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Hebrew With Elisahar
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Masculine and Feminine in Hebrew: A Simple Guide

By Elisahar, native Hebrew speaker 5 min readUpdated November 4, 2026

Quick answer

Every Hebrew noun is either masculine or feminine, and adjectives, verbs and numbers change to match it. Feminine nouns usually end in ึพื” (-a) or ึพืช (-t), masculine plurals usually end in ึพื™ื (-im) and feminine plurals in ึพื•ืช (-ot). You also change verbs and "you" depending on who you talk to: ืืชื” ata to a man, ืืช at to a woman.

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Spotting the gender of a noun

Nouns ending in ึพื” (-a) or ึพืช (-t) are usually feminine, and most other nouns are masculine. A handful of common words break the rule, so learn them as exceptions:

HebrewSay itMeaningGender
ื™ืœื“yeledboymasculine
ื™ืœื“ื”yaldagirlfeminine (-a)
ืžื—ื‘ืจืชmachberetnotebookfeminine (-t)
ืขื™ืจircityfeminine (exception)
ืืจืฅeretzcountry, landfeminine (exception)
ืœื™ืœื”lailanightmasculine (exception)
ื™ื“yadhandfeminine (body pairs are usually feminine)

Adjectives agree with the noun

The adjective comes after the noun and takes the same gender and number:

HebrewSay itMeaning
ื™ืœื“ ื’ื“ื•ืœyeled gadola big boy
ื™ืœื“ื” ื’ื“ื•ืœื”yalda gdolaa big girl
ื™ืœื“ื™ื ื’ื“ื•ืœื™ืyeladim gdolimbig boys / children
ื™ืœื“ื•ืช ื’ื“ื•ืœื•ืชyeladot gdolotbig girls

A mixed group of men and women uses the masculine plural. Some plurals do not follow the usual ending: ื ืฉื™ื nashim (women) is feminine, and ืฉื•ืœื—ื ื•ืช shulchanot (tables) is masculine, but their adjectives still follow the real gender: ื ืฉื™ื ื—ื›ืžื•ืช nashim chachamot (smart women).

Verbs and "you" change too

HebrewSay itMeaning
ืืชื” ื›ื•ืชื‘ata kotevyou write (to a man)
ืืช ื›ื•ืชื‘ืชat kotevetyou write (to a woman)
ืืชื ื›ื•ืชื‘ื™ืatem kotvimyou write (to a group of men or a mixed group)
ืืชืŸ ื›ื•ืชื‘ื•ืชaten kotvotyou write (to a group of women)

Even "I" changes the verb: a man says ืื ื™ ื›ื•ืชื‘ ani kotev, a woman says ืื ื™ ื›ื•ืชื‘ืช ani kotevet. Learn verbs in both forms from the start.

Numbers have gender as well

When counting things, the number matches the noun, and the forms can look reversed: the masculine number often ends in -a.

HebrewSay itMeaning
ืฉืœื•ืฉื” ื™ืœื“ื™ืshlosha yeladimthree boys / children
ืฉืœื•ืฉ ื™ืœื“ื•ืชshalosh yeladotthree girls

For prices, phone numbers and counting out loud, Israelis use the feminine numbers: achat, shtayim, shalosh.

Key takeaways

  • Feminine nouns usually end in -a (ื”) or -t (ืช)
  • Adjectives, verbs and numbers match the noun
  • Plurals: -im (masculine), -ot (feminine), with exceptions
  • Say ata to a man and at to a woman

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