Basic Adjectives תארים בסיסיים
19 Hebrew words on basic adjectives — with pictures, native audio and example sentences. Presented in masculine singular form; agree in gender and number.
| Image | English | Hebrew | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
 | big | גדול | 🔗 Rootג-ד-ל — also לגדול (to grow) and גודל (size). |
 | small | קטן | The doubled form קטנטן means 'tiny'. |
 | good | טוב | Already familiar from מזל טוב and בוקר טוב. |
 | bad | רע | לא רע ('not bad') is a very common understatement. |
 | beautiful | יפה | ⚠️ GenderOne spelling for both genders — ya-FE for a man, ya-FA for a woman. |
 | ugly | מכוער | ⚠️ GenderFeminine מכוערת (mekho'eret). |
 | new | חדש | 🔗 Rootח-ד-ש — also חודש (a month, from the new moon) and חדשות (the news). |
 | old | ישן | Only for things — an old person is זקן. 👓 Same spellingThe same letters also read יָשֵׁן, 'asleep'. |
 | young | צעיר | Also a noun: 'a young man', 'a young woman'. |
 | hot | חם | 'I am hot' is חם לי — literally 'it is hot to me'. |
 | cold | קר | 'I am cold' is קר לי. |
 | happy | שמח | 🔗 Rootש-מ-ח — also שמחה (joy, a celebration), familiar from Yiddish as simcha. |
 | sad | עצוב | 🔗 Rootעצב = sadness. |
 | easy | קל | Also 'light in weight'. The simplest verb pattern is called בניין קל, 'the light one'. |
 | difficult | קשה | 'Hard' in both senses — difficult and stiff. ⚠️ GenderOne spelling for both genders. 'Complicated' is a different word: מסובך. |
 | expensive | יקר | 🔀 Several meaningsAlso 'dear, beloved': יקירי = my dear — English 'dear' once had the same double sense. |
 | cheap | זול | לקנות בזול = to buy something cheap. |
 | fast | מהיר | This is the adjective; the adverb is מהר: בוא מהר = come quickly. |
 | slow | אטי | 🌎 RegionOften spelled איטי in full spelling. The adverb 'slowly' is לאט. |
See also:Colors