Lesson 6: My Family
Noa introduces her family. Read her short story aloud.
The story
קוֹרְאִים לִי נֹעָה.
kor’im li Noa.
My name is Noa.
יֵשׁ לִי מִשְׁפָּחָה גְּדוֹלָה.
yesh li mishpacha gdola.
I have a big family.
אַבָּא שֶׁלִּי עוֹבֵד בְּבֵית חוֹלִים.
abba sheli oved beveit cholim.
My dad works in a hospital.
אִמָּא שֶׁלִּי מוֹרָה.
ima sheli mora.
My mom is a teacher.
יֵשׁ לִי אָח אֶחָד וְאָחוֹת אַחַת.
yesh li ach echad ve’achot achat.
I have one brother and one sister.
אֲנַחְנוּ גָּרִים בְּתֵל אָבִיב.
anachnu garim be’Tel Aviv.
We live in Tel Aviv.
אֲנִי אוֹהֶבֶת אֶת הַמִּשְׁפָּחָה שֶׁלִּי.
ani ohevet et hamishpacha sheli.
I love my family.
Grammar: “I have” and “my”
Hebrew has no verb “to have.” Instead it says “there is to me”:
- יֵשׁ לִי yesh li — “I have” (literally “there-is to-me”)
- יֵשׁ לִי אָח yesh li ach — “I have a brother”
To say “my,” Hebrew puts the word שֶׁל (shel, “of”) after the noun:
- אַבָּא שֶׁלִּי abba sheli — “my dad” (literally “dad of-me”)
- הַמִּשְׁפָּחָה שֶׁלִּי hamishpacha sheli — “my family”
One more thing: the little word אֶת (et) has no English translation. It simply marks a definite direct object — here, the family that Noa loves. You’ll meet it again and again.
Vocabulary
Nouns
| מִשְׁפָּחָה | mishpacha | family |
| אַבָּא | abba | dad |
| אִמָּא | ima | mom |
| אָח | ach | brother |
| אָחוֹת | achot | sister |
| מוֹרָה | mora | teacher (f.) |
| בֵּית חוֹלִים | beit cholim | hospital |
Verbs
| עוֹבֵד | oved | work (m.) |
| גָּרִים | garim | live, reside (pl.) |
| אוֹהֶבֶת | ohevet | love (f.) |
Adjectives
| גָּדוֹל / גְּדוֹלָה | gadol / gdola | big (m. / f.) |
Numbers
| אֶחָד / אַחַת | echad / achat | one (m. / f.) |
Pronouns
| אֲנַחְנוּ | anachnu | we |
Function words
| יֵשׁ | yesh | there is / there are |
| שֶׁל | shel | of (possession) |
| אֶת | et | (marks a definite object) |