החתול חמוד.

A common pronunciation guide is ha-cha-TUL cha-MUD or ha-kha-TUL kha-MUD.

• החתול = ha-chatul
• חמוד = chamud

The stress is usually on the last syllable of each word: cha-TUL, cha-MUD.

The letter ח does not sound like English h. It is a throaty sound, like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch.

The prefix ה־ means the.

So:

• חתול = cat
• החתול = the cat

Unlike English, Hebrew usually attaches the directly to the beginning of the word instead of writing it as a separate word.

In present-tense Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not stated.

So Hebrew says:

• החתול חמוד
  literally: the cat cute

But in natural English, that means:

• The cat is cute.

This is completely normal in Hebrew. In past or future tense, Hebrew does use forms equivalent to was or will be.

Hebrew normally puts adjectives after the noun they describe.

So:

• חתול חמוד = a cute cat
• literally: cat cute

In your sentence, חמוד is functioning as a predicate adjective:

• החתול חמוד = The cat is cute

So even though English says cute cat or the cat is cute, Hebrew still places the adjective after the noun.

Because in this sentence חמוד is not part of the noun phrase the cute cat. It is the predicate: is cute.

Compare these:

• החתול חמוד = The cat is cute
• החתול החמוד = The cute cat

This is a very important difference in Hebrew:

• If the adjective is part of the noun phrase, it usually matches definiteness: החתול החמוד
• If the adjective is the predicate, it usually does not take ה: החתול חמוד

חמוד is masculine singular.

It matches החתול, which is also masculine singular.

Hebrew adjectives usually agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• sometimes definiteness, when they are attributive

For example:

• masculine singular: חתול חמוד = a cute cat
• feminine singular: חתולה חמודה = a cute female cat
• masculine plural: חתולים חמודים = cute cats
• feminine plural: חתולות חמודות = cute female cats

Not always. חתול is the standard word for cat, and in many contexts it can be used generically.

But grammatically it is a masculine noun. If you specifically want to say female cat, you can say חתולה.

So:

• חתול = cat / male cat
• חתולה = female cat

In beginner material, חתול is often just taught as the normal word for cat.

With niqqud (vowel marks), it is:

הַחָתוּל חָמוּד

Modern Hebrew is usually written without vowel marks, so learners normally see:

החתול חמוד

The vowel marks are helpful for beginners, but adult native texts usually leave them out.

You would say:

החתול החמוד

This is different from:

• החתול חמוד = The cat is cute
• החתול החמוד = The cute cat

That extra ה on החמוד shows that the adjective belongs inside the noun phrase.

This is one of the most useful contrasts for learners to notice.

Yes, in some contexts it can be ambiguous.

Without ה and without extra context:

• חתול חמוד can be understood as a cute cat
• and in some situations it could also be interpreted as a cat is cute

Usually context, punctuation, and intonation make the meaning clear.

That is one reason why החתול חמוד is easier to interpret: it clearly means The cat is cute.

For a basic sentence, החתול חמוד is the normal and safest order.

Hebrew can sometimes change word order for emphasis, style, or poetry, but beginners should learn:

• subject + adjective/predicate

So stick with:

החתול חמוד

That is the most natural standard form for The cat is cute.