Explanation

Asking questions is fundamental to communication. In Hebrew, like in English, we use specific question words to gather information. The basic structure often involves placing the question word at the beginning of the sentence, followed by the rest of the sentence, which may sometimes invert the subject and verb order, though often it remains the same as a statement. Understanding these question words and their usage will significantly improve your ability to interact in Hebrew.

Examples

Hebrew Question WordEnglish MeaningHebrew ExampleEnglish Example
ืžื™ (Mi)Whoืžื™ ื–ื”? (Mi zeh?)Who is this?
ืžื” (Ma)Whatืžื” ืืชื” ืขื•ืฉื”? (Ma ata oseh?)What are you doing?
ืื™ืคื” (Eifo)Whereืื™ืคื” ื”ืกืคืจ? (Eifo ha'sefer?)Where is the book?
ืžืชื™ (Matai)Whenืžืชื™ ื”ืคื’ื™ืฉื”? (Matai ha'pgisha?)When is the meeting?
ืœืžื” (Lama)Whyืœืžื” ืืชื” ืขืฆื•ื‘? (Lama ata atzuv?)Why are you sad?
ืื™ืš (Eich)Howืื™ืš ื”ื’ืขืช ืœื›ืืŸ? (Eich higata le'kan?)How did you get here?
ื›ืžื” (Kama)How much/manyื›ืžื” ื–ื” ืขื•ืœื”? (Kama zeh oleh?)How much does it cost?
ื”ืื (Ha'im)If/Whether (used for yes/no questions)ื”ืื ืืชื” ืื•ื”ื‘ ืืช ื–ื”? (Ha'im ata ohev et zeh?)Do you like it?