Asking the way in Hebrew
18 words in Hebrew on the topic “asking the way”: איפה? — where?, כאן — here, שם — there, ימינה — to the right.
18 words on the topic
- איפה?эйфо?where?The city's first question: eifo ha-... — where is the such-and-such. Hebrew says where to with a different word
- כאןканhereDo not mix it up with kach (כך), so: one vowel decides everything
- שםшамthereWritten the same way as shem, a name — only the vowel tells them apart, and without nikud the context helps
- ימינהяминаto the rightFrom yamin, the right hand; the ending -a gives direction — toward the right one
- שמאלהсмолаto the leftFrom smol, the left hand. The pair to yamina, with the same direction ending
- ישרяшарstraightBoth straight about a road and honest about a person: an upright person is adam yashar
- קרובкаровcloseBoth close and a relative — the one who is close. The pair to rachok
- רחוקрахокfarThe question is it far? is just rachok? The answer lo rachok means not far
- איך מגיעיםэйх магиимhow do I get to...?Literally "how do they arrive?" — the question is put in the plural, how do people get there. Then comes le-: eich magiim latachana?
- להגיע עדлеагиа адto reachYou know lehagia, to arrive; ad strengthens it: to reach as far as the sea itself — lehagia ad hayam
- בצד השניбе-цад ха-шениon the other sideYou know tzad, a side; betzad hasheni shel harechov — on the other side of the street
- במרחק שני צעדיםбе-мерхак шней цаадимtwo steps awayYou know merchak, a distance; two steps is shnei tseadim — together it means very close
- אחרי הפנייהахарей ха-пнияpast the turnYou know pnia, a turn, and acharei, after; drive through the turn and it is right behind it
- משמאל לмисмоль леon the left ofYou know smola, to the left; mismol le... means on the left of something: mismol labank — on the left of the bank
- מימין לмимин леon the right ofThe pair to on the left of, the same pattern: minim lakikar — on the right of the square
- באמצעбе-эмцаin the middleYou know emtza, the middle; with the preposition be- it becomes in the middle of: the table in the middle of the room
- הפנייה הבאהха-пния ха-бааthe next turnPnia, the turn, is feminine — so habaa, not haba; the same pattern as in the next stop
- בדרךба-дэрэхon the wayYou know derech, the way; with be- it becomes on the way: I will stop by the shop on the way
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
איפה? (эйфо?) — where? The city's first question: eifo ha-... — where is the such-and-such. Hebrew says where to with a different word.
כאן (кан) — here. Do not mix it up with kach (כך), so: one vowel decides everything.
שם (шам) — there. Written the same way as shem, a name — only the vowel tells them apart, and without nikud the context helps.
ימינה (ямина) — to the right. From yamin, the right hand; the ending -a gives direction — toward the right one.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “where?” in Hebrew?
The city's first question: eifo ha-... — where is the such-and-such. Hebrew says where to with a different word
- How do you say “far” in Hebrew?
The question is it far? is just rachok? The answer lo rachok means not far
- How do you say “on the right of” in Hebrew?
The pair to on the left of, the same pattern: minim lakikar — on the right of the square
- How do you say “to the right” in Hebrew?
From yamin, the right hand; the ending -a gives direction — toward the right one
- How do you say “on the other side” in Hebrew?
You know tzad, a side; betzad hasheni shel harechov — on the other side of the street
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
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 “where?” in Hebrew?
«איפה?», read “эйфо?”. The city's first question: eifo ha-... — where is the such-and-such. Hebrew says where to with a different word. It is one of 18 words in the set “asking the way” — the rest are in the table above.
How many direction words do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 18 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.