האפוד הזוהר באוטו.

In Hebrew, present-tense sentences like this usually do not use a separate word for is / am / are.

So:

• האפוד הזוהר באוטו = The reflective vest is in the car

This is completely normal Hebrew.

If you wanted past or future, Hebrew would use forms of היה:

• האפוד הזוהר היה באוטו = The reflective vest was in the car
• האפוד הזוהר יהיה באוטו = The reflective vest will be in the car

אפוד means vest here.

In modern everyday Hebrew, אפוד זוהר is the common expression for a reflective / high-visibility vest.

A learner may also run into the older or Biblical meaning of אפוד, where it refers to a special garment, often translated ephod. But in this sentence, the modern meaning vest is the one that matters.

Because in Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• אפוד זוהר = a reflective vest
• literally: vest reflective

This is the normal Hebrew word order for noun + adjective.

English usually does the opposite:

• reflective vest

Hebrew usually does:

• vest reflective

Because when a noun is definite in Hebrew, an adjective describing it is usually definite too.

So:

• אפוד זוהר = a reflective vest
• האפוד הזוהר = the reflective vest

This is a very important Hebrew pattern:

• noun is definite → adjective is definite too
• noun is indefinite → adjective is indefinite too

More examples:

• ילד קטן = a small boy
• הילד הקטן = the small boy

Here זוהר is describing the vest as shining / bright / reflective.

It comes from a root connected with shining or glowing. In everyday Hebrew, though, the phrase אפוד זוהר is best understood as reflective vest or high-visibility vest, not literally just shining vest.

So the literal sense helps, but the natural translation is the safety-item meaning.

In this sentence, it functions as an adjective: it describes האפוד.

Historically and grammatically, Hebrew forms like this are often related to the present tense / participle of a verb. So זוהר is connected to the idea shining.

That means a very literal way to think of it is:

• האפוד הזוהר = the vest that is shining

But in actual usage here, you should treat it like an adjective meaning reflective / bright.

באוטו means in the car here.

It is made from:

• ב־ = in
• האוטו = the car

Together they become:

• ב + האוטו → באוטו

So this is a very common Hebrew contraction of a preposition plus the definite article.

The base word אוטו means car.

That is a great question, because in normal unpointed Hebrew spelling, both can look the same:

• בְּאוטו = in a car
• בָּאוטו = in the car

Without vowel marks, both are written באוטו.

So how do you know? Usually from:

• context
• the meaning of the sentence
• sometimes spoken pronunciation

In your sentence, the intended meaning is in the car.

Yes. אוטו is a very common everyday word for car in spoken Hebrew.

Other words you might see are:

• מכונית = car
• רכב = vehicle

But אוטו is extremely common and natural in conversation.

Yes. אפוד is masculine singular, and the adjective matches it.

That is why you get:

• אפוד זוהר = masculine singular

Hebrew adjectives usually agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• definiteness

So if the noun changed, the adjective would change too.

For example:

• האפודים הזוהרים = the reflective vests (masculine plural)

The important thing for this sentence is that זוהר matches אפוד.

A helpful pronunciation is:

• ha-efód ha-zohér ba-óto

A few notes:

• האפוד = ha-efód
• הזוהר = ha-zohér
• באוטו = ba-óto

The stress is typically near the end of each word, especially in:

• efód
• zohér
• óto