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The reference library

35 reference articles on Modern Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew and Yiddish — written for students who want the actual explanation, not a gamified hint. Read any of them, free.

Modern Hebrew עִבְרִית

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The Hebrew spoken in Israel today — how reading works, the binyanim, gender and plurals, and the everyday grammar that textbooks rush past.

Reading & Alphabet
How Hebrew Reading Works
Right-to-left, consonant letters, vowel dots, final forms and ktiv male — the 5 ideas that unlock reading.
Reading & Alphabet
The Nikud — Complete Vowel Chart
Every vowel sign with its name, sound and an example word, plus when Israelis stop using vowels.
Grammar Basics
Personal Pronouns — I, You, He, She…
The full pronoun table with pronunciation, and the ata/at mistake every beginner makes.
Grammar Basics
Sentences Without “To Be” + yesh / ein
Why Hebrew drops “am/is/are”, how to say “there is/there isn’t”, and asking yes/no questions with ha’im.
Grammar Basics
Gender & Plurals
Masculine vs feminine nouns, the -im / -ot plural endings, and the classic exceptions.
Grammar Basics
“The” (ha-) and One-Letter Prepositions
Attaching ha- “the”, and the prefix letters be-, le-, mi- that glue onto the next word.

Biblical Hebrew לְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ

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Reading Torah, Psalms and the Siddur in the original — gutturals, the construct state, the vav, and guided passages read line by line.

Reading & Alphabet
The Alphabet, Final Forms & the Gutturals
The 22 consonants from a reader’s view, the 5 final forms, and why guttural letters break the rules.
Reading & Alphabet
The Vowel Signs (Nikkud) — Full Chart
Qamats, patah, segol, tsere, hireq, holem, qibbuts, shureq, shewa and the hatef vowels — with examples.
Reading & Alphabet
Dagesh, Shewa & Syllables
Dagesh lene vs forte, the begadkefat letters, vocal vs silent shewa, and splitting words into syllables.
Nominals
The Definite Article הַ
He + dagesh forte, and the vowel changes before gutturals and resh — with a memory trick.
Nominals
Inseparable Prepositions & the Vav Conjunction
בְּ, לְ, כְּ and מִן — how they attach, how their vowels change, and the many faces of וְ “and”.
Nominals
The Construct State (Smikhut)
How Hebrew says “the house of the king” without “of” — the most frequent construction in the Bible.

Yiddish ייִדיש

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From the alef-beys to real reading — gender and plurals, tenses, loshn-koydesh words, and the diminutives that carry all the warmth.

Reading & Alphabet
Reading Yiddish: Vowels Are Letters!
Why Yiddish spelling is more phonetic than Hebrew: vowel letters, combinatory letters, and final forms.
Reading & Alphabet
YIVO Transliteration in 10 Minutes
The standard system for writing Yiddish in Latin letters — so you can read any textbook.
Grammar Basics
der, di, dos & the Plurals
The three genders, the definite article table, and the main plural endings (-n, -s, -er).
Grammar Basics
Pronouns & the Three Cases
ikh / mir / mikh and friends: nominative, accusative and dative without the headache.
Verbs
Present Tense + zayn & hobn
Regular present-tense endings, plus the two irregular verbs you need everywhere.
Verbs
The Past Tense — ikh hob gezen
Forming the past with hobn/zayn + participle, and which verbs take zayn.

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I'm Yaacov — a native Jerusalemite teaching Modern Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew, Yiddish and Aramaic. This reference library and the daily words are open to anyone, no account needed. If you want someone to actually read with you, that's what the lessons are for.

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