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Welcome
| Welcome (plural) |
Broo khim'
Hah ba eem' |
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Remember - Hebrew is read Right to Left |
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Literally, ברוכים הבאים means "Blessed are the arriving."
Vocabulary אוצר מילים
| Meaning |
Pronunciation |
Hebrew |
| Arriving, Coming (plural) |
'Bah eem' |
באים |
| Blessed are (Plural) |
'Broo kheem' |
ברוכים |
Extended Vocabulary
| Blessed is (sing. masc.) |
Bah rookh' |
ברוך |
| Arrives, Comes (masc. sing.) |
Bah |
בא |
| Blessed is (sing fem.) |
Broo khah' |
ברוכה |
| Blessed are (plural fem.) |
Broo khoht' |
ברוכות |
| Comes, Arrives (fem. sing.) |
Bah ah' |
באה |
| New (Plural Female) |
Bah oht' |
באות |
| Blessing (noun) |
Brah khah' |
ברכה |
| Next |
Bah |
בא |
בא can mean "Next"
בשנה הבאה - (bashanah Hah bah
ah') - In the next year.
הבא בתור - (Hah bah' Bah Tohr) - The next (person) in
the queue.
Confuse-o-grams
Words that look alike, but may sound differently and/or mean different things
| Blessing (noun) |
Brah khah' |
ברכה |
| Swimming Pool |
Breh khah' |
ברחה |
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Grammar
Plurals are usually formed by adding ים (eem) to form
masculine plurals or ות (oht) to form feminine plurals. For many words
like כלב the plural form is irregular - the sounding of the word itself
changes. For others, it does not.
Feminine nouns can often (not always) be identified because they end in
ה and have an "ah" sound.
Some feminine nouns are formed by adding a ת (taf)
to the end of the word - like נהגת (Nah heh geht') a female driver, and
תינוקת- (tee noh keht') a girl תינוק
(meaning baby). By now you can guess that "eht" signifies a feminine noun ending - just like "ette"
in French.
Adjectives - In Hebrew, the modifier is placed after the noun: New driver:
נהג חדש
. Big Dog כלב גדול. (Keh' lehv' Gah dohl'). The adjective follows the
noun in gender and number:
נהג זהיר - Cautious driver. (Look here to see how to pronounce
זהיר : Caution - Dog in the Yard)
נהגת חדשה - New female driver.
כלבות גדולות- Big female dogs. (Look here to see how to pronounce
כלבות : Caution - Dog in the Yard)
חתולות יפות - Pretty pussy cats ('Hah too loht' Yah foht' )
Definite article and adjectives - הנהגת החדשה-
The New Driver.
When look-alikes part company - נהג the noun
and נהג the verb are the same for men, but a woman driver is a
נהג , while a woman who was in the habit of doing something in the past -
נהגה.
הנהגת החדשה נהגה לנסוע לתל-אביב
Means: The new female drive was in the habit of driving to Tel Aviv.
Word Roots - Semitic words are usually formed from three letter words. The same root can be an
adjective, a noun or a verb.
להזהר- to be cautious (Le Hee zah hehr') (verb infinitive)
הזהר - Be Cautious! Be Careful! , Caution! (verb command)
זהירות - (Caution -
usually a noun. Can be used as a command).
זהיר - Zah heer' - Cautious (masculine adjective)
נזהר- Neez hahr' - is cautious, takes precautions.
Some Masculine Plurals
| Hammer |
Pah teesh' |
פטיש |
| Hammers |
Pah tee shim' |
פטישים |
| Donkey |
'Hah mohr' |
חמור |
| Donkeys |
'Hah mohr rem' |
חמורים |
| Cat |
'Hah tool' |
חתול |
| Cats |
'Hah too lim' |
חתולים |
| Yard |
'Hah tsehr' |
חצר |
| Yards |
'Hah tseh reem' |
חצרים |
| Boy |
Yeh' lehd |
ילד |
| Boys |
Yeh lah dim' |
ילדים |
Some Feminine Plurals
| Cat (female) |
'Hah too lah' |
חתולה |
| Cats |
'Hah too loht' |
חתולות |
| Meal |
Ah roo 'hah |
ארוחה |
| Meals |
Ah roo 'hoht' |
ארוחות |
| Flame |
Leh hah vah' |
להבה |
| Flames |
Leh hah voht' |
להבות |
| Row |
Shoo rah' |
שורה |
| Rows |
Shoo roht' |
שורות |
Some Irregular Plurals:
| One Time, an instance, |
Pah ahm |
פעם |
| Many Times |
Pah ah meem' |
פעמים |
פעם is a feminine noun with a masculine plural ending.
| Banana |
Bah nah' nah |
בננה |
| Bananas |
Bah nah noht' |
בננות |
בננה is a masculine noun with a feminine plural
ending!
| Woman |
Eeh shah' |
אשה |
| Women |
Nah sheem' |
נשים |
Plural Verbs and Adjectives
Plural Verbs and adjectives have the same properties as plural nouns - "eem" for
masculine, "oht" for feminine:
הוא אוכל - He is eating. (Hooh Oh khehl')
היא אוכלת - She is eating (Hee Oh khel' eht)
אנחנו אוכלים- We are eating (Anachnu Ohkh leem')
הכלבות אוכלות - The dogs are
eating (Ha Kahl boht' Okh loht')
כלב גדול - Big dog (Keh lev' Gah dohl')
כלבים גדולים - Big dogs (Klah veem' Gdoh leem')
כלבה גדולה Big Dog (f.) also - "quite a bitch." (Kahl bah'
Gdoh lah')
כלבות גדולות - Big dogs (feminine) (Kahl boht Gdoh loht')
Irregular:
פעם אחת - One time (Pah' ahm Ah khat')
פעמים רבות - Many Times (Peh ah meem' Rah bot')
בננה טוב - Good banana (Bah nah' nah Tov)
בננות טובים - Good Bananas (Bah nah not' Tohv oht')
Numbers
Hebrew number gender is confusing. Most numbers that modify masculine objects end in an "ah" sound.
The feminine numbers do not end in "heh." Feminine numbers are used for numbering and counting of money. That
means that either feminine or masculine number construction can be used for שקלים
(shkah leem') - the israeli currency.
ארבעה מוקשים (Ahr bah ah' Mohk sheem') - four land mines.
שלוש ילדות (Shah lohsh' Yeh lah dot') - three girls
שלושה ילדים (Shloh shah' Yeh lah deem') - three boys.
ארבעה בנים (Ahr bah ah' Bah neem') - Four sons.
ארבע בנות - (Ahr bah' ah' Bah noht') - Four daughters.
ארבע שקלים- (Ahr bah' Shkah leem') - Four Shekels.
ארבעה שקלים - (Ahr bah' ah' Shkah leem') - Four Shekels.
Copyright Notice
Hebrew for Dummies lessons are Copyright © 2008 by Ami
Isseroff and Zionism-Israel.com, You may use them for personal use or print them out to teach a class, with
this notice. You may not copy
them to a Web site or include them in a commercial text.
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