Nouns
Nouns (שֵׁם עֶצֶם – shem etzem) are one of the key parts of speech in Hebrew. They designate objects, phenomena, people, animals, and concepts. Unlike many European languages, Hebrew nouns have specific features, such as a strict gender system, special plural endings, and a unique possessive structure.
Gender and Number of Nouns
All Hebrew nouns have gender – masculine (זָכָר – zakhar) or feminine (נְקֵבָה – nekeva). The gender of a noun affects the form of adjectives, pronouns, and verbs associated with it.
In most cases, gender can be determined by the noun’s ending:
Masculine nouns generally have no special endings:
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| שולחן | shulchan | table |
| ספר | sefer | book |
| ילד | yeled | boy |
Feminine nouns often end in -ה (-a) or -ת (-t):
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| מורה | mora | teacher (female) |
| מחברת | machberet | notebook |
| אישה | isha | woman |
Exceptions
Some masculine nouns end in -ה (-a) despite being masculine:
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| אב | av | father |
| לילה | laila | night (masculine) |
| אח | ach | brother |
Singular and Plural Forms
Plural nouns in Hebrew are usually formed by adding -ים (-im) for masculine nouns and -ות (-ot) for feminine nouns.
| Number | Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | ספר (sefer) – "book" | מחברת (machberet) – "notebook" |
| Plural | ספרים (sfarim) – "books" | מחברות (machbarot) – "notebooks" |
Exceptions
Some nouns form their plural in irregular ways:
| Singular | Transliteration | Translation | Plural | Transliteration | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| מילה | mila | word | מילים | milim | words |
| איש | ish | man | אנשים | anashim | people |
| אישה | isha | woman | נשים | nashim | women |
Some feminine nouns take the masculine -ים (-im) plural ending:
| Singular | Transliteration | Translation | Plural | Transliteration | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| שנה | shana | year | שנים | shanim | years |
| עיר | ir | city | ערים | arim | cities |
Feminine and Plural Endings
As a rule, feminine nouns end in -ה (-a) or -ת (-t), and their plural is usually formed with -ות (-ot).
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| ילדה (yalda) – "girl" | ילדות (yaldot) – "girls" |
| תיבה (teiva) – "box" | תיבות (teivot) – "boxes" |
| מכונית (mechonit) – "car" | מכוניות (mechoniot) – "cars" |
However, not all feminine nouns follow this standard pattern.
Examples:
| Singular (Hebrew) | Transliteration | Translation | Plural (Hebrew) | Transliteration | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| אמא | ima | mother | אימהות | imahot | mothers | Not אימות |
| שנה | shana | year | שנים | shanim | years |
Possessive Pronouns (Whose?)
In Hebrew, possession is expressed by adding suffixes to the noun. These suffixes change according to the person and number (who owns what and how many).
Possessive Pronouns Table
| Person | Masculine Suffix | Feminine Suffix | Example (Masculine) | Example (Feminine) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | -י (-i) | -י (-i) | ספרי (sfari) – "my book" | מחברתי (machberti) – "my notebook" |
| You (m.) | -ך (-cha) | -ך (-ech) | ספרך (sfarcha) – "your book" | מחברתך (machberetech) – "your notebook" |
| He | -ו (-o) | -ו (-o) | ספרו (sfaró) – "his book" | מחברתו (machberto) – "his notebook" |
| She | -ה (-a) | -ה (-a) | ספרה (sfara) – "her book" | מחברתה (machberta) – "her notebook" |
| We | -נו (-nu) | -נו (-nu) | ספרנו (sfarenu) – "our book" | מחברתנו (machberetenu) – "our notebook" |
| You (m.) | -כם (-chem) | -כן (-chen) | ספרכם (sfarchem) – "your (plural) book" | מחברתכן (machberetchen) – "your (plural) notebook" |
| They | -ם (-am) | -ן (-an) | ספרם (sfaram) – "their book" | מחברתן (machberetan) – "their notebook" |
Example Sentences
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| זאת המחברת שלי | Zot ha-machberet sheli | This is my notebook. |
| אני אוהב את הספר שלך | Ani ohev et ha-sefer shelcha | I love your book (to a man). |
| זה הכלב שלנו | Ze ha-kelev shelenu | This is our dog. |
Conclusion
Nouns in Hebrew are an essential part of grammar that requires understanding gender distinctions, pluralization rules, and possessive pronoun usage. Mastering these rules will help you construct correct sentences and express possession in speech. The next step is studying verb structures.
Practise this in the app. In Shoresh every textbook topic comes with trainers: verb conjugation, tenses, binyanim, the imperative and choosing the right word in a sentence.
