# Prefixes in Hebrew

There are several prefixes in the Hebrew language which are appended to regular words to introduce a new meaning. In Hebrew, the letters that form those prefixes are called "formative letters" (Hebrew: אוֹתִיּוֹת הַשִּׁמּוּשׁ, Otiyot HaShimush). Eleven of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet are considered Otiyot HaShimush. These letters are Aleph (א), Bet (ב), He (ה), Vav (ו), Yud (י), Kaf (כ), Lamed (ל), Mem (מ), Nun (נ), Shin (ש), and Tav (ת). A mnemonic to remember these letters is איתן משה וכלב (Eitan, Moshe, v'Kalev), which translates to "Ethan, Moses, and Caleb."

## Otiyot HaShimush

Prefixes in Hebrew serve multiple purposes. A prefix can serve as a conjunction, preposition, definite article, or interrogative. Prefixes are also used when conjugating verbs in the future tense and for various other purposes.

### Conjunctions

| Prefix | Meaning | Comments | Examples |
| ו‎ (Vav) | and | Vav-conjunctive (cf. Vav-consecutive) can make the "v" sound (/v/) or the "u" sound (/u/). If it is used with other prefixes, this is always the first prefix. In front of ב, פ and מ waw (ו) is read as "u" sound. | וְהוּא‎ v'hu (and he) וּבַיוֹם‎ uvayom (and on the day) |

### Inseparable prepositions

| Prefix | Meaning | Comments | Examples |
| ל‎ (Lamed) | to, for, onto | The Inseparable Prepositions are pointed: Normally with Sheva. Before a Sheva they take Chirik. Before יְ‎ they take Chirik, but the Sheva under the י‎ falls away. Before a T'nua Chatufa they assume the corresponding short vowel. Before אֶלֹהִים‎ they take Tzere and the T'nua Chatufa under the א‎ disappears. | לְמֶלֶךְ‎ l'melekh (to a king) לִמְלָכִים‎ lim'lokhim (to kings) לִיהוּדָה‎ lihudah (to Judah) לַאֲרִי‎ la'ari (to the lion) לֵאלֹהִים‎ lelohim (to God) |
| ב‎ (Bet) | in, on, with, by | The Inseparable Prepositions are pointed: Normally with Sheva. Before a Sheva they take Chirik. Before יְ‎ they take Chirik, but the Sheva under the י‎ falls away. Before a T'nua Chatufa they assume the corresponding short vowel. Before אֶלֹהִים‎ they take Tzere and the T'nua Chatufa under the א‎ disappears. | בְּמֶלֶךְ‎ b'melekh (in a king) בִּמְלָכִים‎ bim'lokhim (in kings) בִּיהוּדָה‎ bihudah (in Judah) בַּאֲרִי‎ ba'ari (in a lion) בֵּאלֹהִים‎ belohim (in God) |
| כ‎ (Kaf) | as, like | The Inseparable Prepositions are pointed: Normally with Sheva. Before a Sheva they take Chirik. Before יְ‎ they take Chirik, but the Sheva under the י‎ falls away. Before a T'nua Chatufa they assume the corresponding short vowel. Before אֶלֹהִים‎ they take Tzere and the T'nua Chatufa under the א‎ disappears. | כְּמֶלֶךְ‎ k'melekh (as a king) כִּמְלָכִים‎ kim'lokhim (as kings) כִּיהוּדָה‎ kihudah (Like Judah) כַּאֲרִי‎ ka'ari (Like a lion) כֵּאלֹהִים‎ kelohim (Like Gods) |

### Other prepositions

| Prefix | Meaning | Comments | Examples |
| מ‎ (Mem) | from/of/out of/than | Before ordinary letters (excluding the gutturals and ר‎) it is מִ‎ followed by a Dagesh Chazak. Before gutturals and ר‎ it is מֵ‎. Before the definite article (ה‎) it is מֵ‎ as in 2, and the article remains intact; or it becomes מִן‎ plus ה‎. | מִמֶּלֶךְ‎ mimelekh (from a king) מֵאָדָם‎ me'adam (from a man) מֵהַמֶּלֶךְ‎ mehamelekh (from the king), or מִן הַמֶּלֶךְ‎ min hamelekh |

### Definite article

| Prefix | Meaning | Comments | Examples |
| ה‎ (He) | the | Before ordinary letters (i.e. excluding gutturals and ר‎) it is הַ‎ followed by a Dagesh Chazak. | הַמֶּלֶךְ‎ hamelekh (the king) |
| ה‎ (He) | the | Before the weaker gutturals א‎ and ע‎, as well as ר‎, it is הָ‎. | הָאוֹר‎ ha'or (the light) הָעַיִן‎ ha'ayin (the eye) הָרֹאשׁ‎ harosh (the head) |
| ה‎ (He) | the | Before the harsh gutturals ה‎ and ח‎ it is הַ‎. | הַהוֹד‎ hahod (the glory) הַחֹשֶׁךְ‎ hachoshekh (the darkness) |
| ה‎ (He) | the | Before an unaccented הָ‎ and עָ‎ and always before חָ‎ it is הֶ‎. | הֶהָרִים‎ heharim (the mountains) הֶעָפָר‎ he'afar (the dust) הֶחָכָם‎ hechakham (the wise) |
| ה‎ (He) | the | Before an accented הָ‎ and עָ‎ it is הָ‎. | הָהָר‎ hahar (the mountain) הָעָז‎ ha'az (the strong) |
| ה‎ (He) | the | When used with the Bet, Kaf or Lamed prepositional prefix it is omitted; instead the vowel on the preposition is changed. If He is used with other prefixes, the He is always the last prefix before the root. | וּבַיוֹם‎ uvayom (and on the day: note that the ve (on) combines with the ha (the) to become va (on the)). |

### Interrogative

| Prefix | Meaning | Comments | Examples |
| ה‎ (He) | ...? | Used to indicate a question. Can usually be distinguished from the definite article because it is vowelized with a chataf patach | הֲבֵן יַקִּיר לִי?‎ haven yaqir li? (Is he my most precious son?) |

### Conjugation of verbs

| Prefix | Meaning | Comment | Examples |
| א‎ (Alef) | I will | When prefixed to a verb stem, indicates first person, singular, future tense. I will. | אֹסָמַךְ‎ 'osamak (I will uphold) |
| י‎ (Yud) | He/They will | When prefixed to a verb stem, indicates third person, future tense. (Number and gender depend on suffixes.) He will or They will. | יֺסָמַךְ‎ yosamak (he will uphold) יֺסָמַכוּ‎ yosamaku (they will uphold) |
| נ‎ (Nun) | We will | When prefixed to a verb stem, indicates first person, plural, future tense. We will. | נֺסָמַךְ‎ nosamak (we will uphold) |
| ת‎ (Tav) | She/You/They will | When prefixed to a verb stem, indicates one of the following: third person, singular, feminine, future tense. She will second person, future tense. (Number and gender depend on suffixes.) You will In biblical Hebrew, third person, plural, feminine, future tense. They will | תֹּסָמַךְ‎ tosamak (she/you will uphold) תֹּסָמַכוּ‎ tosamaku (you (pl.) will uphold) תֹּסָמַכנָה שָׂרוֹת‎ tosamakna sarot (the women of the nobility will uphold) |

### Other uses

| Prefix | Meaning | Comments | Examples |
| שׁ‎ (Shin) | that, which, who, whom | | שֶׁקָּרָה‎ sheqara (which happened) שֶׁעָשׂוּ‎ she'asu (who performed) |
| ו‎ (Vav) | changes past tense to future tense and vice versa | Used mostly in Biblical Hebrew as vav-consecutive (compare vav-conjunctive). Pronounced "va" when changing future tense to past tense. Usually pronounced "v'" or "u" when changing past tense to future tense. | וַיֹּאמֶר‎ vayomer (and he said) compare yomar (he will say) וְאָהַבְתָּ‎ ve'ahavta (you shall love) compare ahavta (you loved) |

## Non Otiyot HaShimush

European languages had a large stock of prefixes for technical terminology mostly taken from Greek and Latin. While Hebrew traditionally did not use this kind of prefixes, professionals in the Yishuv who started to teach and work in Hebrew were used to this terminology, and incorporated most of these prefixes into Hebrew. Meanwhile, people working on revitalising the language coined some Hebrew parallels, so today those foreign and Hebrew prefixes are used interchangeably.
| Prefix | Origin | Hebrew | Meaning | Examples |
| ex- אֶקְס־‎ | Latin | - | former | אֶקְסְפּוֹזִיצְיָה‎ eqspozitzya exposition |
| un-/non- אַנ־‎/נוֹנ־‎ | English/ Latin | אִי־‎ i אָל־‎ al | negation | אִי־אַלִּימוּת‎ i-alimut non-violence נוֹנְקוֹנְפוֹרְמִיזְם‎ nonqonformizm nonconformism אָל־מַתֶּכֶת‎ al-matechet nonmetal |
| in-/il-/im-/ir- | Latin | אִי־‎ i | not, opposite of | אִירַצְיוֹנָלִי‎ iratzyonali irrational |
| a- אָ־‎ | Greek | - | lacking in, lack of | אָפּוֹלִיטִי‎ apoliti apolitical אָ־מִינִי‎ a-mini asexual |
| prae- פְּרֵ־‎ | Latin | טְרוֹם־‎ trom קְדַם־‎ qdam | before | פְּרֵהִיסְטוֹרִי‎ prehistori prehistoric טְרוֹם־לֵידָתִי‎ terom-ledati (pre-birth/delivery of a baby) prenatal קְדַם־סוֹקְרָטִית‎ qedam-soqratit Pre-Socratic |
| post- פּוֹסְט־‎ | Latin | אַחַרְ־‎ aḥar בָּתַר־‎ batar | after | בָּתַר־מִקְרָאִי‎ batar-miqra'i post-old-testamental |
| pro- פְּרוֹ־‎ | Greek | - | for, on the side of | פְּרוֹגְנוֹזָה‎ prognoza prognosis |
| inter- אִינְטֶר־‎ | Latin | בֵּין־‎ ben | between, among | אִינְטֶרְנַצְיוֹנָל‎ internatzyonal international בֵּינְלְאֻמִּי‎ benle'umi international אִינְטֶרְנֶט‎ internet internet |
| intra- אִינְטְרָ־‎ | Latin | תּוֹךְ־‎ tokh פְּנִים־‎ pnim | inside | אִינְטְרָנֶט‎ intranet intranet |
| para- פָּרָ־‎ | Greek | - | beside, beyond | פָּרַפְּלֶג‎ parapleg paraplegic |
| homo- הוֹמוֹ־‎ | Greek | - | same | הוֹמוֹסֶקְסוּאָלִיּוּת‎ homoseqsualiyut homosexuality |
| hetero- הֵטֵרוֹ־‎ (often shortened hetro) | Greek | - | different | הֵטֵרוֹסֶקְסוּאָלִיּוּת‎ heteroseqsualiyut heterosexuality |
| di-/bi- בּי־‎ | Greek/Latin | דּוּ־‎ du | two | דּוּ־תַּחְמֹצֶת‎ du-tachmotzet (means: di-oxide) dioxide דּוּ־לְשׁוֹנִי‎ du-leshoni (means: bi-lingual) bilingual בִּיסֶקְסוּאָל‎ biseksual (means: bi-sexual) bisexual |
| geo- גֵּאוֹ־‎ | Greek | - | relating to the earth or its surface | גֵּאוֹתֶרְמִי‎ geotermi geothermal |
| retro- רֶטְרוֹ־‎ | Latin | - | backwards | רֶטְרוֹאַקְטִיבִי‎ retroaqtivi retroactive |
| semi- סֶמִי־‎ | Latin | דְמוּי־‎ dmui- חַצִי־‎ ḥatsi- | half, similar to- | סֶמִיטְרֵיְלֶר‎ semitreyler semitrailer |
| hemi- הֶמִי־‎ | Greek | חֲצִי־‎ ḥatsi- | half | הֶמִיסְפֶרָה‎ hemisfera hemisphere חֲצִי־סְפֶרָה‎ ḥatsi-sfera hemisphere הַחְלָפַת חֲצִי־מִפרָק‎ haḥlafat ḥatsi mifrak hemi-arthroplasty |
| electro- אֶלֶקְטְרוֹ־‎ | Greek | - | electric, electricity | אֶלֶקְטְרוֹאֶנְצֶפָלוֹגְרָף‎ eleqtroentzfalograf electroencephalograph (EEG) |
| anti- אַנְטִי־‎ | Greek | - | opposite | אַנְטִיכְּרִיסְט‎ antikrist Antichrist אַנְטִי־חֹמֶר‎ anti-chomer antimatter |
| infra- אִינְפְרָה־‎ | Latin | תַּת־‎ tat | below, beneath | אִינְפְרָה־אָדֹם‎ infra-adom infrared |
| mono- מוֹנוֹ־‎ | Greek | חַד־‎ chad | one, sole, only | מוֹנוֹלוֹג‎ monolog monologue חַד־לְשׁוֹנִי‎ chad-leshoni monolingual |
| uni- אוּנִי־‎ | Latin | חַד־‎ chad | one, whole | חַד־אוֹפַן‎ chad-ofan (lit. uni-wheel) unicycle |
| poly- פּוֹלִי־‎ | Greek | רַב־‎ rav | many | פּוֹלִיגַמְיָה‎ poligamya polygamy |
| multi- מוּלְטִי־‎ | Latin | רַב־‎ rav | many | מוּלְטִימֶדְיָה‎ multimedya multimedia רַב־לְשׁוֹנִי‎ rav-leshoni multilingual |
| tele- טֶלֶ־‎ | Greek | - | at a distance | טֶלֶסְקוֹפּ‎ telesqop telescope |
| super- סוּפֶּר־‎ | Latin | עַל־‎ al | over, above, more than, better | סוּפֶּרְנוֹבָה‎ supernova supernova עַל־טִבְעִי‎ al-tiv'i supernatural |
| hyper- הִיפֶּר־‎ (soft i) | Greek | - | extra specially, over, high | הִיפֶּרְאַקְטִיבִי‎ hiperaqtivi hyperactive |
| tri- טְרִי־‎ (soft i) | Greek | תְּלַת‎ tlat | three | טְרִיאַתְלוֹן‎ triatlon triathlon תְּלַת אוֹפַן‎ tlat-Ofan (lit. three-wheel) tricycle |
| re- רֶ־‎ | Latin | - | again, back | רֶאוֹרְגָּנִיזַצְיָה‎ reorganizatzya reorganization רֶה־אִרְגּוּן‎ re-irgun reorganization רֶבִיזְיָה‎ revizya revision |
| sub- סַאבּ־‎ | Latin | תַּת־‎ tat | under, lower than, less than | תַּת־מוּדָע‎ tat-muda subconscious |
| extra- אֶקְסְטְרָ־‎ | Latin | חוּץ־‎ chutz | outside | חוּץ־תָּאִי‎ chutz-tai extracellular אֶקְסְטְרָטֶרִיטוֹרְיָאלִי‎ eqstrateritoryali extraterritorial |
| neo- נֵאוֹ־‎ | Greek | - | new | נֵאוֹלוֹגִיזְם‎ neologizm neologism |
| proto- | Greek | אָב־‎ av קְדַם־‎ qedam | first, original, father | אַבְטִיפּוּס‎ avtipus prototype |
| socio- סוֹצְיוֹ־‎ sots'io | French | - | society, social, sociological | סוֹצְיוֹלִינְגְּוִיסְטִיקָה‎ sotzyolingvistiqa sociolinguistics |
| hydro- הִידְרוֹ־‎ | Greek | - | relating to water, or using water | הִידְרוֹאֶלֶקְטְרִי‎ hidroeleqtri hydroelectric |
| hypo- הִיפּוֹ־‎ | Greek | - | under or below something, low | הִיפּוֹגְלִיקֶמְיָה‎ hipogliqemya hypoglycemia |
| iso- אִיזוֹ־‎/אִיסוֹ־‎ izo/iso | Greek | - | equal | אִיזוֹטוֹפּ‎ izotop isotope |
| meta- מֶטָ־‎ | Greek | - | after, along with, beyond, among | מֶטָבּוֹלִיזְם‎ metabolizm metabolism |
| mega- מֶגָ־‎ | Greek | - | very large, million | מֶגָהֶרְץ‎ megahertz megahertz |
| micro- מִיקְרוֹ־‎ | Greek | - | minute size, 1/1,000,000 | מִיקְרוֹסְקוֹפּ‎ miqrosqop microscope |
| trans- טְרַנְס־‎ | Latin | - | across | טְרַנְסְאַטְלַנְטִי‎ transatlanti transatlantic |
| idio- אִידְיוֹ־‎ | Greek | - | individual, personal, unique | אִידְיוֹמָטִי‎ idyomati idiomatic |
| pyro- פִּירוֹ־‎ | Greek | - | fire | פִּירוֹמֶטֶר‎ pirometer pyrometer פִּירוֹמָן‎ piroman pyromaniac |
| re- | | שִׁ־‎ she | again | שִׁכְתוּב‎ shechtuv rewrite |
| auto- אוֹטוֹ־‎ | Greek | - | self | אוֹטוֹמָטִי‎ otomati automatic |