Hebrew Gender - Masculine and Feminine
Every noun in Hebrew has a gender - either masculine (זָכָר - zachar) or feminine (נְקֵבָה - nekeva). This affects not just the noun itself, but also any adjectives, verbs, and pronouns that go with it. Understanding gender is fundamental to Hebrew.
How It Works
Rules for identifying gender: 1. Most nouns ending in ָה (-a) or ָת (-t) are feminine: בַּיִת (bayit - house, m.) is an exception. 2. Most nouns without these endings are masculine. 3. Body parts that come in pairs are often feminine. 4. Adjectives must agree with their noun in gender: a big house = בַּיִת גָּדוֹל (bayit gadol - m.), a big city = עִיר גְּדוֹלָה (ir gdola - f.).
Example Sentences
Common Mistakes
A common mistake with masculine and feminine nouns in Hebrew is relying only on the ending of the word. Many nouns ending in the sound ־ָה are feminine, for example: מוֹרָה טוֹבָה, תַּלְמִידָה חֲדָשָׁה, and מִלָּה חֲשׁוּבָה. But this is only a helpful clue, not a perfect rule: for example, לַיְלָה ends with ־ָה but is masculine, so we say לַיְלָה טוֹב, not לַיְלָה טוֹבָה. Also, some feminine nouns do not end in ־ָה, such as עִיר גְּדוֹלָה, יָד קְטַנָּה, and דֶּרֶךְ אֲרֻכָּה. That's why it's important to learn each noun together with its gender, and to remember that adjectives and verbs must agree with the noun or subject: מוֹרָה טוֹבָה, not מוֹרָה טוֹב; הִיא לָמְדָה / הִיא תִּלְמַד, not הִיא לָמַד / הִיא יִלְמַד.
Study Tip
When you learn a new Hebrew noun, always learn its gender at the same time. Think of it like learning a word together with its 'partner' - 'book (m.)' rather than just 'book.' Dictionaries mark gender with (m.) or (f.). Over time, you'll develop intuition for which words are which gender.