זה ילד קטן.

This is a small boy.

Breakdown of זה ילד קטן.

• זה: this
• ילד: boy
• קטן: small

Questions & Answers about זה ילד קטן.

How do you pronounce זה ילד קטן?

A common pronunciation is ze yeled katan.

A rough breakdown:

• זה = ze
• ילד = yeled
• קטן = katan

A natural stress pattern is:

• ZE
• YE-led
• ka-TAN

What does זה mean here?

Here, זה means this. It points to someone and identifies them.

So the structure is basically:

• זה = this
• ילד קטן = a small boy / a small child

Why is there no word for is?

Because in Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So Hebrew says:

• זה ילד קטן

Where English says:

• This is a small boy

This is very normal in Hebrew. In past and future, forms of היה are used, but in the present tense they are usually left out.

Is this a full sentence, or does it mean this small boy?

It is a full sentence: This is a small boy.

It does not normally mean this small boy.

If you want this small boy as a noun phrase, Hebrew usually says:

• הילד הקטן הזה

So compare:

• זה ילד קטן = This is a small boy
• הילד הקטן הזה = this small boy

Why is there no word for a before ילד?

Hebrew has no indefinite article. In other words, there is no separate word for a or an.

So:

• ילד can mean a boy, boy, or sometimes child, depending on context.

Hebrew does have a definite article:

• ה־

So:

• ילד = a boy / boy
• הילד = the boy

Why does קטן come after ילד?

Because Hebrew adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• ילד קטן = small boy
• literally, something like boy small

This is the normal word order in Hebrew.

Why is קטן in that form?

Because Hebrew adjectives must agree with the noun in gender and number.

ילד is:

• masculine
• singular

So the adjective is also masculine singular:

• קטן

Other forms would be:

• ילדה קטנה = a small girl
• ילדים קטנים = small boys / small children
• ילדות קטנות = small girls

Does ילד mean boy or child?

It can mean either boy or child, depending on context.

In many beginner sentences, the most natural translation is boy. But the word can also be used more generally for child.

Related word:

• ילדה = girl

How would I say the same thing about a girl?

You would usually say:

• זאת ילדה קטנה

That means This is a small girl.

Notice the changes:

• זאת instead of זה
• ילדה instead of ילד
• קטנה instead of קטן

That is because Hebrew changes words to match gender.

Why isn’t there ה־ on ילד or קטן?

Because the phrase is indefinite.

• ילד קטן = a small boy
• הילד הקטן = the small boy

In Hebrew, if the noun is definite, the adjective normally becomes definite too.

So:

• הילד הקטן is correct
• not just הילד קטן when you mean the small boy as a noun phrase

How would I say This is the small boy instead?

You would say:

• זה הילד הקטן

Here:

• זה = this
• הילד הקטן = the small boy

So the whole sentence means:

• This is the small boy

Why are there no vowel marks in the sentence?

Because modern Hebrew is usually written without vowel marks in everyday writing.

So learners often see:

• זה ילד קטן

With vowel marks, it could be written:

• זֶה יֶלֶד קָטָן

Native readers usually do not need the vowel marks, but beginners often find them helpful.