הכלב מלקק את כף הרגל.

ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the. So:

• כלב = dog
• הכלב = the dog

In Hebrew, ה־ is attached directly to the noun, not written as a separate word.

מלקק is the masculine singular present-tense form of the verb ללקק.

So it matches a singular masculine subject such as הכלב.

Related forms:

• מלקק = masculine singular
• מלקקת = feminine singular
• מלקקים = masculine plural / mixed plural
• מלקקות = feminine plural

Hebrew does not use a separate present-tense word for is in sentences like this.

So מלקק can mean both:

• licks
• is licking

The present form in Hebrew often covers both the simple present and the present continuous, depending on context.

את is the direct object marker. It appears before a definite direct object.

Here, the thing being licked is את כף הרגל, so את marks that object.

Important points:

• את does not mean with here
• It usually is not translated into English
• It is used before definite objects, such as nouns with ה־, names, or possessive forms

For example:

• הכלב מלקק כף רגל = the dog licks a foot/sole
• הכלב מלקק את כף הרגל = the dog licks the foot/sole

כף הרגל is a construct phrase in Hebrew, called smikhut.

In a construct phrase:

• the first noun is linked to the second
• the first noun usually does not take ה־
• the second noun can make the whole phrase definite

So:

• כף רגל = a sole of a foot / foot-sole
• כף הרגל = the sole of the foot

This is very natural Hebrew. In fact, כף הרגל is a standard fixed expression.

Yes, literally that is very close.

The word כף can mean things like:

• palm of the hand
• sole of the foot
• spoon
• curved surface, depending on context

So:

• כף היד = palm of the hand
• כף הרגל = sole of the foot

In this sentence, כף הרגל is the normal expression referring to the sole/underside of the foot.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

ha-KE-lev me-la-KEK et kaf ha-RE-gel

Approximate stress:

• הכלב = ha-KE-lev
• מלקק = me-la-KEK
• כף = kaf
• הרגל = ha-RE-gel

With vowel marks, the sentence is:

הַכֶּלֶב מְלַקֵּק אֶת כַּף הָרֶגֶל.

מלקק comes from the root ל־ק־ק, which is related to licking.

The infinitive is ללקק = to lick.

The present form מלקק follows a common verb pattern. The two ק letters reflect the root itself, which has repeated consonants.

So this is not an accidental spelling; it is part of the word’s structure.

Yes. In Hebrew, present-tense verbs agree with the subject in gender and number.

Because הכלב is singular masculine, the verb is מלקק.

If the subject changed, the verb would change too:

• הכלבה מלקקת את כף הרגל. = the female dog is licking the foot
• הכלבים מלקקים את כף הרגל. = the dogs are licking the foot

Yes. The sentence uses the most straightforward word order:

subject + verb + object

• הכלב = subject
• מלקק = verb
• את כף הרגל = object

This is a very natural and common order in modern Hebrew.

Hebrew can change word order for emphasis, but this version is the neutral one.

By itself, כף can mean several things, depending on context. A learner may already know it from:

• כף = spoon
• כף היד = palm
• כף הרגל = sole of the foot

So although כף has multiple meanings, in כף הרגל it is a fixed and familiar body-part expression. In this sentence, that is clearly the intended meaning.