שתה — to drink | Hebrew Grammar

שתה shatá, “drink,” is pa'al, root ש־ת־ה. Like other final-ה verbs, it loses or reshapes its last radical when an ending arrives. The core pattern is regular for that class, but the everyday spellings שותה, שתה, שתי and לשתות each carry more than one possible reading.

Complete paradigm

Person	Past	Future
אני	שָׁתִיתִי shatíti	אֶשְׁתֶּה eshté
אתה	שָׁתִיתָ shatíta	תִּשְׁתֶּה tishté
את	שָׁתִית shatít	תִּשְׁתִּי tishtí
הוא	שָׁתָה shatá	יִשְׁתֶּה yishté
היא	שָׁתְתָה shatetá	תִּשְׁתֶּה tishté
אנחנו	שָׁתִינוּ shatínu	נִשְׁתֶּה nishté
אתם / אתן	שָׁתִיתֶם / שָׁתִיתֶן shatítem / shatíten	תִּשְׁתּוּ tishtú
הם / הן	שָׁתוּ shatú	יִשְׁתּוּ yishtú

Form type	Forms	Use
present	שׁוֹתֶה shoté · שׁוֹתָה shotá · שׁוֹתִים shotím · שׁוֹתוֹת shotót	neutral
imperative	שְׁתֵה shte · שְׁתִי shti · שְׁתוּ shtu	current, especially practical care
infinitive	לִשְׁתּוֹת lishtót	neutral
action noun	שְׁתִיָּיה shtiyá	drinking; a drink/beverage

The specifically feminine plural future תשתינה is (formal or literary); contemporary Hebrew uses תשתו for every plural group. Careful שְׁתִיתֶם / שְׁתִיתֶן may begin with shti- and carry final stress; ordinary speech uses the table's shatítem / shatíten.

שתיתי קפה בבוקר ועדיין הייתי עייף.

shatíti kafé babóker va'adáyin hayíti ayéf.

I drank coffee in the morning and was still tired. (m. speaker)

לא שתיתי מספיק מים היום.

lo shatíti maspík máyim hayóm.

I haven't drunk enough water today.

Four reading traps

Written form	Readings	What separates them
שותה	שׁוֹתֶה shoté m.sg. · שׁוֹתָה shotá f.sg.	agreement and pronunciation
שתה	שָׁתָה shatá “he drank” · שְׁתֵה shte “drink!”	sentence role
שתי	שְׁתִי shti “drink!” f.sg. · שְׁתֵּי shtei “two” before a feminine noun	vowel and following word
לשתות	לִשְׁתּוֹת lishtót “drink” · same form from ש־ת־ת “flow”	modern versus literary context

The two present singulars are therefore indistinguishable in ordinary writing. A woman says אני שותה aní shotá; a man says the same letters as aní shoté. The 3fs past is the cell learners most often avoid: שתתה contains two tavs—one from the root and one from the ending—and is pronounced shatetá with three syllables.

היא שתתה תה, ואני שתיתי מים.

hi shatetá te, va'aní shatíti máyim.

She drank tea, and I drank water.

שתי קצת מים לפני שאת ממשיכה.

shti ktsat máyim lifnéi she'at mamshikhá.

Drink some water before you continue. (to a woman)

שתי כוסות מספיקות לי.

shtei kosót maspikót li.

Two glasses are enough for me. (שתי is the numeral here)

The separate pa'al root ש־ת־ת means “flow” and has the same infinitive spelling and pronunciation לשתות. That verb is (literary or archaic). In contemporary prose and conversation, an isolated לשתות will mean “to drink”; the other analysis matters when reading older or poetic texts.

💡

Do not try to solve these forms letter by letter. Ask what slot the word occupies: after a subject it is likely past or present; at the start of an instruction it is an imperative; before a feminine plural noun, שתי is the numeral.

שתה pairs naturally with אכל in homes, cafés and restaurants. A definite beverage takes את; an indefinite one is bare. מ־ marks the source or container from which someone drinks.

מה אתם רוצים לשתות?

ma atém rotsím lishtót?

What would you like to drink? (to a group)

שתיתי את הקפה לפני שהוא התקרר.

shatíti et hakafé lifnéi shehú hitkarér.

I drank the coffee before it got cold.

הוא שתה מהבקבוק ולא מהכוס.

hu shatá mehabakbúk velo mehakós.

He drank from the bottle, not from the glass.

בוא נשתה משהו לפני שהרכבת מגיעה.

bo nishté máshehu lifnéi sheharakévet magi'á.

Let's have something to drink before the train arrives. (to a man)

Drinks, alcohol and register

שתייה קלה is “soft drinks”; שתייה חריפה is spirits or hard liquor. The toast is לחיים! lekháyim!—literally “to life”—not a form of שתה. A bare הוא שותה with no beverage or occasion is commonly understood as a statement about habitual alcohol use, much like English he drinks.

יש שתייה קלה במקרר ויין על השולחן.

yesh shtiyá kalá bamekarér veyáyin al hashulkhán.

There are soft drinks in the fridge and wine on the table.

הוא הפסיק לשתות לפני שנתיים.

hu hifsík lishtót lifnéi shnatáyim.

He stopped drinking two years ago. (without an object, understood as alcohol)

The root also gives משתה mishté, “feast/banquet” (literary or elevated), and שתיין shatyán, “heavy drinker,” an informal-to-neutral label that can be disparaging.

💡

The action noun follows ktiv male: שתייה has two yods. In pointed ktiv male it is שְׁתִיָּיה, with the vowel marking on the first yod of the doubled pair.

Common Mistakes

1. Reading feminine שותה as masculine.

❌ אני שותה

aní shoté

Incorrect said by a woman—the same spelling is pronounced shotá in feminine agreement.

✅ אני שותה רק מים עם הארוחה.

aní shotá rak máyim im ha'arukhá.

I only drink water with the meal. (f. speaker)

2. Dropping the feminine past ending.

❌ היא שתה יותר מדי קפה.

Incorrect—past feminine singular is שתתה, with two tavs.

✅ היא שתתה יותר מדי קפה ולא נרדמה.

hi shatetá yotér midái kafé velo nirdemá.

She drank too much coffee and couldn't fall asleep.

3. Spelling the action noun with one yod.

❌ שתיה קרה

Incorrect as ktiv male for ‘a cold drink’—the noun is written שתייה with doubled י.

✅ יש במקרר שתייה קרה.

yesh bamekarér shtiyá kará.

There are cold drinks in the fridge.

Key Takeaways

Learn שָׁתָה – שׁוֹתֶה – יִשְׁתֶּה – לִשְׁתּוֹת as a final-ה set.
שותה distinguishes masculine shoté from feminine shotá only in speech.
Past שתה, imperative שתה, imperative/numeral שתי, and the two roots behind לשתות all rely on context.
Definite beverages take את; מ־ marks drinking from a source or container.
Bare הוא שותה commonly concerns alcohol; שתייה קלה, שתייה חריפה and לחיים cover the core drink register.

Now practice Hebrew

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Hebrew →