חזר khazár, “return, come back,” is pa'al, root ח־ז־ר. Initial ח creates two accepted future and infinitive patterns: a fuller set such as יחזור yakhazór and a reduced set such as יחזור yakhzór. The spelling is often identical, so pointed text or pronunciation reveals the choice. Syntactically, pa'al חזר is intransitive; returning a book or another object requires hif'il החזיר.
Complete paradigm
| Person | Past | Future: full / reduced |
|---|---|---|
| אני | חָזַרְתִּי khazárti | אֶחֱזוֹר / אֶחְזוֹר ekhezór / ekhzór |
| אתה | חָזַרְתָּ khazárta | תַּחֲזוֹר / תַּחְזוֹר takhazór / takhzór |
| את | חָזַרְתְּ khazárt | תַּחַזְרִי / תַּחְזְרִי takhazrí / takhzerí |
| הוא | חָזַר khazár | יַחֲזוֹר / יַחְזוֹר yakhazór / yakhzór |
| היא | חָזְרָה khazrá | תַּחֲזוֹר / תַּחְזוֹר takhazór / takhzór |
| אנחנו | חָזַרְנוּ khazárnu | נַחֲזוֹר / נַחְזוֹר nakhazór / nakhzór |
| אתם / אתן | חָזַרְתֶּם / חָזַרְתֶּן khazártem / khazárten | תַּחַזְרוּ / תַּחְזְרוּ takhazrú / takhzerú |
| הם / הן | חָזְרוּ khazrú | יַחַזְרוּ / יַחְזְרוּ yakhazrú / yakhzerú |
| Form type | Forms | Use |
|---|---|---|
| present | חוֹזֵר khozér · חוֹזֶרֶת khozéret · חוֹזְרִים khozrím · חוֹזְרוֹת khozrót | neutral |
| imperative | חֲזוֹר khazór · חִזְרִי khizrí · חִזְרוּ khizrú | neutral; future commands are frequent |
| infinitive | לַחֲזוֹר / לַחְזוֹר lakhazór / lakhzór | both standard; reduced pronunciation is common |
| action noun | חֲזָרָה khazará | return, repetition, rehearsal |
The full pattern gives the initial guttural a reduced vowel: אחזור ekhezór, תחזור takhazór. The widespread reduced pattern clusters the consonants: ekhzór, takhzór. In the suffixed forms, the reduced pattern also shifts the vowel—תחזרי takhzerí, יחזרו yakhzerú. Neither set is a learner error. A speaker may use both, and unpointed תחזור conceals the difference completely.
Careful second-person plural past is חֲזַרְתֶּם / חֲזַרְתֶּן, khazartém / khazartén; ordinary speech generally retracts the stress as in the table. Dedicated feminine plural future תחזורנה is (formal or literary) and can reflect either full or reduced pronunciation. Modern conversation uses תחזרו.
חזרתי הביתה מאוחר כי הרכבת התעכבה.
khazárti habáyta me'ukhár ki harakévet hit'akvá.
I got home late because the train was delayed. (m. speaker)
מתי אתם חוזרים מהחופשה?
matái atém khozrím me'hakhufshá?
When are you coming back from vacation? (to a mixed or male group)
Destination, origin and repetition
Movement back to a destination normally takes ל־, a directional form such as הביתה, or a place adverb: חזר לעבודה, חזר הביתה, חזר לשם. The starting point takes מ־: חזר מהעבודה, “returned from work.” These phrases can occur together because they express different roles.
היא חזרה לעבודה ביום ראשון אחרי שבוע בבית.
hi khazrá la'avodá beyóm rishón akharéi shavúa babáyit.
She returned to work on Sunday after a week at home.
נחזור מהצפון בערב וניסע ישר אליכם.
nakhazór mehatsafón ba'érev venisá yashár aleikhém.
We'll come back from the north in the evening and drive straight to your place.
When חזר means repeat, review, or go over something, the content takes על. This is particularly common with instructions, schoolwork and rehearsal: לחזור על השאלה, לחזור על החומר, לחזור על התרגיל. English permits a direct object after repeat; Hebrew does not use that object frame with pa'al חזר.
לא שמעתי; אתה יכול לחזור על השם?
lo shamáti; atá yakhól lakhazór al hashém?
I didn't hear; can you repeat the name? (to a man)
כדאי לחזור על החומר לפני המבחן.
kedái lakhazór al hakhómer lifnéi hamivkhán.
It's worth reviewing the material before the exam.
Returning versus giving something back
Pa'al חזר is intransitive: the returning person or thing is the subject. Hif'il החזיר is causative/transitive: the subject causes something to return, hence “return/give back an object.” This contrast follows the productive relation described on hif'il causative meaning, although the exact lexical meanings still have to be learned.
חזרתי לספרייה והחזרתי את הספר.
khazárti lasifriyá vehekhzárti et haséfer.
I went back to the library and returned the book.
תחזיר לי את המטען כשתסיים להשתמש בו.
takhazír li et hamat'én kshetessayém lehishtamésh bo.
Give me the charger back when you're done using it. (to a man)
Everyday formulas and extended meanings
On the phone, תחזור אליי means “call/get back to me.” The complement is אל־, inflected for the person; תחזור לי can have other contextual meanings and is not the neutral phone formula. In a conversation, חזר בו means “retracted, went back on what he said,” with ב־ inflected for the subject.
אני נכנסת לישיבה; תחזור אליי בעוד שעה.
aní nikhnéset lishivá; takhzór elái be'ód sha'á.
I'm going into a meeting; call me back in an hour. (f. speaker, to a man)
אחרי שראה את הנתונים, השר חזר בו מההצהרה.
akharéi shera'á et hanetuním, hasár khazár bo mehahats'hará.
After seeing the data, the minister retracted the statement.
חזר ו־ followed by another finite verb highlights recurrence: הוא חזר ואמר “he said again/reiterated.” It is especially common in edited writing and news prose (formal); everyday speech more often uses שוב.
הדובר חזר והדגיש שהמועד לא ישתנה.
hadovér khazár vehidgísh shehamo'éd lo yishtané.
The spokesperson reiterated that the date would not change. (formal)
חזר בתשובה literally contains “return” and in Israeli usage means becoming religiously observant, especially within Jewish life. חוזר בתשובה / חוזרת בתשובה names a person undergoing or having undergone that change. It describes a particular religious-social trajectory, not merely “answered” and not a general assessment of someone's competence or character.
חזרה and the wider root family
Unpointed חזרה carries three frequent analyses. Past חָזְרָה khazrá means “she returned.” Noun חֲזָרָה khazará means a return, repetition, or rehearsal. The same pronunciation serves as directional adverb חזרה “back,” as in בדרך חזרה “on the way back.” Agreement and sentence position usually make the intended reading obvious.
דנה חזרה מחזרה מאוחר והזמינה מונית בדרך חזרה.
dána khazrá mekhazará me'ukhár vehizminá monít badérekh khazará.
Dana came back late from rehearsal and ordered a taxi on the way back.
Other root relatives divide the semantic territory further. החזרה is returning something or a refund/return; מחזור is a cycle, cohort, edition or recycling; pi'el חיזר אחרי means “courted/pursued romantically” and its noun is חיזור. Shared roots help memory, but they do not make the binyanim interchangeable.
Common Mistakes
1. Using intransitive חזר with a returned object.
❌ חזרתי את הספר לספרייה.
Incorrect—returning an object requires hif'il החזרתי.
✅ החזרתי את הספר לספרייה לפני תאריך היעד.
hekhzárti et haséfer lasifriyá lifnéi ta'aríkh haya'ád.
I returned the book to the library before the due date.
2. Giving repeated content as a direct object.
❌ תחזור את זה, בבקשה.
Incorrect for ‘repeat that’—the repeated content takes על.
✅ תחזור על זה, בבקשה; הקו לא ברור.
takhzór al ze, bevakashá; hakáv lo barúr.
Repeat that, please; the line isn't clear. (to a man)
3. Using a masculine past form for a feminine subject.
❌ היא חזר מהעבודה בשמונה.
Incorrect—the feminine past is חזרה.
✅ היא חזרה מהעבודה בשמונה והכינה ארוחת ערב.
hi khazrá meha'avodá bishmóne vehekhína arukhát érev.
She came back from work at eight and made dinner.
Key Takeaways
- Full יחזור yakhazór and reduced יחזור yakhzór are both standard; the unpointed spelling is identical.
- Destination takes ל־ or a directional form; origin takes מ־; repeated content takes על.
- Pa'al חזר is intransitive. Use hif'il החזיר to return or give back an object.
- תחזור אליי is “get back to me”; חזר בו is “retracted”; חזר ו־ marks recurrence (formal).
- חזרה can be khazrá “she returned” or khazará “return/repetition/rehearsal/back.”
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