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Learn Hardcore Hebrew: הוא איש. - He is a man.

Hardcore Hebrew
/Lesson 1
/הוא איש.

הוא איש.

הוא איש.hu ish.

Breakdown of הוא איש.

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Questions & Answers about הוא איש.

How is הוא איש pronounced?

It is pronounced hu ish.

הוא = hu
איש = ish

So the full sentence sounds like hu ish.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

In Hebrew, the present tense often has no separate verb for to be.

So where English says:

He is a man

Hebrew simply says:

הוא איש
literally: he man

This is very normal in Hebrew. In past or future, Hebrew does use forms related to to be, but in simple present-tense sentences like this, it is usually omitted.

What do the two words mean individually?

The words are:

הוא = he
איש = man

So the sentence is built very directly:

הוא = subject
איש = predicate noun / description of the subject

Does איש always mean man?

Usually, yes, איש means man.

But depending on context, it can sometimes have broader or slightly different uses, such as:

a person in some formal or literary contexts
husband in certain expressions or contexts

In the sentence הוא איש, the most natural meaning is He is a man.

Why doesn’t איש have ה־ in front of it?

Because איש here is indefinite.

איש = a man
האיש = the man

So:

הוא איש = He is a man
הוא האיש = He is the man

English uses a/an for indefinite nouns, but Hebrew usually has no separate word for a/an. The bare noun often carries that meaning.

Why is the word order הוא איש and not something else?

This is a very common Hebrew word order for a simple present-tense sentence with a pronoun subject:

הוא = the subject
איש = what is being said about him

So הוא איש is the straightforward way to say He is a man.

Hebrew word order can be flexible in some contexts, but this order is the normal, neutral one here.

How do I know which word is the subject?

You know from the grammar and meaning:

הוא is a pronoun meaning he
איש is a noun meaning man

So הוא is clearly the subject, and איש tells you what he is.

In other words:

הוא = who we are talking about
איש = what he is

Would this sentence change if the person were female?

Yes. You would use the feminine forms:

היא אישה = She is a woman

Compare:

הוא איש = He is a man
היא אישה = She is a woman

Notice both the pronoun and the noun change.

Is הוא ever used for anything other than he?

Yes. הוא can also sometimes mean it when referring to a masculine noun.

For example, if you are talking about a masculine object, Hebrew may use הוא for it.

But in הוא איש, since איש means man, the natural interpretation is definitely he, not it.

Why are there no vowel marks here?

Because most modern Hebrew is written without niqqud (vowel marks).

So learners often see:

הוא איש

instead of a fully pointed version.

Native readers usually understand the vowels from familiarity and context. This is normal in newspapers, books, messages, signs, and most everyday writing.

Is this sentence natural in everyday Hebrew?

Yes, it is grammatical and understandable.

That said, in real conversation, a sentence like הוא איש may sound a bit simple, formal, or context-dependent unless there is a reason to state it. For example, it might appear in a beginner textbook, a grammar example, or in a context where gender or identity is being contrasted.

So it is a good learning sentence, even if real-life speech often uses longer or more specific sentences.

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