Question words in Hebrew work similarly to English. They go at the beginning of the sentence. Unlike English, you often don't need to change the word order — just add the question word at the front.
Question Words
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| מָה | ma | What | מָה זֶה? — Ma ze? — What is this? |
| מִי | mi | Who | מִי אַתָּה? — Mi ata? — Who are you? |
| אֵיפֹה | eifo | Where | אֵיפֹה הַשֵּׁרוּתִים? — Eifo hasherutim? — Where is the bathroom? |
| מָתַי | matai | When | מָתַי אַתָּה בָּא? — Matai ata ba? — When are you coming? |
| לָמָּה | lama | Why | לָמָּה אַתָּה בּוֹכֶה? — Lama ata boche? — Why are you crying? |
| אֵיךְ | eich | How | אֵיךְ אַתָּה? — Eich ata? — How are you? |
| כַּמָּה | kama | How much / How many | כַּמָּה זֶה עוֹלֶה? — Kama ze ole? — How much does it cost? |
| אֵיזֶה / אֵיזוֹ | eize / eizo | Which (m/f) | אֵיזֶה בַּיִת? — Eize bayit? — Which house? |
| מֵאֵיפֹה | me'eifo | Where from | מֵאֵיפֹה אַתָּה? — Me'eifo ata? — Where are you from? |
| לְאָן | le'an | Where to | לְאָן אַתָּה הוֹלֵךְ? — Le'an ata holech? — Where are you going? |
| עַד מָתַי | ad matai | Until when | עַד מָתַי? — Ad matai? — Until when? |
Yes/No Questions
Spoken Hebrew: To turn a statement into a yes/no question in spoken Hebrew, simply raise your voice at the end. The formal written marker הַאִם (ha'im) exists but is rarely used in speech.
Example: אַתָּה בָּא? — Ata ba? — Are you coming? (same words as "you are coming", just said with rising intonation)
Useful Question Phrases
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| מָה זֶה? | Ma ze? | What is this? |
| מָה זֹאת? | Ma zot? | What is this? (feminine "this") |
| כַּמָּה זֶה עוֹלֶה? | Kama ze ole? | How much does this cost? |
| אֵיפֹה אֲנִי? | Eifo ani? | Where am I? |
| אֵיךְ אוֹמְרִים...? | Eich omrim...? | How do you say...? |
| מָה הַשֵּׁם שֶׁלְּךָ? | Ma hashem shelcha? | What is your name? (m) |