אכל akhál, “eat,” is pa'al, root א־כ־ל. It belongs to a small closed set of א-initial verbs whose root alef disappears into a cholam future: יֹאכַל yokhál, not an ordinary guttural form such as ye'ekhól. That same history creates אוכל, one of the richest everyday homographs in Hebrew.
Complete paradigm
| Person | Past | Future |
|---|---|---|
| אני | אָכַלְתִּי akhálti | אוֹכַל okhál |
| אתה | אָכַלְתָּ akhálta | תֹּאכַל tokhál |
| את | אָכַלְתְּ akhált | תֹּאכְלִי tokhlí |
| הוא | אָכַל akhál | יֹאכַל yokhál |
| היא | אָכְלָה akhlá | תֹּאכַל tokhál |
| אנחנו | אָכַלְנוּ akhálnu | נֹאכַל nokhál |
| אתם / אתן | אָכַלְתֶּם / אָכַלְתֶּן akháltem / akhálten | תֹּאכְלוּ tokhlú |
| הם / הן | אָכְלוּ akhlú | יֹאכְלוּ yokhlú |
| Form type | Forms | Register |
|---|---|---|
| present | אוֹכֵל okhél · אוֹכֶלֶת okhélet · אוֹכְלִים okhlím · אוֹכְלוֹת okhlót | neutral |
| imperative | אֱכוֹל ekhól · אִכְלִי ikhlí · אִכְלוּ ikhlú | real; future commands dominate conversation |
| infinitive | לֶאֱכוֹל le'ekhól | neutral |
| action noun | אֲכִילָה akhilá | eating; neutral |
Careful אכלתם / אכלתן begins with a chataf-patach, אֲכַלְתֶּם / אֲכַלְתֶּן, and takes final stress. Everyday speech normally uses the table's full initial vowel and retracted stress, akháltem / akhálten. The specifically feminine plural future תאכלנה is (formal or literary); ordinary Hebrew uses תאכלו for every plural group.
מה אכלת היום?
ma akhálta hayóm?
What did you eat today? (to a man)
אנחנו אוכלים בחוץ בשישי.
anákhnu okhlím bakhúts bashishí.
We eat out on Fridays.
The four readings of אוכל
Ktiv male writes four frequent words identically. Their vowels, stress and syntax differ.
| Pointed | Reading | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| אוֹכֶל | ókhel | food, noun |
| אוֹכֵל | okhél | eats / is eating, present m.sg. |
| אוֹכַל | okhál | I will eat |
| אוּכַל | ukhál | I will be able, future of יכול |
אני אוכל פה כל יום, והאוכל תמיד טרי.
aní okhél po kol yom, veha'ókhel tamíd tarí.
I eat here every day, and the food is always fresh. (m. speaker)
אני אוכל משהו בדרך אם אוכל לצאת בזמן.
aní okhál máshehu badérekh im ukhál latsét bazmán.
I'll eat something on the way if I can leave on time.
The spelling נאכל has another collision. Pa'al נֹאכַל nokhál is “we will eat”; nif'al present נֶאֱכָל ne'ekhál is “is eaten.” The latter has a kamatz in the present participle even though the unpointed form gives no clue.
נאכל בחוץ, כי האוכל שנשאר בבית כבר לא נאכל.
nokhál bakhúts, ki ha'ókhel shenish'ár babáyit kvar lo ne'ekhál.
We'll eat out, because the food left at home is no longer edible.
Imperative and everyday commands
The true forms אכול / אכלי / אכלו are legitimate and remain visible in instructions, slogans and elevated speech. Everyday Israeli Hebrew normally commands with the second-person future: תאכל, תאכלי, תאכלו. This is the language-wide future-as-imperative pattern, not an irregular replacement peculiar to אכל.
תאכלי משהו לפני שאת יוצאת.
tokhlí máshehu lifnéi she'at yotsét.
Eat something before you go out. (to a woman; everyday)
אכול לאט ולעס היטב.
ekhól le'át ul'ás heitév.
Eat slowly and chew well. (formal written instruction to a man)
בתיאבון bete'avón is the ordinary wish before a meal, equivalent to “enjoy your meal” or bon appétit. It contains no verb and does not change for gender or number.
Objects and partitives
An indefinite food is a bare direct object: אכלתי פלאפל. A definite food takes את: אכלתי את הפלאפל. With מ־, the meaning is partitive—eating some from a larger portion or source.
אכלתי פלאפל בדרך לעבודה.
akhálti faláfel badérekh la'avodá.
I ate falafel on the way to work.
אכלתי מהעוגה, אבל השארתי לך חצי.
akhálti meha'ugá, avál hish'árti lekhá khétsi.
I had some of the cake, but I left you half. (to a man)
הוא לא אוכל בשר, אז הזמנו לו מנה טבעונית.
hu lo okhél basár, az hizmánu lo maná tiv'onít.
He doesn't eat meat, so we ordered him a vegan dish.
Extended and idiomatic uses
In (informal) speech, אכל extends from literal consumption to resources, deception and unpleasant consequences. המנוע אוכל דלק means an engine consumes fuel. הוא אכל את זה means “he fell for it/bought it.” אכלנו אותה means “we're in trouble / we've had it,” with a strongly colloquial, sometimes crude tone.
המנוע הזה אוכל דלק כאילו אין מחר.
hamanóa hazé okhél délek ke'ílu ein makhár.
This engine guzzles fuel like there's no tomorrow. (informal)
הוא באמת אכל את הסיפור הזה?
hu be'emét akhál et hasipúr hazé?
Did he really fall for that story? (informal)
אם פספסנו את הרכבת האחרונה, אכלנו אותה.
im pispásnu et harakévet ha'akharoná, akhálnu otá.
If we missed the last train, we're screwed. (strongly informal)
Common Mistakes
1. Using את with an indefinite food.
❌ אכלתי את פלאפל בצוהריים.
Incorrect—פלאפל is indefinite here, so it takes no את.
✅ אכלתי פלאפל בצוהריים ואת הסלט שמרתי לערב.
akhálti faláfel batsohoráyim ve'et hasalát shamárti la'érev.
I ate falafel at lunchtime and saved the salad for the evening.
2. Pronouncing the root alef in the future.
❌ הוא יאכל
hu ye'ekhál
Incorrect—the special פ״א future is yokhál; the alef is not a separate consonant.
✅ הוא יאכל איתנו אחרי העבודה.
hu yokhál itánu akharéi ha'avodá.
He'll eat with us after work.
3. Giving the infinitive the ע/ח-style la- prefix.
❌ לאכול
la'akhól
Incorrect—initial א takes a segol here: le'ekhól.
✅ אני רוצה לאכול לפני הפגישה.
aní rotsé le'ekhól lifnéi hapgishá.
I want to eat before the meeting. (m. speaker)
Key Takeaways
- Learn אָכַל – אוֹכֵל – יֹאכַל – לֶאֱכוֹל as the special א-initial set.
- אוכל is food, present “eats,” future “I will eat,” or future “I will be able.”
- נאכל is pa'al “we will eat” or nif'al present “is eaten.”
- Everyday commands prefer תאכל / תאכלי / תאכלו; the true imperative remains available in formal instruction.
- Definite objects take את, indefinite ones do not, and מ־ marks some of a larger portion.
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