English packages each other as one fixed two-word pronoun. Hebrew builds a small frame instead: one half, the preposition required by the verb, and a matching second half. That middle slot is the key to the entire system — זה את זה “each other,” זה עם זה “with each other,” זה לזה “to/for each other.”
A two-part frame with the preposition in the middle
Start from the verb. If it takes a direct object, the middle is את; if it governs ל־ or עם, that same preposition appears inside the reciprocal.
| Verb frame | Reciprocal frame | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| מכיר את | זה את זה · אחד את השני | know each other |
| עוזר ל־ | זה לזה · אחד לשני | help each other |
| מדבר עם | זה עם זה · אחד עם השני | talk with each other |
יואב ומאיה מכירים זה את זה מאז התיכון.
yo'áv umáya makirím ze et ze me'áz hatikhón
Yoav and Maya have known each other since high school. (mixed-gender pair)
השכנים עוזרים זה לזה עם הקניות והילדים.
hashkhením ozrím ze lazé im hakniyót vehayeladím
The neighbours help each other with the shopping and the children.
הם דיברו זה עם זה לפני שענו להצעה.
hem dibrú ze im ze lifnéi she'anú lahatsa'á
They spoke with each other before responding to the proposal.
The preposition is not ornamental and it is not chosen by the reciprocal phrase. It belongs to the verb. This is why עזרו זה לזה is correct but a direct translation shaped like helped each other with את is not.
זה את זה and אחד את השני are both modern Hebrew
The two main series differ much less than prescriptive advice often suggests.
| Series | Examples | Register |
|---|---|---|
| זה … זה | זה את זה · זה לזה · זה עם זה | neutral; especially comfortable in careful writing |
| אחד … השני | אחד את השני · אחד לשני · אחד עם השני | dominant in everyday speech; increasingly common in writing |
| איש … רעהו / אחיו | איש את רעהו · איש את אחיו | (literary/Biblical) |
אנחנו שולחים הודעות אחד לשני כמעט כל בוקר.
anákhnu sholkhím hoda'ót ekhád lashení kim'át kol bóker
We send each other messages almost every morning. (informal/everyday)
הם מכבדים אחד את השני גם כשהם לא מסכימים.
hem mekabdím ekhád et hashení gam kshehém lo maskimím
They respect each other even when they disagree. (ordinary modern Hebrew)
חברי המשלחת בירכו איש את רעהו עם פרסום התוצאות.
khavréi hamishlákhat berkhú ish et re'éhu im pirsúm hatotsa'ót
The delegation members congratulated one another when the results were published. (literary/elevated)
The Academy of the Hebrew Language's discussion אחד את השני וחלופותיו does not ban אחד את השני. It explicitly notes that the Academy does not issue rulings on syntax and style; campaigns to replace the phrase with זה את זה come from language editors. Treat this as a register choice between two grammatical options, never as a correct-versus-incorrect pair.
Agreement: match the participants, not the nearby noun
The זה series distinguishes gender and number in the careful traditional pattern. The Academy gives a clear model:
| Participants | Form | Example frame |
|---|---|---|
| two masculine or a mixed-gender pair | זֶה … זֶה | יואב ומאיה מכירים זה את זה |
| two feminine participants | זוֹ … זוֹ | שתי האחיות עוזרות זו לזו |
| plural groups or multiple parties | אֵלֶּה … אֵלֶּה · אֵלּוּ … אֵלּוּ | הקבוצות מאשימות אלה את אלה |
For a mixed pair, careful traditional phrasing uses the unmarked masculine זה את זה on both sides. Mixed זה את זו / זה לזו is also widespread in contemporary native usage, especially about couples, because it makes the participants' genders visible. Treat the former as the safe careful standard and the latter as a live modern variant, not as broken Hebrew. In both patterns, the reciprocal remains symmetrical in meaning.
שתי האחיות מתקשרות זו לזו בכל ערב.
shtei ha'akhayót mitkashrót zo lazó bekhól érev
The two sisters call each other every evening.
שתי המדינות תלויות זו בזו מבחינה כלכלית.
shtei hamedinót tluyót zo bazó mibkhiná kalkalít
The two countries depend on each other economically.
שלוש הקבוצות האשימו אלה את אלה בעיכוב.
shalósh hakvutsót he'eshímu éle et éle ba'ikúv
The three groups blamed one another for the delay.
The אחד series likewise has a feminine pair, אחת את השנייה / אחת לשנייה, when two women are explicitly involved. In casual mixed or generic reference, אחד את השני is the unmarked form.
Why אחד … השני feels translated
The אחד … השני pattern is generally analysed as a loan translation of European “one another” constructions — English one another, German einander, and above all Yiddish איינער … אַנדערן. Aharon Kaminka called attention to it in Haaretz in 1943.
That history does not make the construction ungrammatical today. The Academy also points out, wryly, that the usual objection about imperfect symmetry would condemn the impeccably biblical איש את רעהו too: its first half says “a man,” while the second says “his fellow.” Languages conventionalize reciprocal frames; they do not have to look like mirror images word by word.
When the verb already means “each other”
Some nif'al and hitpa'el verbs carry reciprocity internally. A plural subject is enough: נפגשו met, נועדו convened (formal/journalistic), נישאו married (formal), התראו saw each other, התחבקו hugged, התכתבו corresponded. No reciprocal phrase is required.
נפגשנו במקרה בתחנה ודיברנו עד שהרכבת הגיעה.
nifgáshnu bemikré batakhaná vedibárnu ad sheharakévet higí'a
We ran into each other at the station and talked until the train arrived.
הילדים התחבקו בכניסה כאילו לא התראו שנים.
hayeladím hitkhabkú baknisá ke'ílu lo hitra'ú shaním
The children hugged at the entrance as though they hadn't seen each other for years.
By contrast, Hebrew has no reciprocal verb derived from ע־ז־ר “help.” That is exactly where the analytic phrase earns its place: עזרו זה לזה. Which verbs carry reciprocity is lexical, so the fuller comparison is routed to reciprocal strategies, reciprocal hitpa'el and reciprocal nif'al.
Common Mistakes
1. Treating “each other” as one unanalyzed chunk and omitting the middle preposition.
❌ הם דיברו זה זה לפני הפגישה
Incorrect — the verb is דיבר עם, so עם must stand between the halves: הם דיברו זה עם זה.
✅ הם דיברו זה עם זה לפני הפגישה והגיעו להסכמה.
hem dibrú ze im ze lifnéi hapgishá vehigí'u lehaskamá
They spoke with each other before the meeting and reached an agreement.
2. Giving עזר the direct-object version because English says “help each other.”
❌ הם עזרו אחד את השני עם המעבר
Incorrect — עזר governs ל־, so the reciprocal is אחד לשני or זה לזה.
✅ הם עזרו אחד לשני עם המעבר וסיימו לפני הערב.
hem azrú ekhád lashení im hama'avár vesiyému lifnéi ha'érev
They helped each other with the move and finished before evening. (ordinary speech)
3. Treating אחד את השני as an error because an editor prefers זה את זה. Both are grammatical; the contrast is register and cadence.
✅ אנחנו מכירים אחד את השני כבר שנים.
anákhnu makirím ekhád et hashení kvar shaním
We've known each other for years. (ordinary conversation)
✅ הצדדים התחייבו לעדכן זה את זה בכתב.
hatsdadím hitkhayvú le'adkén ze et ze bikhtáv
The parties undertook to update each other in writing. (formal/legal)
4. Assuming mixed-gender זה את זו is either the careful default or impossible. Traditional careful usage keeps both halves masculine, while current native usage also mixes them to show each participant's gender.
✅ יואב ומאיה מכירים זה את זו דרך חברים משותפים.
yo'áv umáya makirím ze et zo dérekh khaverím meshutafím
Yoav and Maya know each other through mutual friends. (common modern mixed-gender wording)
✅ יואב ומאיה מכירים זה את זה דרך חברים משותפים.
yo'áv umáya makirím ze et ze dérekh khaverím meshutafím
Yoav and Maya know each other through mutual friends. (careful traditional convention)
Key Takeaways
- Hebrew reciprocals are two-part frames with the verb's own preposition in the middle: זה את זה, זה לזה, זה עם זה.
- אחד את השני is dominant in speech and spreading in writing. זה את זה is especially comfortable in careful writing; both are grammatical.
- Careful traditional agreement uses זה … זה for masculine or mixed pairs, זו … זו for two feminine participants, and אלה … אלה / אלו … אלו for plurals. Mixed זה את זו is also a live modern variant.
- איש את רעהו / איש את אחיו are literary or Biblical, not everyday defaults.
- Loan-translation history explains the shape of אחד … השני but does not invalidate a fully established modern construction.
- Inherently reciprocal verbs such as נפגשו, התראו and התחבקו need no added phrase. Ordinary verbs such as עזר require one.
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Start learning Hebrew →Related Topics
- Reciprocal Hitpa'el: התכתבו, התנשקו, התווכחוB1 — A group of hitpa'el verbs builds 'each other' into the verb itself, so the sentence needs either a plural subject or a partner on a preposition — and which preposition is a per-verb fact that only some dictionaries will actually commit to.
- Reciprocals: התפעל vs אחד את השניB2 — Hebrew expresses ‘each other’ either inside lexical hitpa'el and nif'al verbs or with two-part frames such as זה את זה, זה לזה and אחד לשני.
- Reciprocal Nif'al: נפגשנו, נלחמו, נדברנוC1 — A small closed set of nif'al verbs describes two parties acting on each other — and each of them governs a preposition you have to learn with the verb, because נפגש takes עם and never את, while נלחם spreads across four prepositions with a real difference in meaning.
- עצמי, עצמך, עצמו: Reflexive PronounsB1 — The inflected forms of עצם express ‘myself, yourself, himself’ as objects and prepositional complements, while Hebrew often puts reflexivity inside a hitpa'el verb instead.