אני לא רוצה לאכזב אותך, אבל היום אין לי זמן לבוא.

אני means I, לא means not, and רוצה means want.

So אני לא רוצה is literally I not want, which is just how Hebrew says I don’t want.

A key point: in Hebrew, לא usually goes before the verb it negates.

• אני רוצה = I want
• אני לא רוצה = I don’t want

רוצה is the present-tense singular form of to want.

Its pronunciation depends on the speaker’s gender:

• רוצה = rotze if the speaker is male
• רוצה = rotza if the speaker is female

The spelling stays the same in this form, but the pronunciation changes.

So this sentence could be said by either:

• a man: ani lo rotze...
• a woman: ani lo rotza...

לאכזב means to disappoint.

The ל־ at the beginning is the normal marker of the Hebrew infinitive, like English to in to disappoint.

So:

• לאכזב = to disappoint
• לבוא = to come

After verbs like רוצה (want), Hebrew often uses an infinitive:

• רוצה לאכזב = want to disappoint

Because אותך means you as a direct object, while אתה / את mean you as the subject.

Compare:

• אתה רוצה = you want
• אני רואה אותך = I see you
• אני לא רוצה לאכזב אותך = I don’t want to disappoint you

So in this sentence, you is receiving the action of disappoint, which is why Hebrew uses אותך.

Also, אותך can refer to:

• masculine singular you: usually pronounced otkha
• feminine singular you: usually pronounced otakh

The spelling is the same.

Because you here is a direct object, not an indirect one.

In English we say:

• to disappoint you

But in Hebrew, the structure is simply:

• לאכזב אותך = to disappoint you

There is no extra word equivalent to English to before you here.

אבל means but.

It connects the two parts:

• אני לא רוצה לאכזב אותך = I don’t want to disappoint you
• אבל היום אין לי זמן לבוא = but today I don’t have time to come

So אבל works just like English but.

Hebrew often expresses possession with יש לי (I have) and אין לי (I don’t have).

Literally:

• יש לי זמן = there is to me time
• אין לי זמן = there is not to me time

But the natural English translation is:

• I have time
• I don’t have time

So אין לי זמן is the normal Hebrew way to say I don’t have time.

לי means to me or for me, depending on context.

It is made from:

• ל־ = to / for
• י = me

In sentences with יש and אין, it usually helps express possession:

• יש לי = I have
• אין לי = I don’t have

So:

• אין לי זמן = I don’t have time

היום means today.

Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible, and time expressions often come early in the sentence for emphasis or clarity.

So:

• אבל היום אין לי זמן לבוא = But today I don’t have time to come

This sounds very natural.

You could also hear other word orders in Hebrew depending on style or emphasis, but this one is very common.

לבוא means to come.

Again, the ל־ marks the infinitive, like English to.

In this sentence:

• זמן לבוא = time to come

So the full phrase:

• אין לי זמן לבוא = I don’t have time to come

Hebrew often uses an infinitive after nouns like זמן when English would also use to + verb.

Because both are infinitives:

• לאכזב = to disappoint
• לבוא = to come

They serve different roles in the sentence:

• רוצה לאכזב אותך = want to disappoint you
• זמן לבוא = time to come

So the sentence has two infinitive phrases:

1. to disappoint you
2. to come

That is completely normal Hebrew.

In beginner-level explanation, it is usually easiest to treat אין as the word for there isn’t / there aren’t / don’t have in present-time existence and possession sentences.

It pairs with יש:

• יש לי זמן = I have time
• אין לי זמן = I don’t have time

Hebrew does not use a present-tense form of to have the way English does, so יש / אין are extremely important.

Because the sentence has two connected clauses:

• אני לא רוצה לאכזב אותך
• אבל היום אין לי זמן לבוא

The comma helps separate the ideas, just as in English:

• I don’t want to disappoint you, but today I don’t have time to come.

In modern Hebrew punctuation, this is very normal.

Almost yes, but there is one pronunciation issue.

The written form אני לא רוצה... can be used for both a male and a female speaker, but:

• a male would say rotze
• a female would say rotza

Everything else in the sentence can stay the same.

Also, אותך can refer to either a male or female singular you, with different pronunciation:

• otkha for a man
• otakh for a woman

So the written sentence is flexible, but spoken Hebrew shows more gender through pronunciation.

It breaks down like this:

• אני = I
• לא רוצה = don’t want
• לאכזב אותך = to disappoint you
• אבל = but
• היום = today
• אין לי זמן = I don’t have time
• לבוא = to come

So the pattern is:

I + don’t want + to disappoint you + but + today + I don’t have time + to come

This is a very natural and useful Hebrew sentence pattern.