Building the Infinitive in Each Binyan | Hebrew Grammar

The ordinary modern Hebrew infinitive—שם הפועל—is one written word beginning with ל־: לכתוב, להיכנס, לדבר, להזמין, להתלבש. The beginning after ל does more than mean English “to”: it exposes the verb's binyan and often gives a better clue to its conjugation than an unpointed past form does.

This page describes the productive modern שם הפועל. Biblical and literary Hebrew also has an infinitive absolute, a separate construction that need not begin with ל; it is not the form used after רוצה, צריך or כדי.

The five binyan shapes that have an infinitive

Binyan	3ms past	Infinitive on its ktiv-male skeleton	Reading	Visible cue
pa'al	כָּתַב	לִכְתּוֹב	likhtóv	often לִ + root stem
nif'al	נִכְנַס	לְהִיכָּנֵס	lehikanés	להי־ in ktiv male
pi'el	דִּיבֵּר	לְדַבֵּר	ledabér	לְ + pi'el stem; no past-tense י
hif'il	הִזְמִין	לְהַזְמִין	lehazmín	להַ־
hitpa'el	הִתְלַבֵּשׁ	לְהִתְלַבֵּשׁ	lehitlabésh	להת־

The table is an orientation system, not a promise that every root can be converted mechanically. Pa'al in particular has many weak classes: ללכת, לשבת, לתת, לקחת, לאכול do not follow one single sound strong-root recipe. Binyan narrows the possibilities; the individual root can still reshape the stem.

אני צריך לכתוב לדנה לפני שאני שוכח.

aní tsaríkh likhtóv ledána lifnéi she'aní shokéakh

I need to write to Dana before I forget. (m. speaker; pa'al infinitive)

אסור להיכנס למחסן בלי אישור.

asúr lehikanés lamakhsán bli ishúr

You must not enter the storeroom without permission. (nif'al infinitive)

התחלנו לדבר ואז שמנו לב שכבר חצות.

hitkhálnu ledabér ve'áz sámnu lev shekvar khatsót

We started talking and then noticed it was already midnight. (pi'el infinitive)

צריך להזמין שולחן מראש, המקום תמיד מלא.

tsaríkh lehazmín shulkhán merósh, hamakóm tamíd malé

You need to book a table in advance; the place is always full. (hif'il infinitive)

היא רוצה להתלבש מהר ולצאת לפני הפקקים.

hi rotsá lehitlabésh mahér velatsét lifnéi hapekakím

She wants to get dressed quickly and leave before the traffic. (hitpa'el infinitive)

💡

Use the infinitive as a binyan diagnostic. The same root can contrast להיכנס “go in” with להכניס “put in”: one ktiv-male yod separates nif'al להי־ from hif'il לה־.

Why the vowel under ל changes

English writes to as a separate invariant word. Hebrew's ל is attached, and its vowel interacts with the stem that follows. That is why “just add le-” is not enough.

Opening	Environment	Examples
לִ־ li-	before a simple shva at the start of many pa'al stems	לִכְתּוֹב likhtóv, לִשְׁמוֹר lishmór
לְ־ le-	built into pi'el and before the ה of several binyan prefixes	לְדַבֵּר ledabér, לְהַזְמִין lehazmín, לְהִתְלַבֵּשׁ lehitlabésh
לֶ־ le-	before an א carrying reduced e	לֶאֱכוֹל le'ekhól, לֶאֱהוֹב le'ehóv
לַ־ la-	before a guttural carrying reduced a, and in several weak pa'al patterns	לַעֲבוֹד la'avód, לָלֶכֶת lalékhet

The last row also shows why there is no fully general sound rule. ללכת has qamats under ל, while להיות begins לִהְ־, not the regular nif'al-looking להי־. These frequent forms belong on the irregular infinitives page; the shva page explains the vowel mechanics behind לִכְתּוֹב.

קנינו משהו לאכול לפני ההופעה.

kanínu máshehu le'ekhól lifnéi hahofa'á

We bought something to eat before the show. (pa'al infinitive with לֶ־)

אני אוהבת לעבוד מוקדם כשהמשרד שקט.

aní ohévet la'avód mukdám kshehamisrád shakét

I like working early when the office is quiet. (f. speaker; pa'al infinitive with לַ־)

Pu'al and huf'al have no infinitive

The two morphological passives—pu'al and huf'al—have finite forms and participles but no שם הפועל and no imperative. This is not a missing row in a textbook table. There is no one-word pu'al infinitive meaning “to be arranged” corresponding to סוּדַּר, and no huf'al infinitive “to be invited” corresponding to הוּזְמַן.

Hebrew instead changes the construction. Depending on the intended meaning, use להיות + passive participle, an active infinitive with an unspecified agent, or a middle/inchoative verb from another binyan.

Wanted meaning	Available Hebrew	What it does
to be organized / in order	לִהְיוֹת מְסוּדָּר lihyót mesudár	להיות plus a pu'al participle/adjective
to be invited	לִהְיוֹת מוּזְמָן lihyót muzmán	להיות plus a huf'al participle
for someone to arrange it	לְסַדֵּר אֶת זֶה lesadér et ze	active pi'el with the agent left implicit
to work itself out	לְהִסְתַּדֵּר lehistadér	hitpa'el middle/inchoative meaning

אני רוצה שהכול יהיה מסודר לפני שהאורחים מגיעים.

aní rotsé shehakól yihyé mesudár lifnéi sheha'orkhím magi'ím

I want everything to be organized before the guests arrive. (m. speaker; finite להיות plus pu'al participle)

כדי להיות מוזמן צריך להירשם עד יום חמישי.

kdei lihyót muzmán tsaríkh leherashém ad yom khamishí

To be invited, you need to register by Thursday. (huf'al participle after להיות)

💡

Do not invent a pu'al or huf'al infinitive. Ask what the passive phrase means in context: a state usually uses להיות + participle; an event may require an active or middle reformulation.

The form people name is not always the dictionary headword

Traditional Hebrew dictionaries identify a verb by its third-person masculine singular past: כָּתַב “he wrote,” נִכְנַס “he entered,” הִזְמִין “he invited.” In conversation, however, someone asked “How do you say ‘to enter’?” normally answers להיכנס. Learners therefore hear the infinitive as the verb's everyday name but may need the past form to find it in a traditional dictionary.

Pealim is a practical exception: it indexes infinitives while also displaying the past and the full paradigm. The deeper citation-form mismatch is explained on how Hebrew names a verb.

מה שם הפועל של הזמין? — להזמין.

ma shem hapó'al shel hizmín? lehazmín

What is the infinitive of הזמין? — להזמין. (ordinary classroom wording; the answer is an infinitive)

Common Mistakes

1. Writing ל as a separate word. The ordinary infinitive is one orthographic word.

❌ אני צריך ל כתוב לדנה

Incorrect spelling—the infinitive is the single word לכתוב.

✅ אני צריך לכתוב לדנה לפני הערב.

aní tsaríkh likhtóv ledána lifnéi ha'érev

I need to write to Dana before this evening. (m. speaker)

2. Adding a second ל after כדי. כדי selects the infinitive as it already exists; it contributes no extra infinitive prefix.

❌ באתי כדי ללכתוב את החוזה

Incorrect—ללכתוב contains an extra ל. Use כדי לכתוב.

✅ באתי כדי לכתוב את החוזה ולחתום עליו.

báti kdei likhtóv et hakhozé velakhtóm aláv

I came to write the contract and sign it.

3. Inventing a huf'al infinitive. The passive binyan has no such form.

❌ אני מקווה להוזמן לכנס

Incorrect—huf'al has no infinitive *להוזמן. Use להיות מוזמן or a finite passive clause.

✅ אני מקווה להיות מוזמן לכנס בשנה הבאה.

aní mekavé lihyót muzmán lakénes bashaná haba'á

I hope to be invited to the conference next year. (m. speaker)

4. Stripping niqqud from classical spelling instead of writing ktiv male. Nif'al להיכנס needs its yod.

❌ אסור להכנס בלי כרטיס

Incorrect as ktiv male—the nif'al infinitive is להיכנס with י.

✅ אסור להיכנס בלי כרטיס תקף.

asúr lehikanés bli kartís takéf

You must not enter without a valid ticket.

Key Takeaways

The ordinary modern infinitive is one word beginning with ל־; the separate literary infinitive absolute is outside this system.
Five binyanim have infinitives: pa'al, nif'al, pi'el, hif'il and hitpa'el.
Binyan predicts a family of shapes, not every weak-root detail—especially in pa'al.
The vowel under ל belongs to the word's phonology: לִכְתּוֹב, לְדַבֵּר, לֶאֱכוֹל, לַעֲבוֹד.
Pu'al and huf'al have no infinitive; reformulate with להיות + participle, an active infinitive or a middle verb.
Traditional dictionaries cite the 3ms past, while speakers commonly name a verb by its infinitive.

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