What is Nif'al?
Nif'al has two main uses:
- Passive of Pa'al — The subject receives the action rather than performing it. Example: הַסֵּפֶר נִכְתַּב (the book was written).
- Reflexive / Reciprocal — The subject performs the action on itself, or two or more subjects act on each other. Example: הֵם נִפְגְּשׁוּ (they met each other).
Recognition tip: Look for the נִ prefix in the past tense and infinitive (לְהִי...), and נִ/מִ in present tense forms. In the future tense the נִ disappears and the first root letter takes a dagesh.
Full Conjugation — פ-ג-שׁ (to meet, לְהִיפָּגֵשׁ)
| Person | Past (עָבָר) | Present (הוֹוֶה) | Future (עָתִיד) |
|---|---|---|---|
| אֲנִי | נִפְגַּשְׁתִּי | נִפְגָּשׁ (m) / נִפְגֶּשֶׁת (f) | אֶפָּגֵשׁ |
| אַתָּה | נִפְגַּשְׁתָּ | נִפְגָּשׁ | תִּפָּגֵשׁ |
| אַת | נִפְגַּשְׁתְּ | נִפְגֶּשֶׁת | תִּפָּגְשִׁי |
| הוּא | נִפְגַּשׁ | נִפְגָּשׁ | יִפָּגֵשׁ |
| הִיא | נִפְגְּשָׁה | נִפְגֶּשֶׁת | תִּפָּגֵשׁ |
| אֲנַחְנוּ | נִפְגַּשְׁנוּ | נִפְגָּשִׁים (m) / נִפְגָּשׁוֹת (f) | נִפָּגֵשׁ |
| אַתֶּם | נִפְגַּשְׁתֶּם | נִפְגָּשִׁים | תִּפָּגְשׁוּ |
| אַתֶּן | נִפְגַּשְׁתֶּן | נִפְגָּשׁוֹת | תִּפָּגְשׁוּ |
| הֵם / הֵן | נִפְגְּשׁוּ | נִפְגָּשִׁים (m) / נִפְגָּשׁוֹת (f) | יִפָּגְשׁוּ |
10 Common Nif'al Verbs
| Infinitive | English |
|---|---|
| לְהִיפָּגֵשׁ | to meet |
| לְהִיכָּנֵס | to enter |
| לְהִיוָּלֵד | to be born |
| לְהִישָּׁמַר | to be careful / to be guarded |
| לְהִיבָּנוֹת | to be built |
| לְהִישָּׁאֵר | to remain / stay |
| לְהִיזָּכֵר | to be remembered |
| לְהִישָּׁבֵר | to be broken |
| לְהִיפָּתֵחַ | to be opened |
| לְהִיסָּגֵר | to be closed |