HEBREW · LESSON 6
אִישׁ · אִשָּׁה
Nouns — Gender, Number, Dual
Every Hebrew noun is masculine or feminine — no neuter. Plural endings -im and -ot. A special dual ending -ayim for paired things. The vowels shift when you pluralize. Sixteen core nouns that unlock thousands of biblical verses.
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The starting fact
Two Genders, No Neuter
Every Hebrew noun is either masculine or feminine. There is no third option. Hebrew has no neuter at all.
Unlike English (mostly "it"), unlike Greek (three genders), Hebrew is binary all the way down. The rock is masculine. The city is feminine. The day is masculine. The spirit is feminine. The people is masculine.
Some assignments are obvious — a man is masculine, a woman feminine. Others are conventional and must be learned. Why is bread masculine but sword feminine? The language does not say. You memorize.
Gender matters because adjectives, pronouns, and verbs all agree with the gender of the noun. You must know it before you can read.
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Spotting feminine
Two Feminine Endings
Most feminines wear one of two endings. Masculine is the unmarked default.
ָה
qamatz-he
most common feminine ending
ת
final tav
common — segolate-type feminines
תּוֹרָה
torah
law — ends in qamatz-he → feminine
אִשָּׁה
ishah
woman — ends in qamatz-he → feminine
בַּת
bat
daughter — ends in tav → feminine
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⚠ Memorize these
Feminines With No Ending
A small but extremely common group is feminine without any of the usual endings. These must simply be memorized — and they appear constantly.
אֶרֶץ
erets
land, earth. 2,500+ times in the OT. Feminine.
אֵם
em
mother. Natural feminine — but no ending.
עִיר
ir
city. Cities are feminine in Hebrew.
יְרוּשָׁלִַם
yerushalayim
Jerusalem. A city → feminine.
Pattern: cities, countries, and paired body parts are usually feminine, whatever their ending looks like.
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Plurals
Two Plural Endings
Hebrew marks plurals with endings — one per gender.
סוּס → סוּסִים
sus → susim
horse → horses (regular masculine plural)
תּוֹרָה → תּוֹרוֹת
torah → torot
law → laws (the -ה drops, -ot replaces)
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A predictable pattern
Vowels Reduce in the Plural
When a noun pluralizes, stress moves toward the new ending — and the now-unstressed long vowels often reduce to vocal shewa.
דָּבָר
davar
singular "word" — two qamatz, stress on the second
דְּבָרִים
devarim
plural "words" — first qamatz reduces to vocal shewa, second stays
The rule: when the stress moves away, the long vowel reduces. Vowels marked by a vowel-letter (hireq-yod, shureq, holem-vav) are immune — they stay long. So תּוֹרָה → תּוֹרוֹת keeps its holem.
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⚠ When endings lie
Irregular Plurals
A small group of high-frequency nouns swap their expected ending. The gender stays the same, but the plural looks "wrong."
אָב → אָבוֹת
av → avot
father (m) → fathers — masculine noun with feminine-looking -ot ending
אִשָּׁה → נָשִׁים
ishah → nashim
woman (f) → women — feminine noun with masculine-looking -im ending, plus a stem change
עִיר → עָרִים
ir → arim
city (f) → cities — feminine, but masculine-looking plural
Lesson: always learn a noun's gender with its singular. The plural ending alone can mislead you. The adjective הָאָבוֹת הַטּוֹבִים "the good fathers" — masculine plural agreement, despite the -ot.
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A third number
The Dual — For Pairs
Beyond singular and plural, Hebrew has a dual form — used for naturally paired things. The ending is ַיִם- (patach + yod + hireq + final mem), pronounced -ayim.
Most often used for paired body parts (eyes, ears, hands, feet), for "two days," for round numbers (200, 2000), and for a handful of fossilized words.
ַיִם
When you see -ayim at the end of a noun, suspect dual: "a pair of these things."
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Pairs of body parts
The Body in Dual
The clearest use of the dual: parts of the body that come naturally in twos.
עֵינַיִם
enayim
eyes (a pair) — from עַיִן "eye"
יָדַיִם
yadayim
hands (a pair) — from יָד "hand"
אָזְנַיִם
oznayim
ears (a pair) — from אֹזֶן "ear"
רַגְלַיִם
raglayim
feet (a pair) — from רֶגֶל "foot"
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⭐ Famous duals
Water and Heavens — Always Dual
Two of the most common nouns in Genesis 1 appear only in the dual. There is no singular form.
מַיִם
mayim — "water." Always dual. Never singular. The two-ness is fixed in the word. Maybe upper and lower waters, maybe the form is lexicalized — either way, "water" in Hebrew is grammatically a pair.
שָׁמַיִם
shamayim — "heavens, sky." Always dual. There is no singular "heaven" in Hebrew. The opening of Genesis: הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ, "the heavens (dual) and the earth."
יוֹמַיִם means specifically "two days," distinct from יָמִים "days." Same root, different forms.
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The full picture
Three Numbers, Three Endings
Hebrew nouns inflect for three numbers:
ִים / וֹת
plural
-im (m) / -ot (f)
יוֹמַיִם
yomayim
two days — dual
יָמִים
yamim
days (three or more) — plural
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Two declension classes
Regular and Segolate Nouns
Hebrew nouns come in two large families based on how they handle stress.
דָּבָר
Regular noun. Stress on the final syllable (da-VAR). When inflected, stress moves further, and pre-stress vowels reduce: דְּבָרִים.
מֶלֶךְ
Segolate noun. Two short "e" vowels, stress on the first syllable (MÉ-lech). The name "segolate" comes from the segol (◌ֶ). Plural follows a fixed pattern: מְלָכִים (mə-la-KHIM).
Many of the highest-frequency biblical nouns are segolates: king, son, book, bread, road, morning, evening, soul, servant.
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The pattern
Segolate Plurals — Always the Same Shape
However the singular looks (segol-segol, tsere-segol, holem-segol), the plural follows one fixed pattern: vocal shewa + qamatz + -im (CəCāCîm).
מֶלֶךְ → מְלָכִים
melech → melakhim
king → kings
סֵפֶר → סְפָרִים
sefer → sefarim
book → books
דֶּרֶךְ → דְּרָכִים
derech → derachim
way, road → ways
בֹּקֶר → בְּקָרִים
boqer → beqarim
morning → mornings
Spot the segolate by the singular shape; predict the plural with confidence.
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Vocabulary — family
Family Nouns
אִישׁ · אֲנָשִׁים
ish · anashim
man, husband (m) — irregular plural
אִשָּׁה · נָשִׁים
ishah · nashim
woman, wife (f) — masculine-looking plural
בֵּן · בָּנִים
ben · banim
son (m)
בַּת · בָּנוֹת
bat · banot
daughter (f) — different stem in plural
אָב · אָבוֹת
av · avot
father (m) — feminine-looking plural
אֵם · אִמּוֹת
em · immot
mother (f)
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Vocabulary — world
Earth, Day, Night, City
אֶרֶץ · אֲרָצוֹת
erets · aratsot
land, earth (f) — no feminine ending
יוֹם · יָמִים
yom · yamim
day (m) — stem shifts in plural
לַיְלָה · לֵילוֹת
laylah · leylot
night (m!) — looks feminine, isn't
עִיר · עָרִים
ir · arim
city (f) — masculine-looking plural
עֵץ · עֵצִים
ets · etsim
tree, wood (m)
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Vocabulary — speech and rule
King, Word, People, Water, Heavens
מֶלֶךְ · מְלָכִים
melech · melakhim
king (m) — segolate
דָּבָר · דְּבָרִים
davar · devarim
word, thing (m) — vowel reduction
עַם · עַמִּים
am · ammim
people, nation (m)
מַיִם
mayim
water (m, dual only) — no singular
שָׁמַיִם
shamayim
heavens, sky (m, dual only) — no singular
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⚠ Top beginner traps
What Students Get Wrong
- Reading gender off the plural ending. אָבוֹת "fathers" looks feminine because of -ot, but it is masculine. Always learn the singular's gender first.
- Treating לַיְלָה as feminine. The final he looks feminine — it isn't. "Night" is grammatically masculine.
- Assuming -ayim is just plural. It's dual. יוֹמַיִם "two days," יָמִים "days."
- Trying to find a singular for "water" or "heavens." There isn't one. They are always dual.
- Forgetting vowel reduction. Plural of דָּבָר is דְּבָרִים, not "דָּבָרִים." The first qamatz must reduce.
- Confusing segolate singular with the irregular pattern. Segolate plurals follow one rule — once you know it, they're predictable.
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In the very first verse
Genesis 1:1 — Three Nouns from This Lesson
בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
- אֱלֹהִים — God (masculine plural form, treated as singular)
- הַשָּׁמַיִם — the heavens (dual, masculine)
- הָאָרֶץ — the earth (feminine, no -ה ending)
The opening verse of the Bible is a microcosm of this lesson: dual, feminine-without-ending, and the plural-form name of God all together.
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Five days
The Drill Plan
Day 1
Read the lesson. Copy each of the 16 vocabulary nouns three times in singular and plural.
Day 2
Drill gender: cover the gender column, predict m/f from each noun, confirm.
Day 3
Drill plurals: cover the plural column, produce each plural from the singular.
Day 4
Drill the duals: write the seven duals; name the singular each comes from.
Day 5
Open Genesis 1. Find every noun in verses 1–3. Identify gender and number of each.
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Recap
What You Now Know
- Two genders: masculine and feminine. No neuter.
- Feminine endings: -ה (qamatz-he) and -ת. Most non-feminine-ending nouns are masculine.
- Exceptions to memorize: אֶרֶץ, אֵם, עִיר, יְרוּשָׁלִַם — feminine without endings.
- Plural endings: -ים (m) and -ות (f). With irregulars: אָבוֹת (m), נָשִׁים (f).
- The dual -ayim: paired body parts; "two days"; מַיִם, שָׁמַיִם always dual.
- Vowel reduction: long vowels in pre-stress open syllables reduce when stress shifts.
- Segolate vs regular: two declension classes, both with predictable patterns.
- Sixteen core vocab: man, woman, son, daughter, father, mother, land, day, night, king, city, people, word, tree, water, heavens.
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A point of devotion
A Gendered Cosmos
Hebrew's pervasive gender is not arbitrary decoration. The language was shaped by — and in turn shapes — a vision of the cosmos that distinguishes and pairs.
In Genesis 1:27 God creates humanity זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, "male and female," and the noun world Hebrew inherits is similarly paired: the heavens (masculine) and the earth (feminine); king (m) and city (f); sun (f) and moon (m). Even the Spirit, רוּחַ, is grammatically feminine.
To learn Hebrew nouns is to begin reading the Bible in a language that takes the gendered creation seriously — as a structural feature of reality, not a polite social arrangement.
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End of Lesson 6
You Can Now Read Hebrew Nouns
אִישׁ · אִשָּׁה · מַיִם
Two genders, three numbers. Sixteen high-frequency nouns. The dual for paired things. Vowel reduction when stress shifts. Segolate plurals always predictable. The opening of Genesis now legible noun-by-noun.
Next lesson: the definite article and the conjunction vav — the two most common prefixes in Hebrew. By the end you will recognize "the X" and "and X" attached directly to the front of any noun.
Next: Lesson 7 · The Article and the Conjunction
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