English builds a tag from the grammar of the statement: isn't it?, didn't you?, won't they? Hebrew does something much lighter. It appends one short, invariant word — often נכון?, לא?, כן? or אה? — and lets that word invite confirmation.
אתה בא, נכון?
atá ba, nakhón?
You're coming, right? (to a man)
The tag has its own question rise, but the contour itself belongs on Israeli Hebrew intonation. This page concentrates on the invariant grammar and the job each tag does.
One tag survives every English change
English tags agree with an auxiliary, subject, tense and polarity. Hebrew tags agree with none of them. The same נכון? follows a masculine or feminine subject, a singular or plural subject, a positive or negative statement, and any tense.
| English statement + changing tag | Hebrew with one invariant tag |
|---|---|
| You're ready, aren't you? | אתה מוכן, נכון? |
| She called, didn't she? | היא התקשרה, נכון? |
| They'll wait, won't they? | הם יחכו, נכון? |
| We haven't met, have we? | לא נפגשנו, נכון? |
| It was expensive, wasn't it? | זה היה יקר, נכון? |
היא כבר שלחה את הקובץ, נכון?
hi kvar shalkhá et hakóvets, nakhón?
She's already sent the file, hasn't she?
לא נפגשנו קודם, נכון?
lo nifgáshnu kódem, nakhón?
We haven't met before, have we?
הם יחכו לנו ליד הכניסה, נכון?
hem yekhakú lánu leyád haknisá, nakhón?
They'll wait for us by the entrance, won't they?
נכון?: checking a proposition
As a tag, נכון? asks the listener to confirm the proposition just presented: “right?” It is neutral and works in conversation as well as careful speech. Modern Hebrew also uses נכון alone as a response meaning “right, correct,” which explains why it can both request and supply confirmation.
הפגישה עברה ליום חמישי, נכון?
hapgishá avrá leyóm khamishí, nakhón?
The meeting was moved to Thursday, right?
נכון, קיבלנו הודעה הבוקר.
nakhón, kibálnu hoda'á habóker
Right, we received a notice this morning.
The reply need not repeat the tag. כן, נכון, a fuller confirmation, or a correction can all answer it. The wider response repertoire belongs on agreeing and disagreeing.
לא? and כן?: opposite words, the same invariant grammar
לא? is a short negative tag comparable to “no?” or a general English “right?” It often presents the proposition as something the speaker expects the listener to recognize.
זה יקר יחסית, לא?
ze yakár yakhasít, lo?
It's relatively expensive, isn't it?
כבר דיברנו על זה פעם, לא?
kvar dibárnu al ze pá'am, lo?
We've already talked about this once, haven't we?
כן? literally uses the positive response word “yes?” as a tag. It asks for acknowledgement or checks that the listener is following. Its interpretation comes from position and delivery, not from agreement with the clause.
נפגשים בשמונה ליד התחנה, כן?
nifgashím bishmóne leyád hatakhaná, ken?
We're meeting at eight by the station, yes?
את שולחת לי הודעה כשאת יוצאת, כן?
at sholákhat li hoda'á kshe'át yotsét, ken?
You'll message me when you leave, OK? (to a woman; asking for acknowledgement)
Recorded casual-conversation research confirms נכון, לא and כן as Hebrew tag forms. It does not justify calling any one of them the universal or most frequent tag in Hebrew generally: the published sample is finite, and this guide makes no broader ranking.
אה?: an informal reaction check
Final אה? is (informal). It is close to English eh? or huh?: the speaker offers an immediate impression and pulls the listener into sharing or reacting to it. The same sound also occurs independently for hesitation, realization and surprise, so final position and the tag rise are essential.
חם פה, אה?
kham po, ah?
It's hot in here, eh? (informal; inviting a shared reaction)
הנוף מפה מדהים, אה?
hanóf mipó madhím, ah?
The view from here is amazing, huh? (informal)
This is not the tag for careful official speech. Its value is interpersonal: it asks the listener to react to what has just been noticed.
בסדר? and אוקיי? after a request or plan
After a request, instruction or arrangement, בסדר? and borrowed אוקיי? ask the listener to accept the proposal or confirm compliance. They do not merely check whether a factual statement is true.
תשלח לי את הגרסה הסופית עד הצהריים, בסדר?
tishlákh li et hagirsá hasofít ad hatsohoráyim, beséder?
Send me the final version by noon, OK? (to a man)
אני מזמינה מקום בחוץ ואתה בודק חניה, אוקיי?
aní mazmína makóm bakhúts ve'atá bodék khanayá, okéi?
I'll book an outside table and you check the parking, OK? (f. speaker to a man)
נכון ש...?: put the check first
Hebrew can move the confirmation frame before the proposition: נכון ש־... ? “is it true/right that ...?” Here נכון is followed by an attached ש־ clause. The speaker announces the check before giving the information to be confirmed.
נכון שכבר דיברנו על זה?
nakhón shekvar dibárnu al ze?
Haven't we already talked about this? (literally, 'is it right that...')
נכון שהמשרד סגור מחר?
nakhón shehamisrád sagúr makhár?
The office is closed tomorrow, right?
Compare the packaging: המשרד סגור מחר, נכון? states first and checks afterward; נכון שהמשרד סגור מחר? presents the truth of the whole proposition as the issue from the start.
Punctuation
In writing, set the appended tag off with a comma, and put the question mark after the tag: אתה בא, נכון? The statement is not separately punctuated because the entire written unit ends with the tag question.
In speech, keep the statement's ordinary delivery right up to the boundary; the separate tag then carries the checking rise. Do not turn every word of the statement into one long rising question.
המחיר כולל משלוח, לא?
hamekhír kolél mishlóakh, lo?
The price includes delivery, doesn't it? (comma before the tag; one question mark at the end)
Common Mistakes
There is no useful ungrammatical Hebrew tag to cross out here. The common errors are translation and register choices, so the contrasts below are deliberately pairs of valid Hebrew.
1. Rebuilding an English auxiliary tag. Hebrew keeps the tag invariant after every tense and subject.
✅ היא התקשרה אתמול, נכון?
hi hitkashrá etmól, nakhón?
She called yesterday, didn't she? (נכון does not encode 'did' or 'she')
✅ הם יתקשרו מחר, נכון?
hem yitkashrú makhár, nakhón?
They'll call tomorrow, won't they? (the same tag)
2. Flipping the Hebrew tag after a negative clause. English flips isn't to is; Hebrew still chooses a complete invariant tag.
✅ היא לא מגיעה היום, נכון?
hi lo magi'á hayóm, nakhón?
She isn't coming today, is she?
✅ היא מגיעה היום, נכון?
hi magi'á hayóm, nakhón?
She's coming today, isn't she?
3. Using a plan-acceptance tag as though it merely checked a fact. Both forms are grammatical, but they perform different actions.
✅ אתה גר בחיפה, נכון?
atá gar bekhéifa, nakhón?
You live in Haifa, right? (checking a fact)
✅ נפגשים בכניסה בשמונה, בסדר?
nifgashím baknisá bishmóne, beséder?
We'll meet at the entrance at eight, OK? (seeking agreement to a plan)
Key Takeaways
- Hebrew tags are invariant: they never agree with the subject, auxiliary, tense or polarity.
- נכון?, לא? and כן? request confirmation or acknowledgement; informal אה? pulls the listener into a shared reaction.
- בסדר? and אוקיי? naturally follow requests, instructions and plans, where the issue is acceptance rather than factual truth.
- נכון can also introduce the proposition: נכון שכבר דיברנו על זה?
- Write a comma before an appended tag and one question mark at the end: אתה בא, נכון?
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Start learning Hebrew →Related Topics
- Answering: כן, לא, and the Verb EchoA2 — Answer Hebrew yes/no questions with כן, לא, an inflected echo, or a natural reinforcing or hedging expression.
- Agreeing and DisagreeingB2 — Hebrew formulas for agreement, disagreement, and partial agreement, with register, naturalistic evidence, the dental click, and מה פתאום.
- נו: Impatience, Encouragement, DisbeliefB1 — Two letters with no lexical content at all, doing four dictionary-listed jobs — and the thing that picks between them is not the spelling but the tune. Hebrew Wiktionary says so outright: the meaning depends on context and intonation.