Free lessonLevel A110 min read10 practice words

Nouns: Gender and Number

Every Hebrew noun has a gender and a number, and everything attached to it has to agree.

Learn every new word together with its plural. That one habit prevents most later mistakes.

Masculine and feminine, no neuter

Every word has a gender

Hebrew has no neuter. Every noun is masculine or feminine, even an inanimate object, and its gender decides the shape of the adjective, the number word and the verb beside it.

Most feminine nouns end in ־ָה or in ת (־ֶת, ־ִית, ־וּת). Most masculine nouns end in a consonant with no special marker.

The gender shows in the words that go with the noun: ספר אחד but מיטה אחת.

The usual markers

סֵפֶרmasculine

sefer

book

עִתּוֹןmasculine

iton

newspaper

כִּסֵּאmasculine

kise

chair

מִטָּהfeminine

mita

bed

דֶּלֶתfeminine

delet

door

מַחְבֶּרֶתfeminine

makhberet

notebook

Exceptions worth memorising

A handful of very common words ignore the markers. לילה ends in ה but is masculine, while several words with no feminine ending are in fact feminine.

לַיְלָהmasculineדֶּרֶךְfeminineעִירfeminineרוּחַfeminineכּוֹסfeminineאֶבֶןfeminineאֶרֶץfeminineיָדfeminineרֶגֶלfeminineעַיִןfeminine

A small rule: body parts that come in pairs (hand, leg, eye, ear) are almost always feminine.

Plural, ים and ותIncluding irregulars

The rule, and where it breaks

The default is simple: masculine nouns take ־ִים, feminine nouns take ־וֹת. The vowels inside the word usually shift as well.

But the ending is not evidence of gender. Some masculine nouns take ־וֹת and some feminine nouns take ־ִים, and their gender does not change.

The regular plural

סֵפֶרסְפָרִיםbook־ִים

תַּלְמִידתַּלְמִידִיםstudent (m)־ִים

מִטָּהמִטּוֹתbed־וֹת

תַּלְמִידָהתַּלְמִידוֹתstudent (f)־וֹת

When the ending misleads

These words keep their gender even though the ending looks like the opposite one, and that directly affects the adjective that follows.

When the ending misleads
Singular	Plural	Gender	Meaning
שֻׁלְחָן	שֻׁלְחָנוֹת	masculine	table
חַלּוֹן	חַלּוֹנוֹת	masculine	window
מָקוֹם	מְקוֹמוֹת	masculine	place
שָׁנָה	שָׁנִים	feminine	year
מִלָּה	מִלִּים	feminine	word
בֵּיצָה	בֵּיצִים	feminine	egg

That is why it is שולחנות גדולים and not שולחנות גדולות, שנים טובות and not שנים טובים.

Irregular plurals

אִישׁאֲנָשִׁיםman → men, people

אִשָּׁהנָשִׁיםwoman → women

בַּיִתבָּתִּיםhouse → houses

עִירעָרִיםcity → cities

בֵּןבָּנִיםson → sons

בַּתבָּנוֹתdaughter → daughters

The dual form

Beside singular and plural, Hebrew has the ending ־ַיִם for things that come in pairs and for doubled units of time.

יוֹמַיִםשְׁבוּעַיִםפַּעֲמַיִםמִשְׁקָפַיִםנַעֲלַיִם

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Direction

Adjective agreementGender, number, definiteness

The adjective follows, and agrees

In Hebrew the adjective comes after the noun, not before it, and agrees with it in three things: gender, number and definiteness. So it is ספר גדול, never גדול ספר.

Every adjective has four forms: masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural and feminine plural.

When several adjectives describe one noun, all of them agree with it: הַסֵּפֶר הֶחָדָשׁ וְהַמְּעַנְיֵן. The next lesson, on adjectives, takes it from here.

The four forms of גדול, big

The four forms of גדול, big
Form	Adjective	Example
Masculine singular	גָּדוֹל	סֵפֶר גָּדוֹל
Feminine singular	גְּדוֹלָה	מִטָּה גְּדוֹלָה
Masculine plural	גְּדוֹלִים	סְפָרִים גְּדוֹלִים
Feminine plural	גְּדוֹלוֹת	מִטּוֹת גְּדוֹלוֹת

The classic trap

The adjective agrees with the grammatical gender of the word, not with the ending you see. שולחן stays masculine in the plural, and שנה stays feminine.

שֻׁלְחָנוֹת גְּדוֹלִים

shulkhanot gdolim

big tables — שולחן is masculine despite the ות ending

שָׁנִים טוֹבוֹת

shanim tovot

good years — שנה is feminine despite the ים ending

The definite article ה

One letter that changes the meaning

Hebrew has no indefinite article like English "a". It has only the definite ה, attached to the front of the word: סֵפֶר is a book, הַסֵּפֶר is the book we are talking about.

When a noun is definite, its adjective takes ה too. If the adjective does not, you have written a full sentence rather than a phrase.

Normally הַ doubles the next letter with a dagesh (הַסֵּפֶר). Before א, ע and ר it cannot, so it is written הָ instead; it still sounds “ha”: הָאִישׁ, הָעִיר, הָרֹאשׁ. Before ה and ח it stays הַ with no dagesh (הַחֶדֶר), and before חָ it becomes הֶ (הֶחָדָשׁ).

Phrase versus sentence

הַסֵּפֶר הַגָּדוֹל

ha-sefer ha-gadol

Phrase: the big book — two ה

הַסֵּפֶר גָּדוֹל.

ha-sefer gadol

Sentence: the book is big — one ה

The difference is a single letter, but it is the difference between describing something and making a statement about it.

Quick check

1 of 4

“A big bed”. מִטָּה is feminine.

Smikhut, the construct stateTwo words, one concept

How two nouns join

Smikhut is how Hebrew joins two nouns into a single concept instead of using a linking word. בֵּית סֵפֶר is not a house belonging to a book, it is a school.

The first word of the pair often changes its form; the second one stays exactly as it is.

For ordinary possession, everyday speech prefers של: הַבַּיִת שֶׁל הַמּוֹרֶה rather than בֵּית הַמּוֹרֶה. Fixed concepts like בֵּית סֵפֶר always stay in smikhut. The smikhut lesson, later in the course, covers all the changes in form.

Everyday construct pairs

בֵּית סֵפֶר

beit sefer

school

עוּגַת שׁוֹקוֹלָד

ugat shokolad

chocolate cake

תַּחֲנַת רַכֶּבֶת

takhanat rakevet

train station

חֲדַר יְלָדִים

khadar yeladim

children's room

Three rules worth a lot

Three rules worth a lot
Rule	Example
The article ה attaches to the second word, not the first	בֵּית הַסֵּפֶר
The plural is marked on the first word	בָּתֵּי סֵפֶר
A ־ָה ending on the first word becomes ־ַת	עוּגָה ← עוּגַת

Common mistakes and summary

Four mistakes that are easy to fix

גָּדוֹל סֵפֶרסֵפֶר גָּדוֹל
In Hebrew the adjective comes after the noun, unlike English and Russian.
שֻׁלְחָנוֹת גְּדוֹלוֹתשֻׁלְחָנוֹת גְּדוֹלִים
שולחן stays masculine in the plural, so its adjective is masculine plural.
הַבֵּית סֵפֶרבֵּית הַסֵּפֶר
In smikhut the definite article attaches only to the second word.
סֵפֶר הַגָּדוֹלהַסֵּפֶר הַגָּדוֹל
Noun and adjective must match in definiteness: either both take ה or neither does.

What to take away

Every noun is masculine or feminine; there is no neuter.
The plural ending does not reveal the gender. שולחנות is masculine.
The adjective follows the noun and agrees in gender, number and definiteness.
In smikhut the article sits on the second word and the plural on the first.

Lesson test

Test yourself: Nouns

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Frequently asked questions

How do I know whether a word is masculine or feminine?: Most feminine nouns end in ־ָה or in ת (־ֶת, ־ִית, ־וּת) and most masculine nouns end in a consonant. There is a handful of common exceptions — לילה is masculine, while עיר, דרך and כוס are feminine — and those are worth memorising.
Why is it שולחנות גדולים and not שולחנות גדולות?: Because the adjective agrees with the grammatical gender of the word, not with its ending. שולחן is masculine, so even in the plural its adjective is masculine plural, despite the ־וֹת ending.
What is smikhut and when do I use it?: Smikhut joins two nouns into one concept, like בית ספר (school) or תחנת רכבת (train station). Use it for fixed concepts; for ordinary possession, של is the natural choice.
What is the difference between הַסֵּפֶר הַגָּדוֹל and הַסֵּפֶר גָּדוֹל?: The first is a phrase describing a specific book, the second is a full sentence saying that the book is big. The only difference is the ה on the adjective.

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Singular

Plural

Gender

Meaning

שֻׁלְחָן

שֻׁלְחָנוֹת

masculine

table

חַלּוֹן

חַלּוֹנוֹת

masculine

window

מָקוֹם

מְקוֹמוֹת

masculine

place

שָׁנָה

שָׁנִים

feminine

year

מִלָּה

מִלִּים

feminine

word

בֵּיצָה

בֵּיצִים

feminine

egg

Form

Adjective

Example

Masculine singular

גָּדוֹל

סֵפֶר גָּדוֹל

Feminine singular

גְּדוֹלָה

מִטָּה גְּדוֹלָה

Masculine plural

גְּדוֹלִים

סְפָרִים גְּדוֹלִים

Feminine plural

גְּדוֹלוֹת

מִטּוֹת גְּדוֹלוֹת

Rule

Example

The article ה attaches to the second word, not the first

בֵּית הַסֵּפֶר

The plural is marked on the first word

בָּתֵּי סֵפֶר

A ־ָה ending on the first word becomes ־ַת

עוּגָה ← עוּגַת

Frequently asked questions

How do I know whether a word is masculine or feminine?

Most feminine nouns end in ־ָה or in ת (־ֶת, ־ִית, ־וּת) and most masculine nouns end in a consonant. There is a handful of common exceptions — לילה is masculine, while עיר, דרך and כוס are feminine — and those are worth memorising.

Why is it שולחנות גדולים and not שולחנות גדולות?

Because the adjective agrees with the grammatical gender of the word, not with its ending. שולחן is masculine, so even in the plural its adjective is masculine plural, despite the ־וֹת ending.

What is smikhut and when do I use it?

Smikhut joins two nouns into one concept, like בית ספר (school) or תחנת רכבת (train station). Use it for fixed concepts; for ordinary possession, של is the natural choice.

What is the difference between הַסֵּפֶר הַגָּדוֹל and הַסֵּפֶר גָּדוֹל?

The first is a phrase describing a specific book, the second is a full sentence saying that the book is big. The only difference is the ה on the adjective.