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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?