

כשעליתי = when I went up / when I climbed up

This is very normal, everyday Hebrew.

עליתי is the 1st person singular past tense of לעלות, which means to go up, to climb up, or to get on depending on context.

The ending ־תי is the usual past-tense ending for I:

• עליתי = I went up / I climbed up

So in this sentence, כשעליתי על הסולם means when I climbed up onto the ladder or when I got on the ladder.

Here על means on / onto.

With לעלות, Hebrew often uses על to express moving up onto something:

• לעלות על הסולם = to climb onto the ladder / to get up on the ladder

This may feel slightly different from English, where we often say climb the ladder or climb up the ladder, but in Hebrew על is very natural here.

Because ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

• הסולם = the ladder
• החלון = the window
• חור קטן = a small hole

So the sentence refers to a specific ladder and a specific window, but the hole is introduced as indefinite.

If you wanted the small hole, it would be:

• החור הקטן

Because את is used before a definite direct object, not an indefinite one.

Here we have:

• ראיתי חור קטן = I saw a small hole

Since חור קטן is indefinite, there is no את.

Compare:

• ראיתי חור קטן = I saw a small hole
• ראיתי את החור הקטן = I saw the small hole

In Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun.

So:

• חור קטן = a small hole
  • literally: hole small

This is the normal Hebrew word order.

Also, the adjective must agree with the noun in gender, number, and definiteness:

• חור קטן — masculine singular
• חור קטן ליד החלון
• החור הקטן — both words definite

Because חור is a masculine singular noun, so the adjective must also be masculine singular.

That is why we get:

• חור קטן

If the noun were feminine singular, the adjective would change:

• דלת קטנה = a small door

So קטן matches חור correctly.

ליד means next to, beside, or near.

So:

• ליד החלון = next to the window / near the window

It is a very common preposition in Hebrew.

This is a very natural sentence structure in Hebrew.

The sentence is built as:

1. כשעליתי על הסולם = when I climbed up onto the ladder
2. ראיתי חור קטן ליד החלון = I saw a small hole near the window

So it works just like English:

• When I climbed up onto the ladder, I saw a small hole near the window.

Hebrew can also sometimes put the main clause first, but this order is completely normal.

ראיתי is the 1st person singular past tense of לראות = to see.

Again, the ending ־תי marks I in the past:

• ראיתי = I saw

So both main verbs in the sentence are past tense:

• עליתי = I climbed / went up
• ראיתי = I saw

It most naturally suggests I got up onto the ladder or I climbed onto/up the ladder.

In real usage, the exact English translation depends on context. Hebrew לעלות על הסולם focuses on the idea of going up onto the ladder.

So English could render it as:

• when I got on the ladder
• when I climbed up the ladder
• when I climbed onto the ladder

All of these are possible depending on the situation.

Often, yes. In careful writing, many writers would put a comma after the opening when clause:

• כשעליתי על הסולם, ראיתי חור קטן ליד החלון.

That said, in everyday Hebrew, commas are sometimes omitted more freely than in formal English-style punctuation. So the version without a comma is understandable and common enough.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

Kshe-alíti al ha-sulám, ra'íti khor katán leyad ha-khalón.

A few helpful notes:

• כש sounds roughly like ksheh
• ח is a throaty sound, so חור and חלון begin with that sound
• stress is usually:
  • עליתי → a-LI-ti
  • הסולם → ha-su-LAM
  • ראיתי → ra-I-ti
  • קטן → ka-TAN
  • החלון → ha-kha-LON