להיות
“להיות” (лихйот) — to be in Hebrew. Verb, level A1, topic — verbs. In the present Hebrew most often just skips the linker: ani kan — I am here, no verb. Lihyot is needed in the future and the past and after rotze — want to be. In a live sentence: “קשה להיות רופא.” — It is hard to be a doctor. Written with the characters ל, ה, י, ו, ת. One of 86 words in the set “verbs” in the Hebrew course.
In short
| Written in Hebrew | להיות |
| Read in Latin letters | лихйот |
| Translation | to be |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
In the present Hebrew most often just skips the linker: ani kan — I am here, no verb. Lihyot is needed in the future and the past and after rotze — want to be
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- קשה להיות רופא.каше лихйот рофэ.It is hard to be a doctor.
Nearby words: verbs
I want, I can, I am going, I know. The verb holds a sentence together: a few of the most frequent ones cover more everyday talk than a long list of nouns.
- אני רוצהани роцеI wantA woman says ani rotza. The polite order at a cafe goes through rotse, not through a command
- אני אוהבани охевI loveA woman says ani ohevet. Loving a taste and loving a person is the same word
- ללכתлалехетto goThe present comes from another root: holech, holechet, holchim. The means of travel (by what) is said separately
- לאכולлеэхольto eatThe present: ochel, ochelet, ochlim. The same ochel also means food — only the place in the sentence tells them apart
- לשתותлиштотto drinkThe present: shote, shota, shotim. One form drinks water, coffee and takes medicine
- לקרואликроto readFrom the same root as call: the reader, as it were, calls the words. The present: kore, koret, korim
- לדברледаберto speakA language is spoken with the preposition be-: medaber ivrit — I speak Hebrew. The present: medaber, medaberet, medabrim
- לעבודлааводto workThe present: oved, ovedet, ovdim. One root with avoda, work
- אני חייבани хайавI mustA woman says ani chayevet. The infinitive follows: chayav laavod — must work
- לגורлагурto live (reside)Residing, not life in general. The present: ger, gara, garim — the place takes the preposition be-
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “verbs”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to be” in Hebrew?
In the present Hebrew most often just skips the linker: ani kan — I am here, no verb. Lihyot is needed in the future and the past and after rotze — want to be
- How do you say “to speak” in Hebrew?
A language is spoken with the preposition be-: medaber ivrit — I speak Hebrew. The present: medaber, medaberet, medabrim
- How do you say “to go” in Hebrew?
The present comes from another root: holech, holechet, holchim. The means of travel (by what) is said separately
- How do you say “to live (reside)” in Hebrew?
Residing, not life in general. The present: ger, gara, garim — the place takes the preposition be-
- How do you say “to read” in Hebrew?
From the same root as call: the reader, as it were, calls the words. The present: kore, koret, korim
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “to be” in Hebrew?
«להיות», read “лихйот”. In a live sentence: “קשה להיות רופא.” — It is hard to be a doctor. Verb, level A1, from the set “verbs”; written with the characters ל, ה, י, ו, ת.
How is “להיות” written in Latin letters?
лихйот. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
In the present Hebrew most often just skips the linker: ani kan — I am here, no verb. Lihyot is needed in the future and the past and after rotze — want to be. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.