What Are Hebrew Conjugation Tables and How Do You Use Them?

Hebrew conjugation tables are reference charts that show how a single Hebrew verb changes form across tenses, persons, genders, and grammatical patterns (binyanim). On Pealim (pealim.com), they are part of a larger dictionary that covers "more than 9,000 Hebrew words," so you can look up a verb's meaning, root, part of speech, and full inflection in one place. This guide is for learners who can already read Hebrew letters and want a practical way to check forms rather than memorize paradigms blindly.

What a Pealim entry contains

Each dictionary entry is built from the same core pieces. Using the site's own examples:

For verbs, the part-of-speech label names the binyan — for example, לְהִתְכַּפְתֵּר (lehitkapter) is marked "Verb – hitpa'el." That label is the key to reading the table: the binyan determines the vowel pattern and prefix/suffix set the table will show.

How verb tables show inflection

A conjugation table takes one verb and lays out its forms by tense and by person, with masculine and feminine, singular and plural distinguished. In practice, you use it in three steps:

1. Find the entry. Search the word you know — the infinitive, a form you saw in a text, or an English translation.
2. Confirm the binyan and root. Check the part-of-speech line and the root letters. If the root matches a word you already know, you can connect the two.
3. Read across the row for your subject. Locate the tense (past, present, future, imperative) and then the person/gender/number you need. The table gives the exact form, including nikkud.

For example, if you meet a form in a news article and are unsure whether it is first-person plural or third-person plural, the table resolves it by position rather than by guesswork. The site also notes that its tables are complete verb tables, so you are not looking at a partial paradigm.

Searching: word, root, or translation

The search box accepts more than one kind of input, which matters because learners often know a word only partially:

• A Hebrew word, with or without vowels — useful when you can read the text but not parse the form.
• A root, using the root field shown on entries — useful when you want to see the family of words built from the same letters.
• An English translation — useful when you know the meaning but not the Hebrew.

The site also offers a Hebrew keyboard toggle for people typing on a non-Hebrew keyboard, with a note that the Tilde (~) key toggles the Hebrew keyboard. If your search returns nothing, check the keyboard state first; that is the most common reason a typed word fails to match.

Beyond verbs: the rest of the dictionary

Pealim is not only a verb tool. Its navigation lists a dictionary, prepositions, cardinal numerals, and "all words," and its newly added entries include nouns and adjectives alongside verbs. So the same lookup habits apply to non-verb vocabulary: search, then read the root, part of speech, meaning, and pronunciation. The site also publishes grammar articles and case studies — for instance, pieces on writing with and without vowels, expressing obligation, and a financial-market vocabulary list — which are useful when a table alone does not explain why a form looks the way it does.

Offline use and limits

The site offers a mobile app for viewing Hebrew verb tables offline with instant search, which is the practical option if you study on a commute or in a place with poor connectivity. Two things the page does not state: whether the app or site is free, and whether any features require an account. Treat access terms as something to confirm on the site itself rather than assume.

A sensible workflow: use the web dictionary for full tables and articles while you have a connection, and the app for quick form checks offline. When a form still puzzles you, go back to the root and binyan — those two labels explain most of what the table is doing.