אני רוצה לשלם במזומן, לא בכרטיס.

A common pronunciation is:

ani rotze leshalem bemzuman, lo bekartis

More carefully, word by word:

• אני — a-NI
• רוצה — ro-TZE (if a man is speaking)
• לשלם — le-sha-LEM
• במזומן — be-me-zu-MAN or bem-zu-MAN in natural speech
• לא — lo
• בכרטיס — be-char-TIS or be-kar-TIS, depending on accent and how carefully you pronounce it

In everyday Israeli Hebrew, sounds often get smoothed together, so it may sound a bit faster than the spelling suggests.

Yes. רוצה changes for gender and number.

If the speaker is:

• male singular: אני רוצה
• female singular: אני רוצה
• male plural: אנחנו רוצים
• female plural: אנחנו רוצות

Important point: in the present tense, Hebrew often shows gender, but in this specific case רוצה is written the same for masculine singular and feminine singular. The pronunciation is usually slightly different in careful speech:

• masculine: ro-TZE
• feminine: ro-TZA

So a woman would normally say:

• אני רוצה לשלם במזומן, לא בכרטיס

Same spelling, different pronunciation.

לשלם means to pay.

The ל־ at the beginning is the infinitive marker, like to in English:

• לשלם = to pay
• לאכול = to eat
• ללכת = to go

So:

• אני רוצה לשלם = I want to pay

Literally, I want to pay.

The prefix ב־ usually means in, at, or with/by, depending on context.

In payment expressions, it often corresponds to English in or by:

• במזומן = in cash
• בכרטיס = by card / with a card

So the sentence contrasts two methods of payment:

• במזומן — in cash
• בכרטיס — by card

Hebrew often uses this same prefix where English would use different prepositions.

Hebrew often combines prepositions with the definite article ה־.

Here is the pattern:

• ב + ה + מזומן becomes במזומן

This is a normal contraction:

• בבית = in the house from ב + הבית
• בשולחן = on the table from ב + השולחן
• במזומן = literally in the cash, but idiomatically in cash

In this phrase, מזומן works like a set expression meaning cash, so במזומן is simply the normal way to say in cash.

Because the sentence is talking about a method of payment, and Hebrew expresses that with ב־.

Compare:

• במזומן — in cash
• בכרטיס — by card

So:

• לא בכרטיס = not by card
• לא כרטיס would not sound right here

The ב־ is necessary because you are not naming an object alone; you are saying how you want to pay.

Not by itself. כרטיס literally means card.

Depending on context, it can mean:

• a payment card
• a ticket
• an ID card
• another kind of card

In a store or restaurant, בכרטיס is normally understood as by card, often meaning by credit/debit card.

If you want to be more specific, you could say:

• בכרטיס אשראי — by credit card

So this sentence is natural, but slightly general:

• אני רוצה לשלם במזומן, לא בכרטיס.
• I want to pay in cash, not by card.

This is the standard and natural order in Hebrew:

• אני — I
• רוצה — want
• לשלם — to pay

So it follows the same basic logic as English:

• I want to pay

Hebrew word order can be flexible, but this version is the most neutral and common. You could move words around for emphasis, but this sentence is the straightforward default.

לא means not.

Here it negates the second part of the sentence:

• לא בכרטיס = not by card

So the full sentence creates a contrast:

• I want to pay in cash, not by card

It is not negating רוצה. If you said:

• אני לא רוצה לשלם בכרטיס that would mean:
• I don’t want to pay by card

But in your original sentence, the focus is:

• I do want to pay — specifically in cash, not by card

The comma marks a contrast:

• in cash, not by card

It helps show that the second part corrects or contrasts with the first.

In speech, you would usually pause slightly:

• אני רוצה לשלם במזומן, לא בכרטיס.

The comma is natural, but in casual writing people may sometimes omit punctuation. The meaning stays the same.

It is natural and acceptable, but it is fairly direct:

• אני רוצה לשלם במזומן, לא בכרטיס.
• I want to pay in cash, not by card.

If you want to sound a bit softer or more polite, you could say:

• אפשר לשלם במזומן? — Can I pay in cash?
• אני מעדיף לשלם במזומן. — I prefer to pay in cash. (male speaker)
• אני מעדיפה לשלם במזומן. — I prefer to pay in cash. (female speaker)

Your original sentence is still perfectly normal, especially when simply stating your preference.

Yes. That is also correct.

• במזומן, לא בכרטיס feels like a spoken correction or contrast: in cash, not by card
• במזומן ולא בכרטיס feels a bit more smoothly connected: in cash and not by card

Both are natural. The version with the comma can sound slightly more emphatic.

Yes, several:

• אני משלם במזומן. — I’m paying in cash. / I pay in cash.
  More direct and immediate.

• אפשר במזומן? — Can I do cash? / Can I pay in cash?
  Very common in everyday conversation.

• אני מעדיף לשלם במזומן. — I prefer to pay in cash.
  Male speaker.

• אני מעדיפה לשלם במזומן. — I prefer to pay in cash.
  Female speaker.

• לא בכרטיס, במזומן. — Not by card, in cash.
  Stronger correction or clarification.

Your original sentence is a clear, standard choice and easy for native speakers to understand.