נסע nasá covers travel by a vehicle: riding in one, going somewhere by one and, where context makes it clear, driving one. It is a pa'al verb with root נ־ס־ע. Initial נ is absorbed in much of the future and imperative, while final ע reshapes the nearby vowels. Both weak features are audible in this small, extremely useful paradigm.
Principal parts
| Part | Pointed ktiv male | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3ms past | נָסַע | nasá | he traveled / rode / drove |
| ms present | נוֹסֵעַ | noséa | travels / is traveling |
| 3ms future | יִיסַּע | yisá | he will travel |
| infinitive | לִנְסוֹעַ | linsóa | to travel / ride / drive |
| verbal noun | נְסִיעָה | nesi'á | trip, ride, journey |
אנחנו נוסעים לחיפה ברכבת של שבע.
anákhnu nos'ím lekhéifa barakévet shel shéva.
We're taking the seven o'clock train to Haifa.
נסעתי לעבודה ברכב כי ירד גשם.
nasáti la'avodá berékhev ki yarád géshem.
I drove/went to work by car because it was raining. (context determines whether I drove)
Conjugation
In the future, the root-initial נ is not pronounced as a separate consonant. Historically it is absorbed into the following consonant; the dagesh in fully pointed forms such as תִּיסַּע records that doubling. Ktiv male adds the yod that keeps these forms readable without vowels. The pa'al initial-נ pattern shows the same process across a wider verb family.
| Person | Past | Future |
|---|---|---|
| אני | נָסַעְתִּי nasáti | אֶסַּע esá |
| אתה | נָסַעְתָּ nasáta | תִּיסַּע tisá |
| את | נָסַעְתְּ nasát | תִּיסְעִי tis'í |
| הוא | נָסַע nasá | יִיסַּע yisá |
| היא | נָסְעָה nas'á | תִּיסַּע tisá |
| אנחנו | נָסַעְנוּ nasánu | נִיסַּע nisá |
| אתם / אתן | נָסַעְתֶּם / נָסַעְתֶּן nasátem / nasáten | תִּיסְעוּ tis'ú |
| הם / הן | נָסְעוּ nas'ú | יִיסְעוּ yis'ú |
| Present agreement | Form |
|---|---|
| masculine singular | נוֹסֵעַ noséa |
| feminine singular | נוֹסַעַת nosá'at |
| masculine plural | נוֹסְעִים nos'ím |
| feminine plural | נוֹסְעוֹת nos'ót |
In careful formal recitation, the plural addressee forms נסעתם / נסעתן may begin with nesa- and carry final stress. Everyday speech normally uses the table's nasátem / nasáten. Modern Hebrew also uses תיסעו / ייסעו for all plural genders; the dedicated feminine forms תיסענה are (formal or literary).
מחר ניסע מוקדם כדי לא להיתקע בפקקים.
makhár nisá mukdám kdei lo lehitaká bapekakím.
Tomorrow we'll leave early so we don't get stuck in traffic.
היא תיסע לבד, אבל אנחנו נחכה לה שם.
hi tisá levád, avál anákhnu nekhaké la sham.
She'll travel alone, but we'll wait for her there.
Imperative and infinitive
The imperative loses the initial נ completely: סַע sa to one man, סְעִי se'í to one woman and סְעוּ se'ú to a group. The infinitive behaves differently and preserves the root consonant: לנסוע, not לסוע in standard spelling. These forms have to be learned as a set; there is no reliable shortcut from the unpointed past alone.
סע בזהירות ותשלח הודעה כשתגיע.
sa bizhirút vetishlákh hoda'á kshetagía.
Drive safely and send a message when you arrive. (to a man)
סעי ישר עד הרמזור ואז תפני ימינה.
se'í yashár ad haramzór ve'áz tifní yamína.
Go straight to the traffic light and then turn right. (to a woman)
The imperative is natural for directions and urgent practical instructions. A future form can make an instruction less clipped: תיסע ישר “go straight” is (neutral conversational), while bare סע ישר is more immediate.
Which kind of movement?
Hebrew does not use נסע for every English go or travel. Choose the verb by the mode of movement.
| Verb | Use | Natural example frame |
|---|---|---|
| נסע | travel by car, bus, train or another vehicle | נסע לעבודה באוטובוס |
| הלך | go on foot; also general “go” in some contexts | הלך הביתה ברגל |
| טס | fly, travel by plane | טס ללונדון |
| רכב על־ | ride a bicycle, motorbike or horse | רכב על אופניים |
| הפליג | sail, travel by ship | הפליג ליוון |
הלכנו הביתה ברגל כי לא היו אוטובוסים.
halákhnu habáyta barégel ki lo hayú otobúsim.
We walked home because there were no buses.
הם טסים לפריז ביום ראשון וחוזרים ברכבת.
hem tasím leparíz beyóm rishón vekhozrím barakévet.
They're flying to Paris on Sunday and returning by train.
בקיץ היא רוכבת לעבודה על אופניים.
bakáyits hi rokhévet la'avodá al ofanáyim.
In summer she cycles to work.
The four basic prepositions
With נסע, destination takes ל־, origin takes מ־, vehicle takes ב־, and a companion takes עם. English can say on the bus or by bus; Hebrew uses the same ב־ frame in באוטובוס. A driver can say נסעתי ברכב, but if the act of operating the vehicle matters, נהגתי “I drove” is more explicit.
הוא נסע מתל אביב לירושלים עם שני חברים.
hu nasá mitél avív lirushaláyim im shnei khaverím.
He traveled from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem with two friends.
באיזו רכבת נסעתם לחיפה?
be'éizo rakévet nasátem lekhéifa?
Which train did you take to Haifa? (to a group)
The common farewell נסיעה טובה! literally wishes someone “a good trip.” It is appropriate before a car, bus or train journey, regardless of who is driving.
נסיעה טובה, ותתקשרו כשתגיעו.
nesi'á tová, vetitkashrú kshetagí'u.
Have a good trip, and call when you arrive. (to a group)
Key Takeaways
- Learn נָסַע – נוֹסֵעַ – יִיסַּע – לִנְסוֹעַ together.
- Initial נ disappears in the future and imperative but remains in the infinitive.
- Preserve ktiv-male yods: ניסע, תיסע, ייסע.
- Use ל־ for destination, מ־ for origin, ב־ for vehicle and עם for companion.
- Use הלך for walking, טס for flying, רכב על־ for bicycles or horses and הפליג for sailing.
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- Pa'al פ״נ: The Disappearing נ (נפל, נסע, נגע)B1 — The initial נ of נפל, נסע and נתן is fully present in the past and the present, and in the future it is swallowed by the next letter, leaving only a dagesh — which is why יִפֹּל is yipól with a hard p. The infinitives, though, have to be learned one by one.
- הלך — to go, to walkA1 — A complete reference for הלך, including its borrowed פ״י future, final-kaf alternation, motion meanings, prospective uses, and everyday idioms.
- Pa'al with ח or ע as Third Radical (שלח, שמע, פתח)B1 — Verbs ending in ח or ע grow a vowel nobody put there: שׁוֹמֵעַ is shoméa and לִפְתּוֹחַ is liftóakh. The furtive patach is written under the guttural and pronounced before it, and it is the single most audible thing about this class.
- פ״נ Across the BinyanimB2 — One deformation — a vowelless נ swallowed by the next radical, leaving a dagesh — accounts for forms right across the verb system. The same page has to say what the dagesh does not prove: it names an assimilation, not a letter.