Hebrew word of the day · Core vocabulary
הַ־ha
the
In Hebrew, my house is literally the house of me.
Hear it read by a native speaker
In a sentence
הַבַּיִת שֶׁלִּי
habayit sheli
My house
How Israelis use ha
הַבַּיִת שֶׁלִּי
(habayit sheli) My house. Literally: the house of me.
✗The dropped letter
בַּיִת שֶׁלִּי (bayit sheli) An Israeli hears a sentence that stopped halfway.
✓Put the ha back
הַבַּיִת שֶׁלִּי (habayit sheli, my house) This is the everyday version.
Why
Hebrew marks the thing owned as known first, then says whose it is.
With an adjective, twice
הַבַּיִת הַגָּדוֹל (habayit hagadol, the big house) Both words carry the ha.
Say it tonight
Someone asks where you are. אֲנִי בַּבַּיִת (ani babayit, I'm at home)
The part apps skip
בְּהַבַּיִת Nobody says this. The ha melts into the vowel. Always babayit.
The mistake English speakers make
"My house" in Hebrew needs one extra letter, and almost nobody adds it.
✗The straight translation
בַּיִת שֶׁלִּי (bayit sheli) An Israeli hears half a sentence and waits for the rest.
✓What an Israeli says
הַבַּיִת שֶׁלִּי (habayit sheli, my house) The ha at the front finishes it.
Why
Hebrew says it as "the house of mine", so the thing you own takes the ha first: הַ־ (ha, the).
Same shape every time
הָאוֹטוֹ שֶׁלִּי (haoto sheli, my car) הַכֶּלֶב שֶׁלִּי (hakelev sheli, my dog)
Say it tonight
Point at the keys on the table. הַמַּפְתְּחוֹת שֶׁלִּי (hamaftekhot sheli, my keys)
Today's Hebrew challenge
Hebrew challenge #23
יַאלְלָה בַּיי
yala bay
What does it mean?
- AHurry up, you're late
- BLet's go for a walk
- COkay, bye, we're done here
The answer
CIt's how Israelis close a phone call or a chat, a friendly way to say we're finished.
Published 5 October 2026 by the Israeli Hebrew Institute. Every word, sentence and vowel point on this page was checked by a native Israeli teacher.