Hebrew Negation
Learning the Hebrew Negation is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. The more you practice the subject, the closer you get to mastering the Hebrew language. But first we need to know what the role of Negation is in the structure of the grammar in Hebrew.
Hebrew negation is the process that turns an affirmative statement (I am happy) into its opposite denial (I am not happy). Here are some examples:
| English Negation | Hebrew Negation |
| Negation | sheleyleh - שלילה |
| he is not here | hoa lea khean - הוא לא כאן |
| that is not my book | zeh lea hesefer sheley - זה לא הספר שלי |
| do not enter | lea leheykhenes - לא להיכנס |
As you can see from the example above, the structure of the Negation in Hebrew has a logical pattern. Locate the Negation above and see how it works with the rest of the sentence in Hebrew.
List of Negation in Hebrew
Below is a list of the Negation and negative expressions in Hebrew placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Hebrew vocabulary.
| English Negation | Hebrew Negation |
| Negation | sheleyleh - שלילה |
| he is not here | hoa lea khean - הוא לא כאן |
| that is not my book | zeh lea hesefer sheley - זה לא הספר שלי |
| do not enter | lea leheykhenes - לא להיכנס |
| |
| I don't speak | aney lea meḏever - אני לא מדבר |
| I don't write | aney lea khotev - אני לא כותב |
| I don't drive | aney lea nohegue - אני לא נוהג |
| I don't love | aney lea aohev - אני לא אוהב |
| I don't give | aney lea noten - אני לא נותן |
| I don't smile | aney lea meẖeyeykh - אני לא מחייך |
| I don't take | aney lea lokeẖ - אני לא לוקח |
| |
| he doesn't speak | hoa lea meḏever - הוא לא מדבר |
| he doesn't write | hoa lea khotev - הוא לא כותב |
| he doesn't drive | hoa lea nohegue - הוא לא נוהג |
| he doesn't love | hoa lea aohev - הוא לא אוהב |
| he doesn't give | hoa lea noten - הוא לא נותן |
| he doesn't smile | hoa lea meẖeyeykh - הוא לא מחייך |
| he doesn't take | hoa lea lokeẖ - הוא לא לוקח |
| |
| we don't speak | aneẖeno lea meḏevereym - אנחנו לא מדברים |
| we don't write | aneẖeno lea khoteveym - אנחנו לא כותבים |
| we don't drive | aneẖeno lea nohegueeym - אנחנו לא נוהגים |
| we don't love | aneẖeno lea aoheveym - אנחנו לא אוהבים |
| we don't give | aneẖeno lea noteneym - אנחנו לא נותנים |
| we don't smile | aneẖeno lea meẖeyeykheym - אנחנו לא מחייכים |
| we don't take | aneẖeno lea lokeẖeym - אנחנו לא לוקחים |
Negation and negative expressions have a very important role in Hebrew, therefore they need very special attention. Once you're done with Hebrew Negation, you might want to check the rest of our Hebrew lessons here: Learn Hebrew. Don't forget to bookmark this page.