Plurals רבים
Hebrew plurals are not a single ending. Masculine nouns usually add ים and feminine nouns usually add ות, and then a long list of everyday words break that pattern.
Start from ים for masculine and ות for feminine, then memorize irregular pairs such as איש/אנשים and שולחן/שולחנות.
The default masculine plural is ים, pronounced ־im. The default feminine plural is ות, pronounced ־ot. The singular ending ה usually drops before ות: ילדה becomes ילדות. A feminine ־ית often becomes ־יות: מכונית becomes מכוניות.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ספר / ספרים | sefer / sfarim | book / books | |
| ילד / ילדים | yeled / yeladim | boy / boys | |
| ילדה / ילדות | yalda / yeladot | girl / girls | |
| מכונית / מכוניות | mekhonit / mekhoniyot | car / cars |
Adding a plural ending often shortens or shifts a vowel in the singular. סֵפֶר becomes סְפָרִים (sfarim); בַּיִת becomes בָּתִּים (batim). You hear the change more than you see it in unvowelled writing. Learn the plural as a second citation form, not as a mechanical suffix.
| Singular | Plural | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| ספר | ספרים | sefer / sfarim |
| בית | בתים | bayit / batim |
| דלת | דלתות | delet / dlatot |
| שנה | שנים | shana / shanim |
| יום | ימים | yom / yamim |
A dual ending יים still appears on paired body parts and on a few time words. ידיים, עיניים, and רגליים are the ordinary plurals for hands, eyes, and legs. שעתיים means two hours. Treat duals as vocabulary, not as a living number system you can apply to any noun.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ידיים | yadayim | hands | |
| עיניים | einayim | eyes | |
| רגליים | raglayim | legs / feet | |
| שעתיים | sha'atayim | two hours |
Once the noun is plural, adjectives and present-tense verbs must be plural too. ילדים גדולים, ילדות גדולות. Do not mix a feminine plural noun with a masculine plural adjective. The noun is the boss; everything after it copies number and gender.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ילדים קטנים | yeladim ktanim | small boys / small children | |
| ילדות קטנות | yeladot ktanot | small girls |
Exceptions
Masculine nouns with ות
Some masculine nouns take the feminine-looking plural ות. שולחן/שולחנות and חלון/חלונות are the textbook pair. The noun stays masculine: שולחנות גדולים, not גדולות. Plural ending and gender are separate facts.
| שולחן / שולחנות | shulkhan / shulkhanot | table / tables |
| חלון / חלונות | khalon / khalonot | window / windows |
Feminine nouns with ים
מילה/מילים and שנה/שנים are feminine and still take ים. The adjective stays feminine plural: מילים חדשות, שנים ארוכות. Irregular people nouns include איש/אנשים and אישה/נשים. עיר/ערים belongs on the same list.
| מילה / מילים | mila / milim | word / words |
| איש / אנשים | ish / anashim | man / men, people |
| אישה / נשים | isha / nashim | woman / women |
| עיר / ערים | ir / arim | city / cities |
Common mistakes
שולחנות גדולות → שולחנות גדולים
The plural ending ות does not make שולחן feminine; the adjective stays masculine plural.
מילים חדשים → מילים חדשות
מילה is feminine, so the plural adjective is חדשות even though the noun ends in ים.
אישים → אנשים
The plural of איש is the irregular אנשים.
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.
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