אתה יכול לשאול את עצמך אם באמת כדאי לריב על דבר כזה.

Literally, it means you can ask yourself.

• אתה = you (masculine singular)
• יכול = can / are able to
• לשאול = to ask
• את עצמך = yourself

So the structure is very close to English: you can ask yourself.

In Hebrew, את marks a definite direct object.

Here, the verb לשאול takes a direct object: you are asking yourself. Since עצמך is specific, Hebrew uses את:

• לשאול את עצמך = to ask yourself

This is not the same את as the word meaning you (feminine singular). It is the object marker.

A useful way to remember it:

• את often appears before a specific person or thing receiving the action of the verb.

For example:

• אני רואה את דני = I see Danny
• היא שואלת את עצמה = she asks herself

עצמך means yourself.

It comes from עצם / עצמי-type reflexive forms used with possessive endings. These forms mean:

• עצמי = myself
• עצמך = yourself (masculine singular)
• עצמך can also be feminine in spelling in unpointed Hebrew, but pronunciation differs
• עצמו = himself
• עצמה = herself
• עצמנו = ourselves
• עצמכם / עצמן = yourselves
• עצמם / עצמן = themselves

In this sentence, because the subject is אתה, the matching reflexive form is עצמך.

Here אם means whether.

In English, if and whether can both introduce this kind of clause:

• ask yourself if it’s really worth it
• ask yourself whether it’s really worth it

Hebrew commonly uses אם for that:

• לשאול את עצמך אם... = to ask yourself whether...

So in this sentence, it is not really a condition. It introduces an indirect question.

You could also sometimes see האם in more formal Hebrew:

• לשאול את עצמך האם באמת כדאי...

That sounds a bit more formal or written.

כדאי means worthwhile, advisable, or a good idea depending on context.

In this sentence:

• כדאי לריב = it is worth arguing / it is advisable to argue

A very common Hebrew pattern is:

• כדאי + infinitive
• כדאי ללכת = it’s worth going / it’s a good idea to go
• כדאי לחשוב על זה = it’s worth thinking about it

In many cases, English translates this more naturally as:

• is it really worth arguing... rather than
• is it really advisable to argue...

So כדאי is flexible and depends on context.

Because in present-tense Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted.

So:

• כדאי can mean it is worthwhile
• הוא עייף = he is tired
• היא בבית = she is at home

Hebrew usually does not say is in the present tense.

So:

• אם באמת כדאי לריב literally looks like if really worthwhile to argue
• but naturally it means if it’s really worth arguing

לריב usually means to argue, to quarrel, or to fight.

The exact sense depends on context. In this sentence:

• כדאי לריב על דבר כזה most naturally means
• worth arguing/quarreling over something like that

It usually suggests a dispute, not necessarily physical violence.

Related forms:

• ריב = a quarrel / fight
• הם רבים = they are arguing / fighting

Because Hebrew commonly says לריב על... for to argue/fight over/about...

So:

• לריב על כסף = to argue over money
• לריב על שטויות = to argue over nonsense
• לריב על דבר כזה = to argue over such a thing

This is a good collocation to memorize:

• לריב עם מישהו = to argue with someone
• לריב על משהו = to argue about/over something

Both can appear together:

• הוא רב עם אחיו על כסף = he argued with his brother about money

דבר כזה means such a thing, something like that, or a thing like that.

• דבר = thing, matter
• כזה = such / like this / like that (depending on context and translation)

In this sentence, על דבר כזה is very natural Hebrew for:

• over something like that
• over such a thing

It often carries the feeling that the issue is minor, silly, or not worth the conflict.

Because דבר is a masculine noun.

In Hebrew, words like כזה / כזאת must agree in gender with the noun:

• דבר כזה = such a thing / such a matter
• בעיה כזאת = such a problem

So:

• masculine noun → כזה
• feminine noun → כזאת

Examples:

• ספר כזה = such a book
• שאלה כזאת = such a question

Yes, it can often be left out in Hebrew, because the verb form already gives some information.

But in this sentence, אתה is included for clarity, emphasis, or natural conversational style:

• אתה יכול לשאול את עצמך... = you can ask yourself...

Without אתה, you could still say:

• יכול לשאול את עצמך אם באמת כדאי לריב על דבר כזה

That can work in spoken Hebrew, especially in informal conversation, but the full version with אתה is clearer and more standard for learners.

You would change the parts that agree with the person addressed:

• אתה → את
• יכול → יכולה
• עצמך → usually pronounced for feminine עצמךְ

So the sentence becomes:

את יכולה לשאול את עצמך אם באמת כדאי לריב על דבר כזה.

That means: You can ask yourself if it’s really worth arguing over something like that.

It is grammatically a statement, but in tone it functions a bit like gentle advice or reflection.

אתה יכול לשאול את עצמך... literally says you can ask yourself..., but the speaker often really means:

• you should think about whether...
• it might be worth asking yourself whether...

So it sounds softer and less direct than a command.

Compare:

• אל תריב על דבר כזה = Don’t argue over something like that.
  
  • direct
• אתה יכול לשאול את עצמך אם באמת כדאי לריב על דבר כזה
  
  • softer, more reflective

This is a common Hebrew way to sound thoughtful rather than forceful.