שניים
“שניים” (шнаим) — two in Hebrew. Numeral, level A0, topic — numbers and counting. The feminine form is shtaim. Before a noun the short shnei appears: shnei yeladim. In a live sentence: “שניים, בבקשה.” — Two, please. Written with the characters ש, נ, י, י. One of 57 words in the set “numbers and counting” in the Hebrew course.
In short
| Written in Hebrew | שניים |
| Read in Latin letters | шнаим |
| Translation | two |
| Part of speech | numeral |
| Level | A0 |
Why it looks that way
The feminine form is shtaim. Before a noun the short shnei appears: shnei yeladim
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.
- שניים, בבקשה.шнаим, бевакаша.Two, please.
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
- 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
- שישהшишаsixThe masculine form, the feminine is shesh. Do not confuse it by ear with shlosha — the difference is one syllable
- 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 “two” in Hebrew?
The feminine form is shtaim. Before a noun the short shnei appears: shnei yeladim
- 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 “four” in Hebrew?
The masculine form, the feminine is arba. The throaty ע inside is not read
- 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 “two” in Hebrew?
«שניים», read “шнаим”. In a live sentence: “שניים, בבקשה.” — Two, please. Numeral, level A0, from the set “numbers and counting”; written with the characters ש, נ, י, י.
How is “שניים” written in Latin letters?
шнаим. 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 feminine form is shtaim. Before a noun the short shnei appears: shnei yeladim. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.