המספר הוא מאה.

• המספר = the number
  • מספר means number
  • the prefix ה־ means the
• הוא = literally he, but here it functions like is
• מאה = one hundred / a hundred

So the structure is basically the number is one hundred.

A common pronunciation is:

ha-misPAR hu me-A

Notes:

• המספר is stressed on the last syllable: misPAR
• הוא is simply hu
• מאה is me-a, with a small break between the two vowels because of א

In Hebrew, the is usually a prefix, not a separate word.

So:

• מספר = number
• המספר = the number

This is very normal in Hebrew. English uses a separate word (the number), but Hebrew usually attaches ה־ directly to the noun.

That is a very common question.

Hebrew often does leave out is/are in present-tense sentences, especially with adjectives:

• הילד חכם = the boy is smart

But when the sentence is identifying one noun as another noun, Hebrew often uses a pronoun like הוא or היא to connect them.

So in:

• המספר הוא מאה

הוא acts like a linking word, similar to is.

It helps make the sentence clearly mean X is Y.

Grammatically, it is the same word as he, but in this sentence it is not really being used with the meaning he.

Here, הוא is functioning as a copular pronoun: a word that links the subject and the predicate, like is in English.

So you should understand it here as part of the structure the number is one hundred, not as the number, he, one hundred.

Because מספר is a masculine singular noun.

In this kind of sentence, the linking pronoun usually matches the grammatical gender and number of the subject.

• המספר הוא מאה = the number is one hundred
• התשובה היא מאה = the answer is one hundred

Here:

• מספר is masculine, so הוא
• תשובה is feminine, so היא

Hebrew has no indefinite article, so there is no separate word that means a/an.

Also, מאה by itself already means one hundred / a hundred.

So Hebrew does not need an extra word corresponding to English a in this sentence.

In a full, normal sentence, המספר הוא מאה is the clearer and more standard form.

If you say המספר מאה, it may sound incomplete or less natural to many speakers in ordinary usage.

So for learners, it is safest to use:

• המספר הוא מאה

Yes, Hebrew word order can sometimes change for emphasis, but the neutral, straightforward order here is:

• המספר הוא מאה

If you changed the order, it could sound more marked or literary, or put focus on a different part of the sentence. For basic learning, stick with the standard order above.

It is the word for one hundred, so semantically it is a number. But in Hebrew grammar, number words can behave somewhat like nouns in some contexts.

In this sentence, the important thing is simple:

• מאה is the thing being identified as the number

So המספר הוא מאה means that the value of the number is 100.