זה הצעד הראשון.

A common pronunciation is:

ze ha-TSA-ad ha-ri-SHON

More slowly:

• זה = ze
• הצעד = ha-tza'ad
• הראשון = ha-rishon

A few notes:

• צ sounds like ts in cats
• ע in modern Hebrew is often very weak or silent for many speakers, but it can slightly separate vowels in צעד
• The stress is usually at the end of הראשון: ri-SHON

Word by word:

• זה = this / this is
• הצעד = the step
• הראשון = the first

So the structure is literally:

This — the step the-first

Natural English: This is the first step.

In present-tense Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted.

So instead of saying something equivalent to This is the first step with a separate word for is, Hebrew simply says:

זה הצעד הראשון

This is called a nominal sentence. It is very common in Hebrew.

Compare:

• הוא מורה = He is a teacher
• זה טוב = This is good
• זה הצעד הראשון = This is the first step

Hebrew often puts things in a different order from English.

In English:

• the first step

In Hebrew:

• the step first
• הצעד הראשון

That is because adjectives and ordinal numbers like ראשון usually come after the noun in Hebrew.

So:

• צעד ראשון = a first step
• הצעד הראשון = the first step

Because the phrase is definite: the first step, not just a first step.

In Hebrew, when a noun is definite and it has an adjective or ordinal after it, the adjective/ordinal also usually becomes definite.

So:

• צעד ראשון = a first step
• הצעד הראשון = the first step

This is a very important Hebrew pattern:

• ספר טוב = a good book
• הספר הטוב = the good book

The same thing happens here with the ordinal:

• צעד ראשון
• הצעד הראשון

In English, yes:

• the first step

In Hebrew, ordinal numbers usually come after the noun:

• הצעד הראשון

This is the normal pattern.

More examples:

• היום הראשון = the first day
• הפרק השני = the second chapter
• הפעם האחרונה = the last time

So if you want to say first + noun in Hebrew, think: noun + ראשון

זה is the masculine singular form of this.

Since צעד is a masculine singular noun, זה fits naturally here.

Also, in sentences like this, זה is very commonly used as a general this is... opener:

• זה הבית = This is the house
• זה רעיון טוב = This is a good idea

If the noun were feminine, you might often see:

• זאת הדרך הראשונה = This is the first way/path

In everyday speech, however, Hebrew speakers sometimes use זה quite broadly even where strict agreement might suggest another form.

צעד is masculine.

You can tell from the ordinal:

• הצעד הראשון = masculine not
• הצעד הראשונה = which would be feminine and incorrect here

This matters because adjectives and ordinal numbers must agree with the noun in gender and number.

So:

• masculine singular: צעד ראשון
• feminine singular: פסיעה ראשונה or דרך ראשונה, depending on the noun

The basic form is צעד = step

The ה־ at the beginning is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• צעד = step
• הצעד = the step

This ה־ is attached directly to the noun.

The basic form is ראשון = first (masculine singular)

With the definite article:

• ראשון = first
• הראשון = the first

Because it describes a definite noun (הצעד), it also becomes definite.

Related forms:

• ראשונה = feminine singular
• ראשונים = masculine plural
• ראשונות = feminine plural

No. That would be a different structure.

זה הצעד הראשון means:

• This is the first step

But this step as a noun phrase is usually:

• הצעד הזה = this step

So compare:

• זה הצעד הראשון = This is the first step
• הצעד הזה הוא הראשון = This step is the first one
• הצעד הזה = this step

This is a very useful distinction:

• זה + noun phrase = this is ...
• noun + הזה/הזאת = this noun

Yes, depending on context, זה can sometimes be understood as this, that, or even it in English translation.

In this sentence, the most natural translation is:

• This is the first step

But Hebrew זה is often used in a broader way than English this.

For example:

• זה טוב = It’s good / This is good
• מה זה? = What is this?

So the exact English wording depends on context.

Yes. זהו הצעד הראשון is also correct.

זהו is a slightly more formal or emphatic version of זה in this kind of sentence.

So:

• זה הצעד הראשון = normal, common
• זהו הצעד הראשון = also correct, a bit more formal/emphatic

Both mean:

• This is the first step

This sentence teaches several very common Hebrew patterns:

1. No present-tense "is"

   • זה הצעד הראשון = This is the first step

2. The definite article is attached

   • צעד → הצעד
   • ראשון → הראשון

3. Adjectives/ordinals come after the noun

   • הצעד הראשון

4. Adjectives/ordinals agree with the noun

   • צעד is masculine, so ראשון is masculine

If you understand those four points, you understand a lot of basic Hebrew sentence structure.