Hitpael הִתְפַּעֵל
Hitpael is the binyan Israeli speakers use when someone acts on themselves, or when two people act on each other. It is also the frame for everyday routines such as getting dressed, showering, and corresponding by message.
Build hitpael on the root with a ת after the prefix, and use it for reflexive, reciprocal, and a set of routine intransitive verbs.
The citation form הִתְפַּעֵל is the past third-person masculine template. Present forms use a mem prefix: מִתְפַּעֵל, מִתְפַּעֶלֶת, מִתְפַּעֲלִים, מִתְפַּעֲלוֹת. The infinitive is לְהִתְפַּעֵל, and the future keeps a ת after the person prefix, as in יִתְפַּעֵל.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| הוּא הִתְלַבֵּשׁ | hu hitlabesh | He got dressed | |
| הִיא מִתְרַחֶצֶת | hi mitrakhetzet | She is washing herself | |
| אֲנַחְנוּ נִתְרָאֶה מָחָר | anakhnu nitra'eh makhar | We will see each other tomorrow |
| Person | Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| אֲנִי / אַתָּה / הוּא | מִתְלַבֵּשׁ | מִתְלַבֶּשֶׁת |
| אֲנַחְנוּ / אַתֶּם / הֵם | מִתְלַבְּשִׁים | מִתְלַבְּשׁוֹת |
A hitpael verb often means the subject is both actor and affected party: הִתְלַבֵּשׁ, הִתְרַחֵץ, הִתְגַּלֵּחַ. Two parties acting on each other also sit here: הִתְרָאוּ, הִתְכַּתְּבוּ, הִתְחַבְּקוּ. Many daily intransitives are simply stored in this binyan, including הִתְעוֹרֵר and הִתְנַדֵּב, without a separate “self” object.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| הֵם הִתְכַּתְּבוּ כָּל הַשָּׁבוּעַ | hem hitkatvu kol hashavua | They wrote to each other all week | |
| אֲנִי מִתְעוֹרֵר בְּשֵׁשׁ | ani mit'orer beshesh | I wake up at six | |
| הִיא הִתְנַדְּבָה בַּמִּטְבָּח | hi hitnadevah bamitbakh | She volunteered in the kitchen |
When the first root letter is a sibilant (samekh, shin, tsadi, or zayin), the ת of hitpael swaps places with it. You therefore hear הִסְתַּכֵּל, not a form with התס. After tsadi the ת also becomes ט, as in הִצְטַלֵּם. After zayin it voices to ד, as in הִזְדַּמֵּן.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| הִסְתַּכַּלְתִּי בַּמַּרְאָה | histakalti bamar'ah | I looked in the mirror | |
| הִיא מִשְׁתַּמֶּשֶׁת בַּמַּחְשֵׁב | hi mishtameshet bamakhshev | She is using the computer | |
| הֵם הִצְטַלְּמוּ בַּפַּארְק | hem hitztalmu bapark | They photographed themselves in the park |
Because the binyan already encodes “self,” Israeli Hebrew does not add את plus a pronoun for the same participant. לְהִתְלַבֵּשׁ stands alone; לְלִבּוֹשׁ אֶת הַחוּלְצָה is the transitive paal counterpart. Some hitpael verbs do take a prepositional complement, most often ב, as in לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בְּ.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| הִתְלַבַּשְׁתִּי וְיָצָאתִי | hitlabashti veyatzati | I got dressed and went out | |
| תִּשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בַּמִּלּוֹן | tishtamesh bamilon | Use the dictionary |
Exceptions
Not every הת- verb is reflexive in meaning
A number of common hitpael verbs are simply the dictionary form of an intransitive or change-of-state idea. הִשְׁתַּנָּה means “changed,” הִתְקַדֵּם means “advanced,” and הִתְפּוֹצֵץ means “exploded.” Treat those as vocabulary, not as a mechanical “self” translation.
| מַשֶּׁהוּ הִשְׁתַּנָּה פֹּה | mashehu hishtanah po | Something changed here |
| הַבָּלוֹן הִתְפּוֹצֵץ | habalon hitpotzetz | The balloon exploded |
First-root ט, ת, ד assimilate the infix
When the first root letter is ט, ת, or ד, the ת of the binyan may fuse with it in speech and in spelling. Learners meet this most often in verbs they already know as wholes, such as forms built on those roots, and should learn each infinitive from a dictionary rather than inventing the infix.
Common mistakes
הִשְׁתַּמַשְׁתִּי אֶת הַמַּחְשֵׁב → הִשְׁתַּמַשְׁתִּי בַּמַּחְשֵׁב
הִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ takes ב, not the object marker אֵת.
אֲנִי הִתְלַבַּשְׁתִּי אֶת הַמְּעִיל → אֲנִי לָבַשְׁתִּי אֶת הַמְּעִיל
Hitpael הִתְלַבֵּשׁ is intransitive; the garment takes paal לָבַשׁ plus אֵת.
הִיא הִתְסַכְּלָה בַּחַלּוֹן → הִיא הִסְתַּכְּלָה בַּחַלּוֹן
The ת and ס switch places; the everyday form is הִסְתַּכֵּל, not התסכל.
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