Ktiv male spelling כְּתִיב מָלֵא
Unvowelled Israeli Hebrew inserts extra ו and י to show u/o and i vowels: דִּבּוּר is written דיבור, סִפּוּר is סיפור, כֻּלָּם is כולם. That full spelling is כתיב מלא; the spare biblical-looking spelling is כתיב חסר.
When writing without nikud, add י for an i vowel and ו for an o or u vowel that the unpointed skeleton would otherwise hide.
Without nikud, ספר could be sefer, safar, or sipur. Male spelling writes סיפור for sipur and leaves ספר for sefer. דיבור, לימוד, אימא, and כולם are everyday cases. Pointed text can still use a shorter skeleton because the vowels are already printed. Street signs, messages, and modern books aimed at unvowelled reading follow male spelling in the main.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| סֵפֶר, סִפּוּר, סִפֵּר | sefer, sipur, siper | book; story; he told: three readings of a similar skeleton | |
| כֻּלָּם בָּאִים | kulam baim | Everyone is coming (written כולם) | |
| אִימָא שֶׁלִּי | ima sheli | my mom (often written אימא) |
| Sound | Khaser | Male |
|---|---|---|
| i in dibur | דבור | דיבור |
| i in sipur | ספר | סיפור |
| u in kulam | כלם | כולם |
| i in ima | אמא | אימא |
| o/u already shown | גדול | גדול |
Short function words stay short: לֹא, הוּא, הִיא, זֶה, שֶׁל, אֶת, עַל, אִם. Prefixes be, le, ke, and mi do not grow an extra letter of their own. A ו that is already the holam letter of the word (גָּדוֹל written גדול) is not doubled. Names and established logos may keep a traditional skeleton; copy the form you see on the card.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| הוּא לֹא בַּבַּיִת | hu lo babayit | He is not at home | |
| זֶה הַסֵּפֶר שֶׁלִּי | ze hasefer sheli | This is my book |
Ktiv male is an orthography for the same Israeli Hebrew you already speak. It does not change agreement, binyanim, or word order. When a word still looks ambiguous, the rest of the sentence usually decides: הוא סיפר סיפור is “he told a story.” Fully pointed school texts may mix systems; do not “correct” printed nikud by inserting extra י and ו on the same word.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| הוּא סִפֵּר סִפּוּר | hu siper sipur | He told a story (unvowelled: הוא סיפר סיפור) | |
| יֵשׁ לִי לִמּוּדִים מָחָר | yesh li limudim makhar | I have classes tomorrow (לימודים) |
Exceptions
Academy lists versus street forms
The Academy of the Hebrew Language publishes male-spelling guidance, and school materials follow it in the main. Signs and messages still vary: אמא beside אימא, תכנית beside תוכנית. Neither street form is a different word. When you need a single learner default, use the extra י / ו that shows the vowel you actually say.
Pointed text may look khaser
A siddur, a poetry edition, or a primer with nikud may omit the extra matres lectionis because the points already carry the vowel. Copy that system inside a pointed quotation. For your own unvowelled notes, switch back to male spelling.
Common mistakes
ספר for sipur in unvowelled text → סיפור
Without nikud, the i and u of סִפּוּר need י and ו.
כּוֹלָם as כלם in a learner message → כולם
The u of kulam is written with ו in ktiv male.
היאּא or הוּוא with extra letters → הִיא, הוּא
Core pronouns are not padded; extra ו / י belong on the hidden i/o/u of content words.
Go on to
Roots and patterns
Almost every Hebrew verb and many nouns are built from a three-letter root poured into a pattern. Once you can see the root, families such as סֵפֶר, סִפּוּר, and מְסַפֵּר stop looking like separate words.
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The dictionary-style to write form in Hebrew is לכתוב. That ל־ infinitive follows רוצה, יכול, צריך, אוהב, and a long list of other verbs, and it is also how signs give instructions.
A1 · 10 minFormal vs casual register
The same Israeli Hebrew grammar can sound like a text message or like a letter to a clerk. Casual speech drops הַאִם, prefers יֵשׁ לִי and אַתָּה רוֹצֶה, and uses short replies; formal style restores הַאִם, נָא, and fuller verbs of request.
B1 · 12 min