זאת ילדה.

This is a girl.

Breakdown of זאת ילדה.

• זאת: this
• ילדה: girl

Questions & Answers about זאת ילדה.

How do you pronounce זאת ילדה?

It is usually pronounced zot yalda.

A more detailed breakdown:

• זאת = zot
• ילדה = yalda

With vowels written, it is often shown as זֹאת יַלְדָה.

What does each word do in the sentence?

The sentence has two parts:

• זאת = this / this one
• ילדה = girl

So grammatically, the sentence is like:

• This
  • girl

In natural English, that becomes This is a girl or sometimes This is the girl, depending on context.

Why is there no word for is in the sentence?

In present-tense Hebrew, the verb to be is usually left out.

So where English says:

• This is a girl

Hebrew simply says:

• זאת ילדה

This is completely normal. Hebrew often uses noun + noun/adjective sentences in the present without a separate word for is/am/are.

Why is זאת feminine?

זאת is the feminine form of this.

That matters because ילדה is a feminine noun meaning girl.

Hebrew often matches words by gender, so a feminine noun normally goes with a feminine demonstrative:

• זאת ילדה = This is a girl

Compare with the masculine pattern:

• זה ילד = This is a boy

So the feminine זאת fits the feminine noun ילדה.

Why doesn’t ילדה have a word for a or the?

Hebrew has no separate word for a or an.

So ילדה by itself can mean:

• a girl
• sometimes just girl, depending on context

If you want the girl, Hebrew usually adds ה־ to the noun:

• הילדה = the girl

So:

• זאת ילדה = This is a girl
• זאת הילדה = This is the girl

Is זאת the same as זו?

Yes, very often they mean the same thing: feminine this / this one.

In modern Hebrew, both זאת and זו are used. For many learners:

• זאת is very common and safe to learn
• זו is also common, especially in speech and writing

So you may also see:

• זו ילדה

That means the same thing.

Could זאת ילדה also mean this girl?

Usually, no. In this exact form, it is normally understood as a full sentence: This is a girl.

If you want this girl as a noun phrase, Hebrew more often puts the noun first:

• הילדה הזאת = this girl

That is a very common pattern in Hebrew:

• the + noun + this/that

So:

• זאת ילדה = This is a girl
• הילדה הזאת = this girl

Can the word order change?

Sometimes, but זאת ילדה is the straightforward basic pattern here.

Hebrew can be flexible in some contexts, but if you are learning the standard beginner structure for This is X, this sentence is a good model:

• זה ילד = This is a boy
• זאת ילדה = This is a girl

If you change the order, you may create a different structure or a less basic sentence, so beginners should usually keep this order.

What would the masculine version be?

The masculine version is:

• זה ילד

Breakdown:

• זה = masculine this
• ילד = boy

So the pair is:

• זה ילד = This is a boy
• זאת ילדה = This is a girl

This is a useful pattern to memorize because it shows both gender forms clearly.

How do I know ילדה is feminine?

One clue is the ending ־ה at the end of ילדה.

Many Hebrew feminine nouns end in:

• ־ה
• or ־ת

So ילדה is a very typical feminine noun.

Its masculine counterpart is:

• ילד = boy
• ילדה = girl

This pair is especially helpful because you can see the feminine ending clearly.

How would this sentence look with vowel marks?

With niqqud (vowel marks), it is usually written:

• זֹאת יַלְדָה

Many everyday texts leave the vowel marks out, so learners usually see:

• זאת ילדה

Both represent the same sentence. The version without vowel marks is the normal modern spelling in most real-world Hebrew writing.