Verbs of motion פְּעָלִים שֶׁל תְּנוּעָה
Israeli Hebrew splits “go” by how you move: הָלַךְ on foot, נָסַע in a vehicle, טָס by air, בָּא when the goal is the speaker’s here. Directional prefixes le, mi, and frozen הַבַּיְתָה ride on these verbs rather than replacing them.
Pick the motion verb for the manner, then add le for the goal and mi for the source; use בָּא when motion is toward the deictic center.
לָלֶכֶת is walking or general “go” when manner is not a vehicle. לִנְסוֹעַ is riding or driving. לָבוֹא is “come.” לָרוּץ is “run.” Future and present still agree in the usual way: אֲנִי הוֹלֵךְ, אַתְּ הוֹלֶכֶת, נִסַּע מָחָר. The infinitive after a modal is the dictionary form: אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לָלֶכֶת.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| אֲנִי הוֹלֵךְ הַבַּיְתָה | ani holekh habaytah | I am walking home | |
| אֲנַחְנוּ נוֹסְעִים לְחֵיפָה | anakhnu nos'im lekheifah | We are going to Haifa (by vehicle) | |
| תָּבוֹא מָחָר? | tavo makhar? | Will you come tomorrow? |
| Past m.sg | Infinitive | English |
|---|---|---|
| הָלַךְ | לָלֶכֶת | to go on foot |
| בָּא | לָבוֹא | to come |
| נָסַע | לִנְסוֹעַ | to travel |
| רָץ | לָרוּץ | to run |
| עָלָה | לַעֲלוֹת | to go up |
| יָרַד | לָרֶדֶת | to go down |
| יָצָא | לָצֵאת | to go out |
| נִכְנַס | לְהִכָּנֵס | to enter |
| חָזַר | לַחֲזוֹר | to return |
| טָס | לָטוּס | to fly |
לָצֵאת is “go out,” לְהִכָּנֵס “go in.” לַעֲלוֹת and לָרֶדֶת are vertical, and they also lexicalize immigration: עָלָה לָאָרֶץ, יָרַד מֵהָאָרֶץ. לַחֲזוֹר is “return.” Complements are the usual prefixes: יָצָא מֵהַבַּיִת, נִכְנַס לַחֶדֶר, חָזַר מֵחוּץ לָאָרֶץ.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| יָצָאנוּ מֵהַבַּיִת בְּשֵׁשׁ | yatzanu mehabayit beshesh | We left the house at six | |
| תִּכָּנְסִי, בְּבַקָּשָׁה | tikanesi, bevakashah | Come in, please | |
| הֵם חָזְרוּ אֶתְמוֹל | hem khazru etmol | They came back yesterday |
Use לָבוֹא when the destination is where the speaker (or the arranged meeting) is; use לָלֶכֶת / לִנְסוֹעַ when the destination is away. תָּבוֹא אֵלַי versus אֲנִי אֵלֵךְ אֵלֶיךָ. A separate idiom בָּא לִי plus a noun or infinitive means “I feel like”: בָּא לִי קָפֶה, בָּא לִי לִישׁוֹן. That idiom is not a motion verb anymore.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| בּוֹא אֵלַי בְּשָׁלוֹשׁ | bo elai beshalosh | Come to me at three | |
| בָּא לִי גְּלִידָה | ba li glidah | I feel like ice cream |
Exceptions
Halakh is not only walking
הָלַךְ can be a general “went” when manner is unimportant, especially in the past narrative. נָסַע is still the clear choice when you want to stress a ride. Listen for a vehicle word (בָּאוּטוֹ, בַּאוֹטוֹבּוּס) if you need to know how.
Ala and yarad outside space
Prices עוֹלִים and יוֹרְדִים; a topic can עוֹלֶה in conversation. Those are the same roots, not travel. If no place complement is present, check for a figurative reading before you picture stairs.
Common mistakes
אֲנִי בָּא לְתֵל אָבִיב said in Haifa about a trip away from here → אֲנִי נוֹסֵעַ לְתֵל אָבִיב
בָּא is “come” toward the deictic center; a trip away is הוֹלֵךְ / נוֹסֵעַ.
נִכְנַסְתִּי אֶת הַחֶדֶר → נִכְנַסְתִּי לַחֶדֶר
Enter takes לְ, not the object marker אֵת.
רַצְתִּי לָרוּץ הַבַּיְתָה as two stacked run verbs → רַצְתִּי הַבַּיְתָה
The finite verb already carries the motion; do not add the infinitive of the same root.
Go on to
Direction and location
Location sits mainly on three prefixes (be in/at, le to, mi from), plus a small set of free prepositions such as עַל, תַּחַת, לְיַד, בֵּין, and מוּל. A handful of frozen forms still carry a directional ־ָה: הַבַּיְתָה, יָמִינָה, שְׂמֹאלָה.
A1 · 12 minPa'al (qal)
Pa'al, also called qal, is the basic active pattern. Dictionary citations such as כתב, שמר, and הלך are pa'al past tense, and a large share of the first verbs you learn sit in this binyan.
B1 · 15 minInfinitives
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 minNifal
Nifal is the binyan that often supplies the passive or intransitive counterpart of a paal verb. In Israeli speech it is also simply how a large set of verbs such as נִכְנַס, נִשְׁאַר, and נִרְאָה are stored.
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