Hebrew words and word pairs that learners easily confuse or misuse, each explained. Front: the word or word pair (romanization in parentheses). Back: the explanation.
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- הוא vs היא (Hu vs Hi)
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"הוא" (hu) means "he"; "היא" (hi) means "she." Their similar spelling and sound, differing only in the final letter, makes them easy to mix up.- אתה vs את (Atah vs At)
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"אתה" (atah) is "you" (masculine); "את" (at) is "you" (feminine). Verbs and adjectives must agree with the correct gender.- עוד (Od)
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Alone, "עוד" means "more" or "still" (עוד קפה = more coffee); combined with "פעם" it means "again" (עוד פעם = one more time).- גם (Gam)
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"גם" means "also, too," placed directly before the word it modifies; learners sometimes misplace it compared to English word order.- לא vs אל (Lo vs Al)
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"לא" (lo) is the general negation "no, not"; "אל" (al) is used specifically for negative commands, as in "אל תלך" (don't go).- חג vs חוג (Chag vs Chug)
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"חג" (chag) means "holiday"; "חוג" (chug) means "club, activity circle." Similar spelling, unrelated meaning.- ים vs יום (Yam vs Yom)
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"ים" (yam) means "sea"; "יום" (yom) means "day." Short, similar-looking words with different sounds and meanings.- אוכל vs יכול (Ochel vs Yachol)
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"אוכל" (ochel) means "food" or "I eat"; "יכול" (yachol) means "can, is able to." Beginners sometimes confuse them due to similar letters.- שלום vs שלם (Shalom vs Shalem)
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"שלום" (shalom) means "hello, peace"; "שלם" (shalem) means "whole, complete" or "he paid." Related root but distinct words.- ילד vs ילדה (Yeled vs Yalda)
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"ילד" (yeled) means "boy"; "ילדה" (yalda) means "girl." One added letter changes the gender of the noun.- גדול vs גדל (Gadol vs Gadel)
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"גדול" (gadol) is the adjective "big"; "גדל" (gadel) is the verb "grows, is growing." Same root, different part of speech.- לשמוע vs לשמור (Lishmoa vs Lishmor)
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"לשמוע" (lishmoa) means "to hear"; "לשמור" (lishmor) means "to guard, keep." Similar-looking roots that are easy to swap.- לדבר vs לדאוג (Ledaber vs Lid'og)
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"לדבר" (ledaber) means "to speak"; "לדאוג" (lid'og) means "to worry." They start similarly but are unrelated.- בבקשה (Bevakasha)
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Means both "please" and "you're welcome," depending on context, unlike English which uses two different words.- סליחה (Slicha)
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Means both "sorry" and "excuse me" (to get someone's attention), a single word covering two English phrases.
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