למרות שכואב לי הראש, אני בכל זאת הולכת לעבודה.

למרות ש־ means although or even though.

A useful distinction is:

• למרות
  • noun = despite
    • למרות הכאב = despite the pain
• למרות ש־
  • clause = although / even though
    • למרות שכואב לי הראש = although I have a headache / although my head hurts

So the ש־ is there because what follows is a full clause, not just a noun.

Hebrew usually does not say I hurt my head in this situation.

Instead, it uses a structure that is closer to:

• כואב לי הראש
• literally: the head hurts to me

This is a very common Hebrew pattern for physical sensations:

• כואבת לי הבטן = my stomach hurts
• כואב לי הגב = my back hurts
• כואבות לי העיניים = my eyes hurt

So in Hebrew, the body part is often the grammatical subject, and the person feeling the pain is marked with ל־ (to someone).

לי means to me.

In sentences like this, Hebrew uses ל־ to mark the person experiencing the sensation:

• כואב לי הראש = my head hurts
• כואב לך הראש? = does your head hurt?
• כואב לו הגב = his back hurts

So לי does not mean my directly. It marks the experiencer: the pain is happening to me.

Because it agrees with הראש, which is a masculine singular noun.

In this structure, the verb matches the body part, not the person.

• הראש is masculine singular → כואב
• הבטן is feminine singular → כואבת
• הרגליים is feminine plural → כואבות

Examples:

• כואבת לי הבטן = my stomach hurts
• כואבות לי הרגליים = my legs hurt

So even if the speaker is female, כואב stays masculine here because ראש is masculine.

Yes, you can. הראש שלי כואב is grammatical and understandable.

But there is a difference in style and naturalness:

• כואב לי הראש is the more common, natural everyday way to say I have a headache / my head hurts
• הראש שלי כואב sounds a bit more explicit or emphatic: my head hurts

So both are possible, but כואב לי הראש is the usual conversational pattern.

בכל זאת means still, nevertheless, or all the same.

It adds the idea that the speaker is doing something despite the obstacle.

So:

• למרות שכואב לי הראש, אני הולכת לעבודה = Although my head hurts, I’m going to work.
• למרות שכואב לי הראש, אני בכל זאת הולכת לעבודה = Although my head hurts, I’m still going to work / I’m going to work anyway.

It strengthens the contrast.

Yes.

למרות שכואב לי הראש, אני הולכת לעבודה is completely correct.

Adding בכל זאת just gives extra emphasis:

• even so
• anyway
• all the same

So it is optional, but meaningful.

Because הולכת is the feminine singular present tense form of to go.

Hebrew present tense agrees with the subject’s gender and number.

• אני הולך = I go / I’m going (said by a male)
• אני הולכת = I go / I’m going (said by a female)

So this sentence is spoken by a female speaker.
If a male speaker said it, it would be:

• למרות שכואב לי הראש, אני בכל זאת הולך לעבודה.

לעבודה means to work or to the workplace, and it is the normal expression here.

Hebrew often uses ל־ with destinations:

• הולכת לבית הספר = going to school
• הולך לעבודה = going to work
• נוסעת לאוניברסיטה = traveling to the university

אל can also mean to, but it is usually more formal, more directional, or less idiomatic in cases like this.

So:

• הולכת לעבודה = the natural everyday phrasing

Also, עבודה here often means work in a general sense, not necessarily a specific building.

Yes.

You can also say:

• אני בכל זאת הולכת לעבודה למרות שכואב לי הראש.

That means the same thing.

Putting למרות שכואב לי הראש first gives the background first:

• Although my head hurts, ...

Putting it later gives the main action first:

• I’m still going to work, although my head hurts.

Both are correct.

The comma separates the introductory subordinate clause from the main clause:

• למרות שכואב לי הראש = subordinate clause
• אני בכל זאת הולכת לעבודה = main clause

So the comma helps show the structure clearly:

• Although my head hurts, I’m still going to work.

In modern Hebrew punctuation, this comma is very normal and helpful.

Not literally, but it is often the most natural English translation.

Literally, it is closer to:

• my head hurts or even
• the head hurts to me

In real usage, though, English often prefers:

• I have a headache

So depending on context, both translations can work:

• Although my head hurts, ...
• Although I have a headache, ...

ש־ is a very common linking word in Hebrew. Here it means something like that.

So:

• למרות ש־ = although / even though
• literally, something like despite the fact that

In writing, it is attached directly to the next word:

• שכואב
• שאני
• שהוא

So שכואב is just ש־ + כואב.

Yes. The verb agrees with the body part that hurts.

Examples:

• כואב לי הראש = my head hurts
  (הראש = masculine singular)

• כואבת לי היד = my hand hurts
  (היד = feminine singular)

• כואבים לי השרירים = my muscles hurt
  (השרירים = masculine plural)

• כואבות לי העיניים = my eyes hurt
  (העיניים = feminine plural)

So this sentence uses כואב specifically because הראש is masculine singular.