אהב aháv, “love / like,” is pa'al, root א־ה־ב. Both its first radical א and middle radical ה are guttural, so the vowels repeatedly adjust around them. The practical surprise is lexical: everyday Hebrew uses this single verb where English distinguishes emotionally strong love from ordinary like.
Principal parts and complete paradigm
| Part | Pointed ktiv male | Reading | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3ms past | אָהַב | aháv | he loved / liked |
| ms present | אוֹהֵב | ohév | loves / likes |
| 3ms future | יֹאהַב · יֶאֱהַב | yoháv · ye'eháv | he will love / like |
| infinitive | לֶאֱהוֹב | le'ehóv | to love / like |
| action noun | אַהֲבָה | ahavá | love |
| Person | Past |
|---|---|
| אני | אָהַבְתִּי ahávti |
| אתה | אָהַבְתָּ ahávta |
| את | אָהַבְתְּ ahávt |
| הוא · היא | אָהַב aháv · אָהֲבָה ahavá |
| אנחנו | אָהַבְנוּ ahávnu |
| אתם · אתן | אֲהַבְתֶּם · אֲהַבְתֶּן ahavtém · ahavtén |
| הם · הן | אָהֲבוּ ahavú |
| Present agreement | Form |
|---|---|
| masculine singular | אוֹהֵב ohév |
| feminine singular | אוֹהֶבֶת ohévet |
| masculine plural | אוֹהֲבִים ohavím |
| feminine plural | אוֹהֲבוֹת ohavót |
Everyday second-person plural past usually retracts the stress: אָהַבְתֶּם / אָהַבְתֶּן, ahávtem / ahávten. The carefully pointed table retains the normative initial chataf and final stress.
אני מאוד אוהבת את העבודה שלי, אבל השעות קשות.
aní me'ód ohévet et ha'avodá shelí, avál hasha'ót kashót
I really like my job, but the hours are difficult. (f. speaker)
הוא לא אוהב לדבר על זה ליד הילדים.
hu lo ohév ledabér al ze leyád hayeladím
He doesn't like talking about it around the children.
Two future patterns, both correct
אהב belongs to the small א-initial group that can lose the root alef in the future, producing a cholam: אוֹהַב, תֹּאהַב, יֹאהַב. Unlike אמר and אכל, it also has a full first-guttural future in which the alef remains audible: אֶאֱהַב, תֶּאֱהַב, יֶאֱהַב. The contracted pattern is especially characteristic of ordinary speech; the full pattern is also standard and encountered in speech and writing. The doublet is clearest in forms without a suffix; Pealim records a separate eased full variant in the plural, while the ordinary contracted 2fs is the secure everyday form.
| Person | Contracted future | Full future |
|---|---|---|
| אני | אוֹהַב oháv | אֶאֱהַב e'eháv |
| אתה · היא | תֹּאהַב toháv | תֶּאֱהַב te'eháv |
| את | תֹּאהֲבִי tohaví | — |
| הוא | יֹאהַב yoháv | יֶאֱהַב ye'eháv |
| אנחנו | נֹאהַב noháv | נֶאֱהַב ne'eháv |
| אתם · אתן | תֹּאהֲבוּ tohavú | תֶּאֶהֲבוּ te'ehavú |
| הם · הן | יֹאהֲבוּ yohavú | יֶאֶהֲבוּ ye'ehavú |
| formal/literary feminine plural | תֹּאהַבְנָה tohávna | תֶּאֱהַבְנָה te'ehávna |
The extra e in the full plural forms eases the sequence of two gutturals. Modern Hebrew uses the ordinary plural תאהבו / יאהבו for all-gender groups; the dedicated feminine form is (formal or literary).
אני בטוחה שתאהב את המקום הזה.
aní betukhá shetoháv et hamakóm hazé
I'm sure you'll love this place. (f. speaker, to a man; contracted future)
עם הזמן הם יאהבו גם את השכונה החדשה.
im hazmán hem ye'ehavú gam et hashkhuná hakhadashá
In time, they'll also come to like the new neighborhood. (full future)
One everyday verb for love and like
אני אוהב אותך to a partner and אני אוהב פלאפל about food use the same neutral verb. Intensity comes from the object, situation and modifiers such as מאוד, not from a required lexical switch. חיבב “was fond of” exists but belongs mainly to (formal or literary) description and is not the everyday weaker counterpart of אהב.
אני אוהב אותך, ואני שמח שאנחנו כאן יחד.
aní ohév otákh, va'aní saméakh she'anákhnu kan yákhad
I love you, and I'm happy we're here together. (m. speaker, to a woman)
אני אוהבת שוקולד, אבל לא כל יום.
aní ohévet shokolád, avál lo kol yom
I like chocolate, but not every day. (f. speaker)
For nuanced alternatives, Hebrew changes the construction rather than weakening אהב. מוצא חן בעיניי means someone or something appeals to me; נהנה מ־ means enjoy an activity or experience. These do not form a neat intensity scale with אהב: each packages the attitude differently.
הבחור החדש מוצא חן בעיניי, אבל אני בקושי מכירה אותו.
habakhúr hekhadásh motsé khen be'eináy, avál aní bekóshi makirá otó
I like the new guy, but I barely know him. (f. speaker; literally, he appeals to me)
Objects and complements
אהב is transitive. In neutral/careful speech and writing, a definite object takes את; an indefinite or generic object does not. Colloquial speech may drop את before a definite object, but that is a register choice rather than the careful default.
| Frame | Use | Model |
|---|---|---|
| אהב את + definite noun | a particular person or thing | אוהבת את הים |
| אהב + indefinite/generic noun | a class, substance or nonspecific thing | אוהב חתולים |
| אהב + infinitive | like doing something | אוהב לרוץ בבוקר |
| אהב ש־ | like the fact or situation that... | אוהבת שיש שקט |
אני אוהב חתולים, אבל החתול הזה מפחד ממני.
aní ohév khatulím, avál hekhatúl hazé mefakhéd miméni
I like cats, but this cat is afraid of me. (m. speaker)
אני אוהבת שיש שקט בבית בבוקר.
aní ohévet sheyesh shéket babáyit babóker
I like it when the house is quiet in the morning. (f. speaker)
The full את contrast is developed on omitting את; the verb does not create a special exception.
Imperative, action noun and related adjectives
The true imperative אֱהַב, אֶהֱבִי, אֶהֱבוּ is grammatical but extremely rare in ordinary interaction. It appears in maxims, elevated exhortation and literary language; everyday speakers cannot usually command a feeling and instead express a wish or use a future form.
The action noun אַהֲבָה is “love.” אָהוּב / אהובה means “beloved, well-liked,” while מְאוֹהָב ב־ / מאוהבת ב־ means “in love with,” with the person after ב־.
זה השיר האהוב עליי מהאלבום.
ze hashír ha'ahúv aláy meha'álbom
This is my favorite song on the album.
היא מאוהבת בו מאז התיכון.
hi me'ohévet bo me'áz hatikhón
She's been in love with him since high school.
Homographs worth stopping over
Bare אהבה is past אָהֲבָה ahavá, “she loved,” or noun אַהֲבָה ahavá, “love”; in Israeli pronunciation even the readings coincide. Bare נאהב can be contracted pa'al future נֹאהַב noháv, “we will love,” full pa'al נֶאֱהַב ne'eháv, or nif'al נֶאֱהָב ne'eháv, “beloved / loved.” Syntax, time and surrounding words do the separating.
אהבתי! מתי עושים את זה שוב?
ahávti! matáy osím et ze shuv?
I loved it! When are we doing it again?
אוהבים אותך כאן, אל תשכח את זה.
ohavím otkhá kan, al tishkákh et ze
People love you here; don't forget that. (to a man)
Common Mistakes
1. Choosing a register with a definite object.
✅ אני אוהבת העבודה שלי.
aní ohévet ha'avodá shelí.
I like my job. (female speaker; colloquial dropped את)
✅ אני אוהבת את העבודה שלי ואת הצוות.
aní ohévet et ha'avodá shelí ve'et hatsévet
I like my job and the team. (f. speaker)
2. Adding את before a generic object.
❌ הוא אוהב את חתולים.
Incorrect — generic חתולים has no article and therefore no את.
✅ הוא אוהב חתולים אבל אלרגי לכלבים.
hu ohév khatulím avál alérgi likhlavím
He likes cats but is allergic to dogs.
3. Treating מאוהב as a synonym without its preposition.
❌ היא מאוהבת אותו.
Incorrect — מאוהב 'in love' governs ב־, not a direct object.
✅ היא מאוהבת בו, אבל הוא עדיין לא יודע.
hi me'ohévet bo, avál hu adáyin lo yodéa
She's in love with him, but he still doesn't know.
Key Takeaways
- אהב is the neutral everyday verb for both emotional “love” and ordinary “like.”
- The future has two standard patterns: contracted אוהב / תאהב / יאהב and full אאהב / תאהב / יאהב, distinguished by pronunciation and, only in 1sg, spelling.
- Neutral/careful Hebrew marks definite objects with את; colloquial speech may drop it. Generic and indefinite objects do not take את. אהב also takes an infinitive or ש־ clause.
- אהוב means beloved/favorite; מאוהב ב־ means in love with.
- Bare אהבה and נאהב each hide multiple grammatical readings, so context is essential.
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Start learning Hebrew →Related Topics
- Pa'al פ״א: אמר, אכל, אהב and the או־ FutureB1 — Most verbs beginning with א are just first-guttural verbs. Six are not: אבד, אבה, אכל, אמר, אפה and אהב build their future on a cholam — יֹאמַר, יֹאכַל — and their first person swallows one of its two alefs.
- Verbs Taking a Direct Object with אתA2 — Identify a Hebrew verb's direct object, add את only when that object is definite, and use fused object-pronoun forms such as אותי and אותו.
- Talking About FeelingsB1 — Hebrew has two ways of saying how you feel and they are not stylistic variants. One makes you the subject and agrees with you (אני כועסת); the other makes you a ל־ and agrees with whatever is doing it to you (מפריעה לי המוזיקה). משעמם לי and אני משעמם are the same word in the two frames, and they mean opposite things.
- Forgetting את Before a Definite ObjectA1 — English has no object marker at all, so nothing in your first language ever holds the slot open for את. The rule itself is one line long — the work is in recognising a definite object, and four of the five things that make one definite leave no ה on the page for your eye to catch.
- קנה — to buyA2 — Conjugate the ל״ה verb קנה, state prices with ב־, and track who buys from whom and who sells to whom.