Savlanut, yetzivut, gvut: from a quality — a noun
The names of qualities and states are almost all made from words you already know. One breakdown — and you build them yourself, and at the same time understand the unfamiliar ones. For example: “העבודה הזאת צריכה סבלנות.” — This work requires patience. A rule from the Hebrew course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The names of qualities and states are almost all made from words you already know. One breakdown — and you build them yourself, and at the same time understand the unfamiliar ones.
-ut is the most fertile tail; it grows from a quality: savlani — savlanut, patience; atzlan — atzlut, laziness; yatziv — yetzivut, stability. Such words are feminine and agree the feminine way: savlanut gdola — great patience.
-on grows from a verb and gives the masculine: lemayen — miyun, sorting; leachsen — achzaza, storage; lamachzer — michzur, recycling. You know the same suffix in hazmana — an order: the noun of action.
One trap: -ut is also a plain plural. Savlanut — patience; savlanuyot is already "acts of patience", many of them; the number is told by the verb and the context.
Table
| example | how it reads | suffix | grown from | gender |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| סבלנות | savlanut | -ut | a quality | feminine |
| עצלות | atzlut | -ut | a quality | feminine |
| יציבות | yetzivut | -ut | a quality | feminine |
| סקרנות | sakarnut | -ut | a quality | feminine |
| מיון | miyun | -on | a verb | masculine |
| אחסון | achzaza | -on | a verb | masculine |
| מיחזור | michzur | -on | a verb | masculine |
| סימון | simun | -on | a verb | masculine |
By example
- העבודה הזאת צריכה סבלנות.ха-авода ха-зот цриха савланут.This work requires patience.
- הסימון על התווית כתוב באנגלית.ха-симун аль ха-твият катув бэ-англит.The marking on the label is written in English.
- מיחזור חוסך חומר גלם.михзур хосэх хомер глем.Recycling saves raw material.
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
Savlanut, yetzivut, gvut: how does it work in Hebrew?
The names of qualities and states are almost all made from words you already know. One breakdown — and you build them yourself, and at the same time understand the unfamiliar ones.
What does it look like in a Hebrew example sentence?
“העבודה הזאת צריכה סבלנות.” (ха-авода ха-зот цриха савланут.) — This work requires patience. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.