למד lamád, “learn” or “study,” is pa'al, root ל־מ־ד. Its root is completely sound, but its future is not the cholam future of כתב. Conjugation dictionaries group it morphologically with “stative” verbs because it takes a patach in the future and imperative: יִלְמַד yilmád, לְמַד lemád. That label describes the vowel pattern, not the meaning—learning is plainly an activity.
Complete paradigm
| Person | Past | Future |
|---|---|---|
| אני | לָמַדְתִּי lamádti | אֶלְמַד elmád |
| אתה | לָמַדְתָּ lamádta | תִּלְמַד tilmád |
| את | לָמַדְתְּ lamádt | תִּלְמְדִי tilmedí |
| הוא | לָמַד lamád | יִלְמַד yilmád |
| היא | לָמְדָה lamdá | תִּלְמַד tilmád |
| אנחנו | לָמַדְנוּ lamádnu | נִלְמַד nilmád |
| אתם / אתן | לָמַדְתֶּם / לָמַדְתֶּן lamádtem / lamádten | תִּלְמְדוּ tilmedú |
| הם / הן | לָמְדוּ lamdú | יִלְמְדוּ yilmedú |
| Form type | Forms | Register or use |
|---|---|---|
| present | לוֹמֵד loméd · לוֹמֶדֶת lomédet · לוֹמְדִים lomdím · לוֹמְדוֹת lomdót | neutral |
| imperative | לְמַד lemád · לִמְדִי limdí · לִמְדוּ limdú | real, but future commands are common in speech |
| infinitive | לִלְמוֹד lilmód | neutral |
| action nouns | לְמִידָה lemidá · לִימּוּד limúd · לִימּוּדִים limudím | process · learning/study · studies |
The specifically feminine plural future תלמדנה is (formal or literary); contemporary Hebrew normally uses תלמדו for every plural group. In careful recitation למדתם / למדתן can be final-stressed, lemadtém / lemadtén. Ordinary speech uses the table's lamádtem / lamádten.
אני לומד עברית כבר שנה, אבל עדיין מדבר לאט.
aní loméd ivrít kvar shaná, avál adáyin medabér le'át.
I've been studying Hebrew for a year, but I still speak slowly. (m. speaker)
למדתי לנהוג בגיל שמונה עשרה.
lamádti linhóg begíl shmóne esré.
I learned to drive at eighteen. (m. speaker)
Learn and teach: למד against לימד
Pa'al למד is learner-oriented “learn/study” and can take a direct object. Pi'el לימד liméd is teacher-oriented “teach”: a teacher teaches someone or teaches a subject. English can use learn and teach with very similar complements, but Hebrew marks the direction of knowledge through the binyan.
המורה לימדה אותנו עברית, ואנחנו למדנו ממנה המון.
hamorá limdá otánu ivrít, va'anákhnu lamádnu miména hamón.
The teacher taught us Hebrew, and we learned a great deal from her.
הוא לומד מתמטיקה בבוקר ומלמד בערב.
hu loméd matemátika babóker umelaméd ba'érev.
He studies mathematics in the morning and teaches in the evening.
The distinction becomes harder without vowels. תלמד is תִּלְמַד tilmád, “you/she will learn,” or pi'el תְּלַמֵּד telaméd, “you/she will teach.” נלמד has three analyses: pa'al נִלְמַד nilmád “we will learn,” pi'el נְלַמֵּד nelaméd “we will teach,” and nif'al נִלְמָד nilmád “is taught/learned.” The subject and arguments identify the binyan.
מחר נלמד את הפרק הזה, ובשבוע הבא נלמד אותו לכיתה השנייה.
makhár nilmád et hapérek hazé, uvashavúa habá nelaméd otó lakitá hashniyá.
Tomorrow we'll study this chapter, and next week we'll teach it to the second class.
What comes after למד
The preposition tells the listener which part of the learning situation you mean.
| Frame | Role | Example |
|---|---|---|
| למד ב־ | institution or setting | לומדת באוניברסיטה |
| למד אצל | teacher or expert | למד אצל מורה פרטית |
| למד ל־ | goal or test | לומד למבחן |
| למד על | topic studied | למדנו על המהפכה |
| למד מ־ | source or lesson drawn | למדתי מזה הרבה |
The subject itself can be a bare direct object: למד עברית, למדה רפואה. Definite study material takes את: למדתי את הפרק. An acquired skill commonly takes an infinitive: למד לשחות, “learned to swim.”
היא לומדת רפואה באוניברסיטת תל אביב.
hi lomédet refu'á be'univérsitat Tel Avív.
She studies medicine at Tel Aviv University.
למדתי אצל רונית, והיא הסבירה הכול בסבלנות.
lamádti étsel Ronít, vehi hisbirá hakól besavlanút.
I studied with Ronit, and she explained everything patiently.
מה למדת מזה?
ma lamádta mizé?
What did you learn from that? (to a man)
Imperative, homographs and the root family
The true imperative למד / למדי / למדו is grammatical, especially in instructions and elevated slogans. In ordinary advice, a future form often sounds more conversational: תלמד מהטעות הזאת, “learn from this mistake.” Bare למד is also past לָמַד lamád, the imperative לְמַד lemád, and the letter name לָמֶד lámed.
למד מהטעות הזאת ואל תחזור עליה.
lemád mehatá'ut hazót ve'al takhazór aléha.
Learn from this mistake and don't repeat it. (firm or elevated, to a man)
The family includes תלמיד “student,” לימוד / לימודים “study/studies,” תלמוד “Talmud,” and מלומד “scholar/learned person” (formal). Hitpa'el התלמד means to train or learn through practice, but it is (rare or technical) rather than a replacement for ordinary למד.
Common Mistakes
1. Using למד for “teach.”
❌ המורה למד אותנו עברית.
Incorrect—the students learn, but the teacher teaches: המורה לימד אותנו עברית.
✅ המורה לימד אותנו עברית במשך שנתיים.
hamoré liméd otánu ivrít beméshekh shnatáyim.
The teacher taught us Hebrew for two years.
2. Writing a cholam into the patach future.
❌ מחר אלמוד בבית.
Incorrect as the future of למד—the verb takes a patach future, written אלמד without ו.
✅ מחר אלמד בבית ואסיים את הפרק.
makhár elmád babáyit va'asayém et hapérek.
Tomorrow I'll study at home and finish the chapter.
3. Using אצל for an institution rather than a person.
❌ היא לומדת אצל אוניברסיטת תל אביב.
Incorrect for institutional enrollment—an institution takes ב־; אצל identifies a teacher or person.
✅ היא לומדת באוניברסיטת תל אביב אצל פרופסור כהן.
hi lomédet be'univérsitat Tel Avív étsel profésor Kohén.
She studies at Tel Aviv University with Professor Cohen.
Key Takeaways
- למד has a sound root but a patach future: ילמד, not a cholam form.
- Pa'al למד means learn/study; pi'el לימד means teach. Unpointed תלמד and נלמד require context.
- Use ב־ for an institution, אצל for a teacher, ל־ for a goal, על for a topic and מ־ for a source.
- The imperative is real but often yields to a future command in conversation.
- למידה, לימוד and לימודים divide meanings that English often packages as “learning” or “studies.”
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