זה בית.

This is a house.

Breakdown of זה בית.

• זה: this
• בית: house

Questions & Answers about זה בית.

How do you pronounce זה בית?

It is pronounced ze bayit.

• זה = ze
• בית = bayit

A rough English approximation is zeh BYE-eet, though the real Hebrew sounds are a bit shorter and smoother than that.

Why is there no word for is in the sentence?

In the present tense, Hebrew often leaves out the verb to be.

So זה בית literally looks like this house, but it means this is a house.

This is very normal in Hebrew with simple present-tense sentences:

• זה בית = this is a house
• הוא מורה = he is a teacher
• היא עייפה = she is tired

In the past or future, Hebrew does use forms of to be:

• זה היה בית = this was a house
• זה יהיה בית = this will be a house

Why is there no word for a?

Hebrew does not have an indefinite article like English a or an.

So בית can mean a house or just house, depending on context.

If you want to say the house, Hebrew adds ה־ to the noun:

• בית = a house / house
• הבית = the house

So:

• זה בית = this is a house
• זה הבית = this is the house