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

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A Hebrew verb table (in Hebrew, luchot pealim) is a grid that shows one verb across its tenses, persons, genders, and numbers, organized by binyan (verb pattern). You use it by finding the verb through its root or infinitive, then reading across the row or column that matches the subject and tense you need. Pealim.com offers this kind of lookup for more than 9,000 Hebrew words, with search, dictionary, and pronunciation support.

What a Hebrew Verb Table Shows

A complete table is built around four pieces of information that together determine the exact form of a verb:

  • Root (shoresh): usually three consonants that carry the core meaning, such as ח-ו-ג in the noun חוּג (circle).
  • Binyan (verb pattern): the structural family the verb belongs to, such as pa'al, hif'il, hitpa'el, and others. The binyan changes both the vowels and the prefix/suffix pattern.
  • Tense and mood: past, present, future, imperative, infinitive.
  • Person, gender, and number: I/you/he/she/we/they, masculine or feminine, singular or plural.

The site's own word entries show this structure in miniature. For example, the entry for לְהִתְכַּפְתֵּר (lehitkaft e r) is labeled "Verb – hitpa'el" and glossed "is buttoned." That single line already tells you the infinitive, the binyan, and the meaning — the table then expands it into every conjugated form.

Why the Binyan Matters Most

Two verbs can share a root but sit in different binyanim and mean different things. The binyan label is therefore the first thing to check in any table, because it predicts the vowel pattern and the prefixes you will see in the conjugated forms. If you read a form that does not match the binyan you expected, you are probably looking at a different verb from the same root.

How to Find a Verb and Read Its Table

  1. Search by what you know. If you have the infinitive (e.g., a form beginning with לְ), type it in. If you only have a conjugated form from a text, search by root or by the consonants you can identify.
  2. Confirm the entry. Check the part-of-speech label ("Verb – [binyan]") and the meaning before reading the table, so you know you have the right verb and not a homonym.
  3. Locate tense. Tables are normally divided into past, present, future, and infinitive/imperative sections.
  4. Locate the subject. Within a tense, find the row for person, gender, and number — for example, "he" versus "she," or "you (m. sg.)" versus "you (m. pl.)."
  5. Read the form and its pronunciation. Pealim entries include a pronunciation guide alongside the Hebrew, which helps you connect spelling to sound.

The site also provides a Hebrew keyboard toggle (the tilde ~ key) for typing Hebrew directly, and a mobile app for offline tables with instant search — useful if you study while commuting.

Using a Table to Produce the Right Form

Tables are reference tools, but their practical value is in production: given a sentence, you need one specific cell.

  • Identify the subject of your sentence (person, gender, number).
  • Identify the tense you need.
  • Go to that section and row, and copy the form.
  • Check the preposition or object marker that follows the verb in your sentence; the table gives the verb form, not the whole phrase.

For example, if you want to say "she is buttoned" using the hitpa'el verb above, you would go to the present-tense section and select the feminine singular row rather than reusing the infinitive.

Practicing and Checking Your Own Conjugations

A workable routine:

  1. Write your sentence with the verb form you believe is correct.
  2. Look up the verb by infinitive or root.
  3. Compare your form against the table cell for that tense and subject.
  4. If it does not match, check whether you used the right binyan first, then the right tense, then the right person/gender/number — in that order, since errors usually start at the binyan level.

Pealim also publishes a Hebrew verbs quiz and grammar case-study articles (for instance, on expressing obligation with modal verbs), which let you test forms in context rather than in isolation.

Common Pitfalls

  • Confusing binyanim. The same root in pa'al and hif'il can produce different meanings and different vowel patterns. Always read the binyan label.
  • Mixing up present-tense gender. Present forms in Hebrew inflect for gender and number but not person, so a table's present section looks different from its past and future sections.
  • Ignoring vowel signs (nikkud). Many learners find nikkud and spelling confusing; the site addresses this directly in its article on writing with and without vowels. Tables often show vowels that everyday text omits, so use them to learn the pattern, not to expect the same spelling everywhere.
  • Assuming one pronunciation standard. Modern Israeli pronunciation is fairly consistent, but historical and religious contexts vary widely; the site's article on pronunciations of Hebrew explains variants such as Ashkenazi Hebrew.
  • Treating the table as a translation tool. It gives forms and meanings, not sentence-level translation; word order and prepositions still need to come from context.

Where to Start

Use the search box on the Hebrew Verb Tables page to look up a verb you already know, read its binyan label, and trace one tense across all persons. That single exercise shows how the table is organized and makes every later lookup faster.