Question words מִלּוֹת שְׁאֵלָה
Israeli yes-no questions are often just a statement with rising pitch, but content questions open with a small closed set: מַה, מִי, אֵיפֹה, מָתַי, לָמָּה, אֵיךְ, כַּמָּה. Formal writing may add הַאִם in front of a yes-no question.
Put the question word first, keep ordinary verb-subject order after it, and use אֵיזֶה / אֵיזוֹ / אֵילוּ to ask “which.”
מַה asks “what,” מִי “who,” אֵיפֹה “where,” מָתַי “when,” לָמָּה “why,” אֵיךְ “how,” and כַּמָּה “how much / how many.” Direction splits where: לְאָן for “where to,” מֵאַיִן or מֵאֵיפֹה for “where from.” These words do not change for gender except the “which” set.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| מַה זֶה? | mah ze? | What is this? | |
| אֵיפֹה אַתָּה גָּר? | eifoh atah gar? | Where do you live? | |
| לְאָן אַתְּ הוֹלֶכֶת? | le'an at holekhet? | Where are you going? |
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| מַה | mah | what |
| מִי | mi | who |
| אֵיפֹה | eifoh | where |
| מָתַי | matai | when |
| לָמָּה | lamah | why |
| אֵיךְ | eikh | how |
| כַּמָּה | kamah | how much |
| לְאָן | le'an | where to |
| מֵאֵיפֹה | me'eifoh | where from |
אֵיזֶה is masculine singular, אֵיזוֹ feminine singular, אֵילוּ plural: אֵיזֶה סֵפֶר, אֵיזוֹ עִיר, אֵילוּ יְלָדִים. “Whose” is שֶׁל מִי. Yes-no questions in speech use intonation: אַתָּה בָּא? Writing and careful speech may prefix הַאִם: הַאִם אַתָּה בָּא?
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| אֵיזֶה אוֹטוֹבּוּס? | eizeh otobus? | Which bus? | |
| שֶׁל מִי הַמַּפְתֵּחַ? | shel mi hamafteakh? | Whose key is this? | |
| הַאִם יֵשׁ לְךָ זְמַן? | ha'im yesh lekha zman? | Do you have time? |
After verbs like יוֹדֵעַ, שׁוֹאֵל, and זוֹכֵר, the same words introduce an embedded question: אֲנִי לֹא יוֹדֵעַ אֵיפֹה הוּא גָּר. Do not add הַאִם inside that clause in speech; שֶׁ is not required after these question words. כַּמָּה plus a noun still needs the right gender on later numbers if you count in the answer, not on כַּמָּה itself.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| תַּגִּיד לִי מָתַי אַתָּה בָּא | tagid li matai atah ba | Tell me when you are coming | |
| אֲנִי לֹא יוֹדַעַת לָמָּה | ani lo yoda'at lamah | I do not know why |
Exceptions
Lamah versus madua
לָמָּה is the spoken “why.” מַדּוּעַ belongs to a more formal or written register. Both are understood; using מדוע in a casual chat sounds stiff, not wrong.
| מַדּוּעַ לֹא בָּאתֶם? | madua lo batem? | Why did you not come? (formal) |
Eikh versus keitzad
אֵיךְ is the default “how.” כֵּיצַד is the formal twin, common in instructions and exams. For “how do you say…?” the idiom is אֵיךְ אוֹמְרִים..., not כיצד in speech.
Common mistakes
אַתָּה גָּר אֵיפֹה? → אֵיפֹה אַתָּה גָּר?
Content-question words stand at the front in standard Israeli Hebrew.
אֵיזֶה עִיר? → אֵיזוֹ עִיר?
עִיר is feminine, so “which” is אֵיזוֹ.
מָה אַתָּה גָּר? → אֵיפֹה אַתָּה גָּר?
Location takes אֵיפֹה, not מַה.
Go on to
Negation
Israeli Hebrew splits negation by what you are denying: לֹא before verbs and adjectives, אֵין for “there isn’t” and “don’t have,” and אַל before an imperative. Extra words such as שׁוּם and אַף sit comfortably beside that first negator.
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