Lesson 19: Animals
Animals are fun, friendly vocabulary — and a nice way to practise “I have” and plurals again.
Talking about pets
יֵשׁ לְךָ חַיּוֹת בַּבַּיִת?
yesh lecha chayot babayit?
Do you have animals at home?
כֵּן, יֵשׁ לִי כֶּלֶב וְחָתוּל.
ken, yesh li kelev vechatul.
Yes, I have a dog and a cat.
אֵיךְ קוֹרְאִים לַכֶּלֶב?
eich kor’im lakelev?
What’s the dog’s name?
רֶקְס. הוּא גָּדוֹל וְחָבִיב.
reks. hu gadol vechaviv.
Rex. He’s big and friendly.
חָמוּד! אֲנִי אוֹהֶבֶת כְּלָבִים.
chamud! ani ohevet klavim.
Cute! I love dogs.
Grammar: “he / she” for animals, and plurals
Hebrew has no neutral “it” — animals are הוּא (hu, he) or הִיא (hi, she), and their adjectives agree, just like for people.
Plurals follow the patterns you already know — masculine ־ִים (-im), feminine ־וֹת (-ot):
- כֶּלֶב kelev (dog) → כְּלָבִים klavim
- צִפּוֹר tsipor (bird) → צִפּוֹרִים tsiporim
Tip: The general word חַיָּה (chaya, “animal”) is feminine; its plural is חַיּוֹת (chayot).
Vocabulary
Animals
| כֶּלֶב | kelev | dog |
| חָתוּל | chatul | cat |
| צִפּוֹר | tsipor | bird |
| סוּס | sus | horse |
| דָּג | dag | fish |
| חַיָּה | chaya | animal |
Describing them
| חָמוּד | chamud | cute |
| חָבִיב | chaviv | friendly, lovable |
| הוּא / הִיא | hu / hi | he / she, it |