The definite article ה הידיעה
Hebrew has no word for a or an. You mark the when you need it by prefixing ה to the noun, and that same ה then copies onto adjectives that describe the noun.
Prefix ה to a noun to make it definite; copy the same ה onto every adjective that follows a definite noun.
ספר is a book; הספר is the book. There is no indefinite article to add. Bare nouns are indefinite by default. Names of people and most place names are already definite and do not take ה: דן, תל אביב, ישראל.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ספר | sefer | a book | |
| הספר | ha-sefer | the book | |
| הילדה | ha-yalda | the girl | |
| ישראל | yisra'el | Israel (no article) |
A definite noun takes a definite adjective: הספר החדש. Leaving ה off the adjective is a typical beginner error. An indefinite noun takes a bare adjective: ספר חדש. Both pieces of the phrase must match.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| ספר חדש | sefer khadash | a new book |
| הספר החדש | ha-sefer ha-khadash | the new book |
| דירה גדולה | dira gdola | a large apartment |
| הדירה הגדולה | ha-dira ha-gdola | the large apartment |
The short prepositions for in, to, and like fuse with ה. You write and say בַּבַּיִת (ba-bayit, in the house) and לָעִיר (la-ir, to the city), not separate words. In unvowelled writing that looks like בבית and לעיר. מן plus ה often surfaces as מה־: מהבית.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| בבית | ba-bayit | in the house | |
| לעיר | la-ir | to the city | |
| מהבית | meha-bayit | from the house |
A noun is definite if it has ה, if it is a proper name, or if it has a possessive suffix or a definite possessor. That matters later for the object marker את, which only appears before a definite direct object. הספר, ספרי, and הספר של דן are all definite.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ראיתי את הספר | ra'iti et ha-sefer | I saw the book. | |
| ראיתי ספר | ra'iti sefer | I saw a book. |
Exceptions
Names and unique places
Personal names and most city and country names do not take ה. ישראל and תל אביב already behave as definite. A few geographic names keep ה built in, such as הים התיכון in full phrases; learn those as whole names rather than adding ה yourself.
| דן גר בתל אביב | dan gar be-tel aviv | Dan lives in Tel Aviv. |
| היא מגיעה לישראל | hi magi'a le-yisra'el | She is arriving in Israel. |
Traditional vowels on ה versus speech
Printed Bibles and some textbooks change the vowel on ה before certain gutturals. In ordinary Israeli speech the prefix is ha- in almost every environment. Read extra vowels in a pointed textbook; do not wait to hear them on the street.
Common mistakes
הספר חדש → הספר החדש
A definite noun needs a definite adjective; copy ה onto חדש.
הישראל → ישראל
Country names like ישראל do not take the article.
ב הבית → בבית
ב fuses with ה; write one word בבית.
Go on to
Adjective agreement
A Hebrew adjective sits after its noun and copies three things: gender, number, and definiteness. Learn one adjective as a four-form set, not as a single English-style word.
A1 · 12 minet, the object marker
Hebrew marks a definite direct object with את. You say ראיתי ספר but ראיתי את הספר, and you say ראיתי אותך when the object is a pronoun.
A1 · 10 minThis and that
Hebrew points with זה for a masculine thing, זאת or זו for a feminine thing, and אלה for more than one. The same words also work as a copula: זה ספר means this is a book.
A1 · 8 min