החתול חמוד.

The cat is cute.

Breakdown of החתול חמוד.

• חתול: cat
• חמוד: cute

Questions & Answers about החתול חמוד.

How do you pronounce 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.

What does the ה at the beginning of החתול mean?

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.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

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.

Why does חמוד come after החתול?