לא רק שהיא הסבירה את ההגייה, אלא שהיא גם הראתה לנו איך לאיית כל מילה.

It means not only ... but also ....

So the sentence is structured like this:

• לא רק ש... = not only that...
• אלא ש... גם... = but rather/ but also that...

In this sentence:

• לא רק שהיא הסבירה את ההגייה = Not only did she explain the pronunciation
• אלא שהיא גם הראתה לנו איך לאיית כל מילה = but she also showed us how to spell each word

This is a very common Hebrew way to connect two related actions and emphasize that the second one is an additional benefit.

שהיא is made of:

• ש־ = that
• היא = she

So שהיא literally means that she.

Hebrew often uses this kind of clause after לא רק and אלא. The sentence could be broken down as:

• לא רק ש־היא הסבירה...
• אלא ש־היא גם הראתה...

In natural English we usually would not say not only that she explained..., but that she also showed..., but Hebrew likes this structure more than English does.

The prefix ש־ introduces a subordinate clause. It often means that, which, or when, depending on context.

Here it functions as that, linking the idea after לא רק and אלא:

• לא רק ש... = not only that...
• אלא ש... = but rather that... / but that...

So it is not optional in this sentence style if you want the fully standard form.

Good question. אלא by itself does not automatically mean also. It is more like but rather / except / but depending on context.

The word גם is what clearly adds the also idea.

So:

• לא רק ... אלא ... = not only ... but ...
• לא רק ... אלא גם ... = not only ... but also ...

In your sentence, the גם comes inside the second clause:

• אלא שהיא גם הראתה לנו...

That is a very normal word order in Hebrew.

Hebrew often places גם right before the element it is emphasizing.

Here:

• היא גם הראתה = she also showed

The emphasis is on the action showed as an additional thing she did.

If you moved גם, the emphasis could shift slightly. The current placement is natural and standard.

את marks a definite direct object in Hebrew.

Here the verb is הסבירה = explained, and the thing being explained is ההגייה = the pronunciation.

Because ההגייה is definite, Hebrew uses את:

• הסבירה את ההגייה = explained the pronunciation

Compare:

• הסבירה הגייה would sound wrong here
• הסבירה את ההגייה is correct

A simple rule: if the direct object is definite, Hebrew usually needs את.

Both verbs are in the past tense, third person singular feminine.

That matches היא = she.

So:

• הסביר = he explained
• הסבירה = she explained

and

• הראה = he showed
• הראתה = she showed

The final ־ה is the normal feminine singular past ending in these forms.

הסבירה comes from the verb להסביר = to explain.

Its root is usually identified as ס־ב־ר.

This verb is in the הפעיל pattern:

• להסביר = to explain
• הסבירה = she explained

This is a very common useful verb for learners.

הראתה comes from להראות = to show.

So:

• להראות = to show
• הראתה = she showed
• הראה = he showed

This verb is very common, but its forms can feel a little irregular to learners, so it is worth memorizing as a whole verb.

It means how to spell.

Breakdown:

• איך = how
• לאיית = to spell

So:

• איך לאיית כל מילה = how to spell each word

Hebrew often uses איך + infinitive in this way, just like English uses how to + verb.

Examples:

• איך לומר = how to say
• איך לכתוב = how to write
• איך לאיית = how to spell

Because it follows איך in the sense of how to...

So Hebrew uses:

• איך + infinitive

Here:

• איך לאיית = how to spell

This is parallel to English grammar. You are not saying how she spelled, but rather how to spell.

לנו means to us.

It is made of:

• ל־ = to
• נו = us

So:

• היא הראתה לנו = she showed us

Hebrew often expresses show someone something with להראות ל־מישהו:

• הראתה לנו איך לאיית... = showed us how to spell...

Because כל often means each / every when followed by a singular noun.

So:

• כל מילה = each word / every word
• not all words in a grammatical sense

If you wanted to emphasize all the words, Hebrew might use a different structure, such as כל המילים in another context. But here כל מילה is exactly right for each word.

ההגייה is pronounced roughly ha-hagaya.

It has two ה letters because:

• the first ה is the definite article the
• the second ה is part of the noun itself

So the base noun is:

• הגייה = pronunciation

and the definite form is:

• ההגייה = the pronunciation

This kind of doubled ה at the spelling level is completely normal in Hebrew when a noun already begins with ה and then takes the definite article.

Yes, in some contexts Hebrew can be more compact, but the version you have is very natural and clear.

For example, you might hear something shorter in casual speech, but:

• לא רק שהיא הסבירה..., אלא שהיא גם הראתה...

sounds balanced and standard.

Repeating היא makes both halves parallel, which is stylistically nice and very common.

In this sentence, אלא is the right choice because it works in the fixed contrastive pattern לא רק ... אלא ... גם.

Using אבל would not sound as good in this structure.

Compare:

• לא רק ..., אלא גם ... = not only ..., but also ...

This is a set expression.

אבל usually means plain but, not the special not only ... but also ... pattern.

So here, אלא is the natural conjunction.