Lesson 21: How Do You Feel?
Beyond “I’m fine”, you can say how you really feel. Feelings in Hebrew are simply adjectives — and like all adjectives, they change with your gender.
A caring check-in
Maya
מָה שְׁלוֹמְךָ?
ma shlomcha?
How are you?
Ido
אֲנִי לֹא כָּל כָּךְ טוֹב. אֲנִי עָיֵף וְקְצָת עָצוּב.
ani lo kol kach tov. ani ayef ve’ktsat atsuv.
I’m not so good. I’m tired and a bit sad.
Maya
לָמָּה אַתָּה עָצוּב?
lama ata atsuv?
Why are you sad?
Ido
יֵשׁ לִי הַרְבֵּה עֲבוֹדָה.
yesh li harbe avoda.
I have a lot of work.
Maya
אַל תִּדְאַג, מָחָר יִהְיֶה יוֹתֵר טוֹב!
al tid’ag, machar yihye yoter tov!
Don’t worry, tomorrow will be better!
Grammar: feelings agree in gender
To say how you feel, just put אֲנִי (ani, “I”)
- the feeling — no word for “am”. The adjective takes the masculine or feminine form:
| Feeling | a man says | a woman says |
|---|---|---|
| happy | שָׂמֵחַ sameach | שְׂמֵחָה smecha |
| sad | עָצוּב atsuv | עֲצוּבָה atsuva |
| tired | עָיֵף ayef | עֲיֵפָה ayefa |
Tip: אַל תִּדְאַג (al tid’ag, “don’t worry”) to a man, אַל תִּדְאֲגִי (al tid’agi) to a woman — a kind thing to know how to say.
Vocabulary
Feelings (m. / f.)
| שָׂמֵחַ / שְׂמֵחָה | sameach / smecha | happy |
| עָצוּב / עֲצוּבָה | atsuv / atsuva | sad |
| כּוֹעֵס / כּוֹעֶסֶת | ko’es / ko’eset | angry |
| עָיֵף / עֲיֵפָה | ayef / ayefa | tired |
Useful words
| לְהַרְגִּישׁ | lehargish | to feel |
| הַרְבֵּה | harbe | a lot, many |
| אַל תִּדְאַג | al tid’ag | don’t worry (to a man) |