Questions & Answers about כמה עולה הכרטיס הזה?
How do I pronounce כמה עולה הכרטיס הזה?
A natural pronunciation is kamá olé ha-kartís ha-zé?
With stress marked:
- כמה → ka-MA
- עולה → o-LE
- הכרטיס → ha-kar-TIS
- הזה → ha-ZE
A fully pointed version would be כַּמָּה עוֹלֶה הַכַּרְטִיס הַזֶּה?
Also, the ע in עולה is usually very light or silent in modern Israeli Hebrew.
Why does עולה mean costs? Doesn’t it literally mean goes up or rises?
Yes. The verb עלה basically means to go up / to rise. But in Hebrew, it is also the normal verb for to cost.
So:
- המחיר עולה = the price goes up
- הכרטיס עולה 20 שקל = the ticket costs 20 shekels
This is completely normal Hebrew, not a strange expression.
Why is עולה pronounced olé here and not olá?
Because כרטיס is a masculine singular noun, so the verb agrees with it.
In pointed Hebrew:
- masculine singular: עוֹלֶה = olé
- feminine singular: עוֹלָה = olá
Without vowel points, both are written עולה, so you have to tell from context.
Here:
- כרטיס = masculine singular
- therefore עולה = olé
Why is הזה after the noun instead of before it, like English this ticket?
Because Hebrew demonstratives usually come after the noun in this kind of phrase.
So:
- הכרטיס הזה = this ticket
- literally: the ticket this
This is the normal pattern in Hebrew:
- הספר הזה = this book
- הילדה הזאת = this girl
If you put זה before the noun, it usually means something different:
- זה הכרטיס = this is the ticket
Why does the noun have ה־ in הכרטיס, and why does זה become הזה?
Because in Hebrew, when you say this/that + noun, the noun is normally definite, and the demonstrative also appears in its definite form.
So:
- כרטיס = a ticket
- הכרטיס הזה = this ticket
Not:
- כרטיס הזה ❌
And:
- standalone זה = this
- after a definite noun: הזה
This double definiteness is standard Hebrew:
- הבית הזה = this house
- הילד הזה = this boy
Where is the word is in this sentence?
There is no separate word for is here.
In present-tense Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted. So Hebrew often says things without a word equivalent to English is.
For example:
- הכרטיס יקר = the ticket is expensive
- literally: the ticket expensive
In your sentence, the main verb is עולה = costs, so no extra is is needed anyway.
What does כמה mean here? Is it how much or how many?
Here it means how much.
כמה can mean either:
- how much
- how many
The context tells you which one it is.
In this sentence, because it is used with עולה = costs, it clearly means how much:
- כמה עולה הכרטיס הזה? = How much does this ticket cost?
Compare:
- כמה כרטיסים יש לך? = How many tickets do you have?
Is the word order normal? Could I also say it another way?
Yes, כמה עולה הכרטיס הזה? is the most neutral and natural word order.
Hebrew often puts the question word first:
- כמה = how much
- then the verb
- then the subject
So:
- כמה עולה הכרטיס הזה? = natural
Other versions are possible, but they may sound more marked or conversational, for example:
- הכרטיס הזה, כמה הוא עולה? = This ticket, how much does it cost?
- כמה זה עולה? = How much does this cost?
How would the sentence change with a feminine noun or with a plural noun?
The verb and the demonstrative would change to match.
For a feminine singular noun:
- כמה עולה החולצה הזאת?
- pronounced kamá olá ha-chultsá ha-zot?
- How much does this shirt/blouse cost?
For masculine plural:
- כמה עולים הכרטיסים האלה?
- How much do these tickets cost?
For feminine plural:
- כמה עולות החולצות האלה?
- How much do these shirts/blouses cost?
So Hebrew agreement matters:
- masculine singular → עולה
- feminine singular → עולה in writing, but pronounced differently
- masculine plural → עולים
- feminine plural → עולות
Can I shorten this in everyday speech?
Yes. A very common shorter version is:
- כמה זה עולה? = How much does this cost?
You would use that when the item is obvious, for example if you are pointing at it.
But if you want to name the item specifically, כמה עולה הכרטיס הזה? is excellent and perfectly natural.
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