רצה ratsá, “want,” is one of the verbs that turns vocabulary into conversation: it orders food, proposes plans and expresses wishes. It is a pa'al verb with root ר־צ־ה, so final ה disappears or changes into a vowel through much of the paradigm. The conjugation is compact; the important choice is what comes after it.
Principal parts
| Part | Pointed ktiv male | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3ms past | רָצָה | ratsá | he wanted |
| ms present | רוֹצֶה | rotsé | wants |
| 3ms future | יִרְצֶה | yirtsé | he will want |
| infinitive | לִרְצוֹת | lirtsót | to want |
| related noun | רָצוֹן | ratsón | desire, will, willingness |
אני רוצה לדבר איתך אחרי הישיבה.
aní rotsé ledabér itkhá akharéi hayeshivá.
I want to speak with you after the meeting. (m. speaker to a man)
רציתי לשאול אותך משהו קטן.
ratsíti lish'ól otkhá máshehu katán.
I wanted to ask you something small. (to a man; often a polite conversational opening)
Conjugation
The ordinary conversational pronunciation of רציתם / רציתן is ratsítem / ratsíten. A careful, final-stressed רְצִיתֶם / רְצִיתֶן retsitém / retsitén also exists in formal recitation.
| Person | Past | Future |
|---|---|---|
| אני | רָצִיתִי ratsíti | אֶרְצֶה ertsé |
| אתה | רָצִיתָ ratsíta | תִּרְצֶה tirtsé |
| את | רָצִית ratsít | תִּרְצִי tirtsí |
| הוא | רָצָה ratsá | יִרְצֶה yirtsé |
| היא | רָצְתָה ratstá | תִּרְצֶה tirtsé |
| אנחנו | רָצִינוּ ratsínu | נִרְצֶה nirtsé |
| אתם / אתן | רָצִיתֶם / רָצִיתֶן ratsítem / ratsíten | תִּרְצוּ tirtsú |
| הם / הן | רָצוּ ratsú | יִרְצוּ yirtsú |
| Present agreement | Form |
|---|---|
| masculine singular | רוֹצֶה rotsé |
| feminine singular | רוֹצָה rotsá |
| masculine plural | רוֹצִים rotsím |
| feminine plural | רוֹצוֹת rotsót |
לא נרצה לצאת באמצע ההופעה.
lo nirtsé latsét be'émtsa hahofa'á.
We won't want to leave in the middle of the show.
מה את רוצה לשתות?
ma at rotsá lishtót?
What do you want to drink? (to a woman; neutral in this context)
Modern Hebrew uses תרצו / ירצו for all plural groups. The dedicated feminine plural תרצינה is (formal or literary). A dictionary can also list true imperatives רְצֵה retsé, רְצִי retsí and רְצוּ retsú, but the semantics make them practically useless as everyday commands: telling someone to “want!” normally makes no conversational sense. Use a future or ordinary statement instead.
Same subject: רוצה + infinitive
Use רוצה + infinitive when the person who wants is also the understood subject of the wanted action. Hebrew does not insert a pronoun before the infinitive. English works similarly in I want to leave, but Hebrew keeps the same structure even when the subject is omitted because the verb ending already identifies it.
רוצים להזמין מקום לשמונה בערב.
rotsím lehazmín makóm lishmóne ba'érev.
We want to reserve a table for eight in the evening. (mixed or m. group; subject understood)
היא לא רצתה לחכות עוד שעה.
hi lo ratstá lekhakót od sha'á.
She didn't want to wait another hour.
The infinitive itself does not mark the person. The agreement appears on רצה: אני רוצה for a man, אני רוצה for a woman as well in unpointed writing but pronounced rotsá, and אנחנו רוצים / רוצות according to the group.
Different subject: רוצה ש־ + future-form verb
When one person wants another person to act, Hebrew changes to ש־ + a finite verb, normally a future-form verb. The future morphology does not necessarily locate the action in the future; here it marks the desired, not-yet-realized event. English instead uses an object plus infinitive—I want you to come—so אני רוצה אותך לבוא is an English-shaped structure, not standard Hebrew.
אני רוצה שתגיעי עשר דקות לפני כולם.
aní rotsé shetagí'i éser dakót lifnéi kulám.
I want you to arrive ten minutes before everyone else. (m. speaker to a woman)
הם רוצים שנשלח את החוזה עוד היום.
hem rotsím shenishlákh et hakhozé od hayóm.
They want us to send the contract today.
An explicit pronoun after ש־ is possible when it contrasts people—אני רוצה שאתה תבוא, לא הוא, “I want you to come, not him”—but it is not required merely because English says you. For the full complement pattern, see verbs with ש־ clauses.
Wanting a thing, and sounding appropriate
With a noun phrase, רצה takes a direct object: רוצה קפה for an indefinite object and רוצה את הקפה הזה for a definite one. This is grammatically simple, but its interpersonal force depends on the setting.
אני רוצה את החדר עם המרפסת, אם הוא פנוי.
aní rotsé et hakhéder im hamirpészet, im hu panúy.
I want the room with the balcony, if it's available. (m. speaker; neutral and specific)
Bare אני רוצה… is normal when answering a question, stating a plan or making a firm selection. Addressed to a stranger without any framing, it may sound demanding. In a café, אפשר קפה? is compact and conventionally indirect; in a professional exchange, הייתי רוצה… creates polite distance. This is a matter of request framing, not a special conjugation of רצה.
הייתי רוצה לקבל עותק של החשבונית.
hayíti rotsé lekabél ótek shel hakheshbonít.
I would like to receive a copy of the invoice. (m. speaker; polite/professional)
The homograph רצה
Unpointed רצה has three frequent analyses. It can be רָצָה ratsá, “he wanted”; רָצָה ratsá, “she ran”; or feminine singular present “runs.” Even pointing does not separate these readings. The surrounding words do.
הילדה רצה הביתה כי התחיל לרדת גשם.
hayaldá ratsá habáyta ki hitkhíl larédet géshem.
The girl ran home because it started raining.
הוא רצה הביתה, אבל נשאר עד הסוף.
hu ratsá habáyta, avál nish'ár ad hasóf.
He wanted to go home, but stayed until the end. (informal ellipsis: the motion verb is understood)
There is no commonly used verbal noun meaning simply “wanting.” רצון is the productive noun: ברצון “willingly,” חוסר רצון “reluctance/lack of willingness,” and רצון טוב “goodwill.”
Key Takeaways
- Learn רָצָה – רוֹצֶה – יִרְצֶה – לִרְצוֹת together.
- The same subject takes רוצה + infinitive; a different subject takes רוצה ש־ + future-form verb.
- אני רוצה is neutral in many contexts but can sound firm as an unframed request; אפשר and הייתי רוצה soften it differently.
- The imperative forms exist but have almost no ordinary speech-act use.
- Context separates רצה “he wanted” from רצה “she ran/runs.”
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- Pa'al ל״ה: רצה, קנה, ראה, עשהB1 — The ה of רצה is not a root consonant at all — it is a vowel letter standing in for an original י, which is why it vanishes the moment an ending arrives and comes back as a yod in רָצִיתִי. This is Hebrew's largest weak class and it holds want, see, do, buy and drink.
- Verbs Taking a ש־ Clause: אמר ש, חושב ש, מקווה שA2 — Connect verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, hoping and wanting to a complete clause with attached ש־.
- Verbs That Take an Infinitive (רוצה, אוהב, מנסה, מתחיל)A1 — The first two-verb sentence a beginner can build: one conjugated verb, then an infinitive that never changes for anything. The whole pattern turns on a single question — is the second action done by the same person as the first? If it is, use the infinitive; if it is not, Hebrew switches to ש plus a finite verb.
- Making a Request PolitelyA2 — Build natural Hebrew requests with אפשר, אולי, בבקשה, רוצה and future forms such as תוכל—without mistaking directness for a lack of politeness.