Ha-, be-, le-, shel: little words stick
There are no little words here that stand on their own. The article, the prepositions and the conjunction glue to the next word and are written together with it. For example: “הבית שלי קטן, הבית שלך גדול.” — My house is small, your house is big. A rule from the Hebrew course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
There are no little words here that stand on their own. The article, the prepositions and the conjunction glue to the next word and are written together with it.
The article ha- always sticks: bait — a house, but habait — the house. The prepositions be- — in, le- — to, for, and ke- — as — do the same: babait — in the house; labait — to the house. And the conjunction ve- — and: before b, m and p it sounds u, so uvait — and a house.
The second set of little words is the possessive suffixes: beiti — my house, beitcha — your house, beito — his house. In speech people usually use shel instead: habait sheli. On signs and in letters the suffix is common.
Table
| little word | how it sticks | example | how it reads | translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the article | ha- together | הבית | habait | the house |
| in | be- together | בבית | babait | in the house |
| to, for | le- together | לבית | labait | to the house |
| as | ke- together | כבית | kebait | like a house |
| and | ve- together (u- before b, m, p) | ובית | uvait | and a house |
| my | the suffix -i | ביתי | beiti | my house |
| your | the suffix -cha | ביתך | beitcha | your house |
| his | the suffix -o | ביתו | beito | his house |
By example
- הבית שלי קטן, הבית שלך גדול.ха-баит шели катан, ха-баит шелха гадоль.My house is small, your house is big.
- הכלים בבית, והמכונה במחסן.ха-клеим ба-баит, ве-ха-мехона ба-махсан.The tools are at home, and the machine is at the warehouse.
- שמך יפה, ושמי פשוט.шимха яфэ, ве-шми пшут.Your name is beautiful, and my name is plain.
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Ha-, be-, le-, shel: how does it work in Hebrew?
There are no little words here that stand on their own. The article, the prepositions and the conjunction glue to the next word and are written together with it.
What does it look like in a Hebrew example sentence?
“הבית שלי קטן, הבית שלך גדול.” (ха-баит шели катан, ха-баит шелха гадоль.) — My house is small, your house is big. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.