Hebrew Vocabulary and Pronounciation

Hebrew has most of the same sounds that the English language has with a few exceptions. The hardest sound for English speakers to learn is undoubtedly the cha sound. The best way to practice this is to move everyone out of the line of fire (just in case) and practice dry spitting.

Three other things you need to know and then you are on your way:

1. The "to be" verbs (for example, "is" and "are") are implied in Hebrew; they are not explicity pronounced.
2. Words can be masculine, feminine or neutral. Some of the words will depend on who is speaking, some on who is being spoken to, and for some it will not matter.
3. In English, an adjective will come before the noun (for example, red book); in Hebrew the adjectives will come after the noun (book red). Adverbs in English and Hebrew both come after the noun (for example, runs quickly).

We plan to update this page about once a week. We've included a request form at the end of the lessons. If there are any words, phrases, or sentences that you would like to learn to pronounce in Hebew, just let us know and we'll try to include it in our future vocabulary list. We just ask that it's something you don't mind your mother hearing (assuming she knows what you're saying).

You will hear a word pronounced twice; the first time, slowly, to be sure you hear the word correctly, and the second time will be its faster "Israeli" version.
Have fun!

Let's Talk Hebrew #1

Nouns

Father	Abba
Mother	Imma

Verbs

Comes, Arrives (male)	Bah
Comes, Arrives (female)	Ba-ah

Adverbs & Adjectives

No	Loh
Yes	Ken

Putting It Together

Father comes / is coming	Abba bah
Mother comes / is coming	Imma ba-ah
Is Father coming? Yes, father is coming.	Abba bah? Ken, Abba bah.
Is Mother coming? Yes, mother is coming.	Imma ba-ah? Ken, Immah ba-ah.
Is Father coming? No, father is not coming.	Abba bah? Loh, Abba loh bah.
Is Mother coming? No, mother is not coming.	Imma ba-ah? Loh, Immah loh ba-ah.

Last Modified Wednesday June 11, 1997