Buildings and premises in Hebrew
25 words in Hebrew on the topic “buildings and premises”: מסעדה — restaurant, בית קפה — coffee house, כיכר — square, חנות — shop.
25 words on the topic
- מסעדהмисадаrestaurantFrom the root s-a-d, to eat. The place with a waiter and a bill
- בית קפהбейт кафеcoffee houseTwo words: house + coffee. This is how Hebrew builds compound names — the house of a thing is its establishment
- כיכרкикарsquareBoth a city square and a bread roll — the same word for a round shape. Kikar Rabin is Tel Aviv's main square
- חנותханутshopFeminine. A shop of any size, from a kiosk to a boutique
- שוקшукmarketTel Aviv's Shuk HaCarmel is the famous market where people still haggle. The Arabic souk is the same word
- בית מרקחתбейт меркакетpharmacyLiterally "the house of preparing" — medicines are compounded there. Look for the green cross on it
- בנקбанкbankAn international word, written right to left: b-n-k. Closed on Friday after midday
- תחנת רכבתтаханат ракеветrailway stationTachana is a station and a stop at once: tachana merkazit, the central one, is the main bus terminal
- דוכןдуханstall; counterThe market stall and the cafe counter where the goods stand
- מכולתмахолэтcorner shopThe makolet is the small shop by the house: bread, milk, eggs. The big supermarket Israelis call simply the super, and those stand at every corner
- בית חוליםбейт холимhospitalLiterally "the house of the sick" — Hebrew names things directly. There are several hospitals in Israel, and each has its own reputation
- משרדмисрадofficeFrom the root sh-r-d, to serve. A misrad is both a company office and a ministry: the size is decided by the context
- אוניברסיטהуниверситетаuniversityAn international word with a feminine gender: hauniversita. The Hebrew university is called simply Haivrit, and it stands in Jerusalem
- בית ספרбейт сэферschoolLiterally "the house of the book". The Israeli school starts at eight and ends at one — with lunch at home
- דוארдуарpostBoth the institution and all the mail: yesh doar — there is post, that is, a letter has come. Email is doar electroni, but people say simply mail
- תחנה מרכזיתтахана мерказитthe central bus stationYou know tachanat otobus, a bus stop; tachana merkazit is the central one — the main bus terminal
- מזחмезахa pierA wooden pier boats come up to. The final ח holds its sound, as in melech
- חלפנותхальпанутan exchange officeFrom the root ch-l-p, to change — the same as in exchanging currency; the place where money is changed
- גן החיותган ха-хайотa zooLiterally "the garden of animals": gan, the park, you know; chayot comes from chayat machmed, a pet
- קרקסкиркасa circusAn international word, reads kirkas. When home is a mess, Israelis say ze kirkas! — it is a circus!
- תחנת כיבויтаханат кивуйa fire stationYou know kabai, a firefighter; his station is called the place of extinguishing — the root k-b-h, to put out, as in lechabot
- שטיפת מכוניותштифат мехониотa car washFrom lishtof, to wash: a washing is shtifa; what is washed is mechoniot, the cars you know
- סוכנות נסיעותсохнут несиотa travel agencyYou know nesian, a trip; the agency of such trips is sochnut nesium — tickets and tours are bought there
- הרחוב הראשיха-рэхов ха-рашиthe main streetRashi means main; you saw it in the main character. The main street of the city is harechov harashi
- קופת כרטיסיםкупат картисимthe ticket officeKupa, the shop till, was taken; the office where train tickets are taken is kupat kartisim — the office of tickets
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
What is worth knowing about these words
מסעדה (мисада) — restaurant. From the root s-a-d, to eat. The place with a waiter and a bill.
בית קפה (бейт кафе) — coffee house. Two words: house + coffee. This is how Hebrew builds compound names — the house of a thing is its establishment.
כיכר (кикар) — square. Both a city square and a bread roll — the same word for a round shape. Kikar Rabin is Tel Aviv's main square.
חנות (ханут) — shop. Feminine. A shop of any size, from a kiosk to a boutique.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “restaurant” in Hebrew?
From the root s-a-d, to eat. The place with a waiter and a bill
- How do you say “railway station” in Hebrew?
Tachana is a station and a stop at once: tachana merkazit, the central one, is the main bus terminal
- How do you say “post” in Hebrew?
Both the institution and all the mail: yesh doar — there is post, that is, a letter has come. Email is doar electroni, but people say simply mail
- How do you say “a car wash” in Hebrew?
From lishtof, to wash: a washing is shtifa; what is washed is mechoniot, the cars you know
- How do you say “shop” in Hebrew?
Feminine. A shop of any size, from a kiosk to a boutique
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Where to go and what is done there. These words are read off a sign more often than they are spoken.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- 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.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “restaurant” in Hebrew?
«מסעדה», read “мисада”. From the root s-a-d, to eat. The place with a waiter and a bill. It is one of 25 words in the set “buildings and premises” — the rest are in the table above.
How many words for buildings and places do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 25 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.