Hebrew 101: Lesson 6

Plural of Nouns and Adjectives

Hebrew has specific patterns for forming plurals, different for masculine and feminine nouns.

Masculine Plurals

Most masculine nouns take the ending -ים (-im):

  • סֵפֶר (sefer - book) → סְפָרִים (sfarim - books)
  • יֶלֶד (yeled - boy) → יְלָדִים (yeladim - boys)

Feminine Plurals

Most feminine nouns take the ending -וֹת (-ot):

  • בַּיִת (bayit - house) → בָּתִּים (batim - houses)
  • תּוֹרָה (torah) → תּוֹרוֹת (torot)
Exception Alert! Hebrew has many irregular plurals. Some masculine nouns take feminine endings and vice versa!

Adjective Agreement

Adjectives must agree with their nouns in gender and number:

  • Masculine singular noun → masculine singular adjective
  • Feminine plural noun → feminine plural adjective