שישה
“שישה” (шиша) — six in Hebrew. Numeral, level A1, topic — numbers and counting. The masculine form, the feminine is shesh. Do not confuse it by ear with shlosha — the difference is one syllable. In a live sentence: “שישה שקלים.” — Six shekels. Written with the characters ש, י, ש, ה. One of 57 words in the set “numbers and counting” in the Hebrew course.
In short
| Written in Hebrew | שישה |
| Read in Latin letters | шиша |
| Translation | six |
| Part of speech | numeral |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
The masculine form, the feminine is shesh. Do not confuse it by ear with shlosha — the difference is one syllable
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.
- שישה שקלים.шиша шекалим.Six shekels.
Nearby words: numbers and counting
A price, the change, a house number, the time you agreed on, the floor. Numbers are the first thing you have to catch by ear — and the first thing people say fast.
- אחדэхадoneAbout a feminine object — achat (אחת). Numbers up to ten need gender in Hebrew
- שנייםшнаимtwoThe feminine form is shtaim. Before a noun the short shnei appears: shnei yeladim
- שלושהшлошаthreeThe masculine form. The feminine is shalosh — and it is the one used for counting aloud: achat, shtaim, shalosh
- ארבעהарбааfourThe masculine form, the feminine is arba. The throaty ע inside is not read
- חמישהхамишаfiveThe masculine form, the feminine is chamesh. The shekel is masculine, so prices are counted with the masculine forms
- שבעהшивааsevenThe masculine form, the feminine is sheva. Telling time takes the short one: besheva — at seven
- שמונהшмонаeightThe only number of the first ten whose masculine and feminine forms are written the same way
- תשעהтишааnineThe masculine form, the feminine is tesa. For time — batesha: at nine
- עשרהасараtenThe masculine form, the feminine is esre. The base of all the tens: esrim, shloshim, arbaim
- אחד עשרэхад асарelevenLiterally "one and ten": the masculine form, like echad. For counting aloud the feminine achat esre is used — the row comes in pairs
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “numbers and counting”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “six” in Hebrew?
The masculine form, the feminine is shesh. Do not confuse it by ear with shlosha — the difference is one syllable
- How do you say “eight” in Hebrew?
The only number of the first ten whose masculine and feminine forms are written the same way
- How do you say “three” in Hebrew?
The masculine form. The feminine is shalosh — and it is the one used for counting aloud: achat, shtaim, shalosh
- How do you say “eleven” in Hebrew?
Literally "one and ten": the masculine form, like echad. For counting aloud the feminine achat esre is used — the row comes in pairs
- How do you say “seven” in Hebrew?
The masculine form, the feminine is sheva. Telling time takes the short one: besheva — at seven
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 “six” in Hebrew?
«שישה», read “шиша”. In a live sentence: “שישה שקלים.” — Six shekels. Numeral, level A1, from the set “numbers and counting”; written with the characters ש, י, ש, ה.
How is “שישה” written in Latin letters?
шиша. 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?
The masculine form, the feminine is shesh. Do not confuse it by ear with shlosha — the difference is one syllable. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.