Meod, yoter, midai, hachi: very, more, too, most
The degree of a quality is measured here with a short ruler, and every part of it has already been near you. Meod — very — stands after the word: tov meod — very good, gavoa meod — very tall. The order is the first thing to notice: it is the reverse of English. For example: “המסעדה הזאת יקרה מדי.” — This restaurant is too expensive. A rule from the Hebrew course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The degree of a quality is measured here with a short ruler, and every part of it has already been near you. Meod — very — stands after the word: tov meod — very good, gavoa meod — very tall. The order is the first thing to notice: it is the reverse of English.
Comparison is built with yoter — more; you know it from zol yoter: yoter tov — better, yoter gadol — bigger, literally "more big". "Than" here is the preposition mi-: yoter tov mi-zeh — better than this one.
Midai — too — also stands after the word, and you have already trained it on gadol midai. Its partner is maspik — enough: maspik tov — good enough.
The superlative is hachi: hachi gadol — the biggest, hatachana hachi krova — the nearest stop. Notice: hachi embraces the article too — the superlative is spoken with ha-.
Table
| meaning | Hebrew | How it reads | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| very | מאוד | meod | tov meod |
| more | יותר | yoter | yoter tov |
| than | מ- | mi- | yoter tov mi-zeh |
| less | פחות | pachot | pachot yakar |
| too | מדי | midai | yakar midai |
| enough | מספיק | maspik | maspik tov |
| most | הכי | hachi | hachi gadol |
By example
- המסעדה הזאת יקרה מדי.ха-мисада хазот якра мидаи.This restaurant is too expensive.
- האוטובוס הזה יותר גדול.ха-отобус хазэ йотэр гадоль.This bus is bigger.
- זה הספר הכי מעניין.зэ ха-сэфэр хахи меанйен.This is the most interesting book.
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
Meod, yoter, midai, hachi: how does it work in Hebrew?
The degree of a quality is measured here with a short ruler, and every part of it has already been near you. Meod — very — stands after the word: tov meod — very good, gavoa meod — very tall. The order is the first thing to notice: it is the reverse of English.
What does it look like in a Hebrew example sentence?
“המסעדה הזאת יקרה מדי.” (ха-мисада хазот якра мидаи.) — This restaurant is too expensive. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.