לא משנה כמה זמן זה ייקח, אני רוצה להבין את כל הפרטים לפני שאני עונה.

לא משנה is a very common Hebrew expression meaning it doesn’t matter, regardless, or no matter.

In this sentence, it introduces the idea of indifference to the amount of time:

• לא משנה כמה זמן זה ייקח = No matter how long it takes

Literally, it is something like it does not make a difference, but learners should treat לא משנה as a fixed expression.

You will also see it with other question words:

• לא משנה מי = no matter who
• לא משנה מה = no matter what
• לא משנה איפה = no matter where

Hebrew often expresses how long as כמה זמן, literally how much time.

So:

• כמה זמן = how long / how much time

In this sentence:

• לא משנה כמה זמן זה ייקח = no matter how much time it will take

This is the normal, natural way to ask or talk about duration in Modern Hebrew.

The זה acts like the English dummy subject it in it will take.

So:

• זה ייקח = it will take

Just as English says it will take an hour, Hebrew often says זה ייקח שעה.

Here, זה does not refer to one specific masculine object in a strong way. It is just the natural subject for the expression it will take.

ייקח is the future tense, third person masculine singular, of לקחת / לוקח in the sense of to take.

So:

• ייקח = he/it will take

In this sentence, because the subject is זה, the meaning is:

• זה ייקח = it will take

A learner may expect something more like English take in a special construction, but Hebrew simply uses the regular future verb here.

After רוצה (want), Hebrew normally uses an infinitive, just like English often uses to + verb.

So:

• אני רוצה = I want
• להבין = to understand

Together:

• אני רוצה להבין = I want to understand

This is a very standard pattern:

• אני רוצה לאכול = I want to eat
• אני רוצה ללכת = I want to go
• אני רוצה לדעת = I want to know

את marks a definite direct object.

Here, the direct object is:

• כל הפרטים = all the details

Because הפרטים means the details, the whole phrase is definite, so Hebrew uses את:

• אני רוצה להבין את כל הפרטים = I want to understand all the details

Important point:

• את usually does not mean anything by itself in translation
• it is a grammar marker showing that the following noun phrase is the direct object and is definite

Compare:

• אני רוצה להבין פרטים = I want to understand details
• אני רוצה להבין את הפרטים = I want to understand the details

In Hebrew, כל means all or every, depending on the structure.

Here:

• כל הפרטים = all the details

The noun after כל is definite because of ה:

• הפרטים = the details

So the whole phrase is definite and specific.

Compare:

• כל יום = every day
• כל הימים = all the days
• כל הפרטים = all the details

This is why את appears before it as well.

Literally, it means:

• before that I answer
• more naturally: before I answer

Breakdown:

• לפני = before
• ש = that / which / introducing a subordinate clause
• אני = I
• עונה = answer / am answering

So:

• לפני שאני עונה = before I answer

In English, we usually do not say before that I answer, but Hebrew commonly uses ש to connect this kind of clause.

Because ש is a very short connecting word that attaches directly to the following word.

So:

• ש + אני = שאני

This ש is extremely common in Hebrew and can mean something like that, which, or simply mark a subordinate clause.

Examples:

• אני יודע שאתה כאן = I know that you are here
• אמרתי שאני אבוא = I said that I would come
• לפני שאני עונה = before I answer

So שאני is not a special single word you need to memorize separately; it is just ש attached to אני.

This is a very common and important Hebrew pattern.

עונה is formally a present-tense form, but after words like לפני ש, Hebrew often uses the present form to refer to a future event, especially in natural Modern Hebrew.

So:

• לפני שאני עונה = before I answer

A more formal or literary version could be:

• לפני שאענה

Both are understandable, but לפני שאני עונה sounds very natural in everyday Modern Hebrew.

This happens because Hebrew often uses the present form in subordinate clauses when the timing is understood from context.

Yes. לפני שאענה is grammatically correct and means the same thing: before I answer.

The difference is mostly one of style:

• לפני שאני עונה = more common in everyday spoken Hebrew
• לפני שאענה = a bit more formal, written, or elevated

A learner should recognize both, but if your goal is natural modern speech, לפני שאני עונה is very useful.

English often uses an -ing form:

• before answering

Hebrew does not use that kind of gerund structure as freely as English does. Instead, Hebrew usually prefers a full clause:

• לפני שאני עונה = before I answer

That is why the Hebrew sentence sounds more like before I answer than before answering.

This is a common adjustment English speakers need to make when learning Hebrew: Hebrew often uses a full subordinate clause where English might use an -ing form.

A helpful breakdown is:

• לא משנה = no matter / it doesn’t matter
• כמה זמן = how long / how much time
• זה ייקח = it will take
• אני רוצה = I want
• להבין = to understand
• את כל הפרטים = all the details
• לפני שאני עונה = before I answer

So the structure is basically:

• No matter how long it will take, I want to understand all the details before I answer.

This kind of breakdown can help you see how Hebrew builds the sentence piece by piece instead of trying to match every word directly to English.