אין מים.

There is no water.

Breakdown of אין מים.

• מים: water
• אין: there is no

Questions & Answers about אין מים.

What does אין mean in this sentence?

In אין מים, אין is the standard Hebrew word for saying that something does not exist or is not available.

So the pattern is:

• יש מים = there is water
• אין מים = there is no water / there isn’t any water

It is not just a general not. It specifically works for there is/there are not.

Why is there no separate word for is or are?

Hebrew usually does not use a present-tense verb meaning to be in simple sentences.

So where English says:

• There is no water

Hebrew simply says:

• אין מים

This is very normal Hebrew. You do not need a separate word for is or are here.

Why can’t I say לא מים?

Because לא and אין do different jobs.

• לא usually negates verbs:
  אני לא שותה מים = I am not drinking water
• אין is used for absence or non-existence:
  אין מים = there is no water

So לא מים would not be the normal way to say there is no water.

How is אין מים pronounced?

A common rough pronunciation guide is:

• אין = ein or eyn, roughly like ain in rain without the r
• מים = mayim, roughly MY-im

So the whole sentence is roughly:

ein mayim

Why does מים end with -ים, which usually looks plural?

That is a very common learner question.

מים is the normal Hebrew word for water, even though it has a plural-looking form. In modern Hebrew, it behaves grammatically like a masculine plural noun in many contexts.

For example:

• מים קרים = cold water
  literally, cold waters in grammar, but naturally translated as cold water

So even though English treats water as singular, Hebrew uses מים as the standard word.

Does אין change for gender or number?

No. אין itself stays the same.

You can use it with singular or plural nouns, masculine or feminine:

• אין ספר = there is no book
• אין ספרים = there are no books
• אין ילדה = there is no girl
• אין ילדות = there are no girls

So in אין מים, אין does not change even though מים is grammatically plural-looking.

Why is the order אין מים and not מים אין?

The normal, neutral word order is:

אין + noun

So:

• אין מים = the ordinary way to say it

If you put מים first, it sounds marked or contrastive, something like:

• As for water, there isn’t any

So for a basic sentence, אין מים is the form learners should use.

What is the positive version of this sentence?

The positive version is:

יש מים

That means:

• there is water
• there is some water
• there are water supplies, depending on context

So יש and אין are a very important pair:

• יש = there is / there are
• אין = there is not / there are not

How would I say I don’t have water?

You can use the same word אין, but add a prepositional pronoun:

• אין לי מים = I don’t have water

Literally, this is closer to:

• there is no water to me

This is how Hebrew commonly expresses possession:

• יש לי מים = I have water
• אין לי מים = I don’t have water

So learning אין מים also helps you build useful possession sentences.