שילם shilém, “pay,” is regular pi'el, root שׁ־ל־ם. The conjugation is straightforward; the real work is organizing its complements. Hebrew separates the amount paid, what the payment was for, who received it, how it was paid, and on whose behalf it was paid.
Complete paradigm
| Person | Past | Future |
|---|---|---|
| אני | שִׁילַּמְתִּי shilámti | אֲשַׁלֵּם ashalém |
| אתה | שִׁילַּמְתָּ shilámta | תְּשַׁלֵּם teshalém |
| את | שִׁילַּמְתְּ shilámt | תְּשַׁלְּמִי teshalmí |
| הוא | שִׁילֵּם shilém | יְשַׁלֵּם yeshalém |
| היא | שִׁילְּמָה shilmá | תְּשַׁלֵּם teshalém |
| אנחנו | שִׁילַּמְנוּ shilámnu | נְשַׁלֵּם neshalém |
| אתם / אתן | שִׁילַּמְתֶּם / שִׁילַּמְתֶּן shilámtem / shilámten | תְּשַׁלְּמוּ teshalmú |
| הם / הן | שִׁילְּמוּ shilmú | יְשַׁלְּמוּ yeshalmú |
| Form type | Forms | Use |
|---|---|---|
| present | מְשַׁלֵּם meshalém · מְשַׁלֶּמֶת meshalémet · מְשַׁלְּמִים meshalmím · מְשַׁלְּמוֹת meshalmót | neutral |
| imperative | שַׁלֵּם shalém · שַׁלְּמִי shalmí · שַׁלְּמוּ shalmú | true imperative; future commands and impersonal infinitives are common |
| infinitive | לְשַׁלֵּם leshalém | neutral |
| action noun | תַּשְׁלוּם tashlúm | payment, compensation; not the ordinary pi'el קיטול shape |
| pu'al participle | מְשׁוּלָּם meshulám | paid, paid-up |
Careful שילמתם / שילמתן is final-stressed, shilamtém / shilamtén; everyday speech retracts the stress as in the table. Dedicated feminine plural תשלמנה is (formal or literary). The practical action noun is תשלום, on the תַּפְעוּל pattern. Rare שילום exists, most recognizably in שילומים “reparations,” but is not the everyday noun for paying a bill.
כמה שילמת על הכרטיסים בסוף?
káma shilámta al hakartisím basóf?
How much did you pay for the tickets in the end? (to a man)
מי משלם הפעם? אני שילמתי אתמול.
mi meshalém hapá'am? aní shilámti etmól.
Who's paying this time? I paid yesterday. (m. speaker)
Five roles, five constructions
The amount is a bare measure phrase: שילמתי חמישים שקל. It takes no preposition and no את. What was purchased or covered takes על; the payee takes ל־; the means takes ב־; a beneficiary or person represented can take בשביל or עבור.
| Role | Marker | Model |
|---|---|---|
| amount | bare phrase | שילמתי חמישים שקל |
| thing paid for | על | שילמתי על הכרטיסים |
| recipient | ל־ | שילמתי לו |
| means | ב־ | שילמתי באשראי |
| on behalf of | בשביל / עבור | שילמתי בשבילה |
שילמתי לו מאה שקל על התיקון.
shilámti lo me'á shékel al hatikún.
I paid him one hundred shekels for the repair.
אפשר לשלם בכרטיס, או שאתם מקבלים רק מזומן?
efshár leshalém bekhartís, o she'atém mekablím rak mezumán?
Can I pay by card, or do you only take cash? (to a mixed or male staff)
שילמתי עבור החדר מראש דרך האתר.
shilámti avúr hakhéder merósh dérekh ha'atár.
I paid for the room in advance through the website. (neutral-formal עבור)
היא שכחה את הארנק, אז שילמתי בשבילה.
hi shakhkhá et ha'arnák, az shilámti bishvilá.
She forgot her wallet, so I paid for her.
A single English sentence can fill several Hebrew slots: “I paid him fifty shekels for the ticket by card” becomes שילמתי לו חמישים שקל על הכרטיס בכרטיס. In practice, speakers omit whatever the context already supplies.
על for the purchase, ב־ for the means
The smallest and most useful contrast is על “for what?” versus ב־ “with/by what means?” English uses two full prepositions; Hebrew uses two single-letter or short forms that are easy to interchange. The dedicated price and instrument page develops the same ב־ used in בכרטיס, במזומן, באפליקציה.
שילמנו על הארוחה במזומן ועל המונית באפליקציה.
shilámnu al ha'arukhá bimzumán ve'al hamonít ba'aplikátsya.
We paid for the meal in cash and for the taxi through the app.
The amount can be questioned directly with כמה שילמת? The thing paid for remains on על: כמה שילמת על החדר? At a counter, אפשר לשלם…? is an impersonal request and often sounds more natural than a direct true imperative.
נא לשלם בקופה ולשמור את הקבלה.
na leshalém bakupá velishmór et hakabalá.
Please pay at the checkout and keep the receipt. (formal impersonal instruction)
תשלום, משולם and fixed combinations
תשלום is a payment; plural תשלומים often means installments. בתשלומים means “in installments,” and תשלום מראש is advance payment. Pu'al participle משולם is common on invoices, payroll documents and contracts: הסכום שולם, “the amount was paid,” and יום חופש משולם, “paid leave day.”
אפשר לחלק את התשלום לשלושה תשלומים?
efshár lekhalék et hatashlúm lishloshá tashlumím?
Can the payment be split into three installments?
החשבונית מסומנת כמשולמת, אבל הכסף עוד לא נכנס.
hakheshbonít mesuménet kimshulémet, avál hakésef od lo nikhnás.
The invoice is marked as paid, but the money hasn't come in yet. (administrative)
Other high-frequency combinations are לשלם במזומן, שילם מחיר, and figurative שילם על זה ביוקר, “paid dearly for it.” Here ביוקר is manner/result, not a literal payment method.
הוא התעלם מהאזהרות ושילם על זה ביוקר.
hu hit'além meha'azharót veshilém al ze beyóker.
He ignored the warnings and paid dearly for it.
Key Takeaways
- Amount is bare; על marks what was paid for, ל־ the payee, and ב־ the means.
- בשביל / עבור can identify a beneficiary or formal consideration; they do not replace everyday על in every frame.
- The ordinary action noun is irregular-looking תשלום; בתשלומים means in installments.
- משולם is the paid/paid-up pu'al participle, common in administrative language.
- Learn transactions as role frames, not by translating English pay for word by word.
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