The World of Languages · Afro-Asiatic
Hebrew · עברית (Ivrit)
An ancient language of scripture revived as an everyday mother tongue in the late 19th and 20th centuries: a unique story in linguistic history.
- 5.4 million native speakers
- 9.3 million speakers in total
- Hebrew script
- FSI Category III · 44 weeks
- Official in 1 country
Where Hebrew is spoken
Tap or hover over a country. Colours show the language's status, based on Unicode CLDR territory data (population estimates mix sources and years).
Top countries by speakers
- Israel · ישראלOfficial language · 9.4M (100%)
Key numbers
- Native (L1) speakers
- 5.4 million
- Total speakers
- 9.3 million
- Source
- Ethnologue, via Wikidata · 2014 (L1), 2019 (total)
Hebrew at a glance
Hebrew is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until after 200 CE and as the liturgical language of Judaism (since the Second Temple period) and Samaritanism. The language was revived as a spoken language in the 19th century, and is the only successful large-scale example of linguistic revival. It is the only Canaanite language still spoken today. It is also one of the only two Northwest Semitic languages with contemporary speakers, the other being Aramaic.
From the Wikipedia article Hebrew language (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Name in Hebrew
- עברית (Ivrit)
- Family
- Afro-AsiaticSemiticWest SemiticCentral SemiticNorthwest SemiticCanaaniteHebrewic
- Writing system
- Hebrew alphabet (22 letters, an abjad; vowels optional)
- Direction
- Right to left
- Official in
- Israel
- Codes
- ISO 639-3
heb· Glottologhebr1245· Q9288 - Writing sample
כל בני אדם נולדו בני חורין ושווים בערכם ובזכויותיהם. כולם חוננו בתבונה ובמצפון, לפיכך חובה עליהם לנהוג איש ברעהו ברוח של אחוה.
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…”
Linguistic profile
How hard is Hebrew for English speakers?
The US Foreign Service Institute puts Hebrew in Category III: about 44 weeks (1100 class hours) of full-time study to reach professional working proficiency.
Source: FSI language learning timelines. See all languages ranked: hardest · easiest.
Feature values from the World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS Online, CC BY 4.0).
The Hebrew script
Hebrew alphabet (22 letters, an abjad; vowels optional). Tap a character to hear it (your device reads the letter name or sound).
Standard letters from Unicode CLDR exemplar characters.
Useful Hebrew phrases with pronunciation
Numbers 1–10
- אַחַת akhát
- שתיים sh'táyim
- שָׁלוֹשׁ shalosh
- אַרְבַּע arbá
- חָמֵשׁ khamésh
- שֵׁשׁ shesh
- שֶׁבַע sheva
- שְׁמוֹנֶה shmóne
- תֵּשַׁע téisha
- עֶשֶׂר éser
Days of the week
- Mon יום שני
- Tue יום שלישי
- Wed יום רביעי
- Thu יום חמישי
- Fri יום שישי
- Sat יום שבת
- Sun יום ראשון
Everyday words
- water מַיִם máyim
- cat חָתוּל khatúl
- dog כֶּלֶב kélev
- coffee קָפֶה kafé
- beer בִּירָה bíra
- bread לֶחֶם lékhem
- book סֵפֶר séfer
Phrases and words checked against Wiktionary; days and months from Unicode CLDR. Audio uses your browser's built-in Hebrew voice when available.
Dialects and varieties
Modern Israeli Hebrew
Israel
The everyday language of Israel; most speakers use a uvular r like French.
Mizrahi pronunciation
Israel, among some speakers of Middle Eastern and North African descent
Keeps the throat sounds ח (ḥ) and ע (ʿ) distinct.
Biblical Hebrew
Scripture
Word order is often verb–subject–object, with different verb forms from the modern language.
Ashkenazi liturgical Hebrew
Diaspora prayer
Pronounces ת without dagesh as s: “Shabbos” instead of “Shabbat”.
Hear the dialects
Fun words, untranslatables
פירגון
firgun
Genuine, generous joy at someone else's success, and telling them so.
חוצפה
khutspa
Audacity or nerve, borrowed into English as chutzpah.
סבבה
sababa
Cool, great, no problem: slang borrowed from Arabic.
Curious facts
- Eliezer Ben-Yehuda (1858–1922) championed spoken Hebrew and compiled a dictionary of modern Hebrew; his son is often called the first native speaker of modern Hebrew.
- Hebrew is written right to left, and vowels are usually omitted. Small dots and dashes (niqqud) are used in children's books and poetry.
- Like Arabic, Hebrew builds words from three-consonant roots: k-t-v gives katav (he wrote) and mikhtav (letter).
- Five letters have special final forms at the end of words: ך ם ן ף ץ.
- English words from Hebrew include amen, hallelujah, jubilee, and (via Yiddish) chutzpah.
Famous Hebrew-speaking voices
Singers & musicians
Writers & poets
Film & TV
Other famous figures
Descriptions from Wikidata; photos from Wikimedia Commons under the licences shown.
Hebrew culture now
Fauda
Israeli political thriller television series
Shtisel
Israeli television drama series
Waltz with Bashir
2008 Israeli adult animated war docudrama film by Ari Folman
Hava Nagila
Jewish traditional folk song in Hebrew
Hatikvah
National anthem of Israel
Hebrew literature
Literature in the Hebrew Language
Learn Hebrew on YouTube
Free lessons from teachers and channels with Hebrew courses. Videos load only when you press play.
The story of the language
Quick quiz: how well do you know Hebrew?
Where to learn Hebrew
The Endless Book
Read text you can understand, in the style of your favourite author and genre. About 30 languages.
LangMagicLangMagic Speak
Speaking lessons built around your topics, from materials you choose.
LangMagicLangMagic Meet
A virtual meeting platform built for language lessons, with follow-up exercises.
FreeWikivoyage Hebrew phrasebook
Free travel phrasebook with pronunciation guide
FreeWikibooks: Hebrew
Free, open textbook
FreeOmniglot: Hebrew
Script, pronunciation and useful phrases
FreeWiktionary: Hebrew dictionary
Free multilingual dictionary
Sources
- Speaker numbers: Ethnologue, via Wikidata, 2014 (L1), 2019 (total).
- Countries, populations, alphabets, days and months: Unicode CLDR 46.
- Classification: Glottolog 5.3. Grammar features: WALS Online.
- Introduction: Wikipedia, Hebrew language (CC BY-SA 4.0). People and culture: Wikipedia and Wikidata. Images: Wikimedia Commons.
- Writing sample: Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1, from the Unicode UDHR collection. Phrases and words: Wiktionary. Difficulty: US Foreign Service Institute.
- Map: Natural Earth via world-atlas (public domain).