אנחנו גרים באותו בניין.

A common pronunciation is:

anachnu garim be-oto binyan

You may also hear anachnu pronounced a bit like anakhnu, depending on the speaker.

A rough breakdown:

• אנחנו = anachnu = we
• גרים = garim = live / are living
• באותו = be-oto = in the same
• בניין = binyan = building

So the stress is roughly:

• a-NACH-nu
• ga-RIM
• be-o-TO
• bin-YAN

Yes. אנחנו means we.

It is the standard independent pronoun for we in Hebrew, and it does not change for masculine vs. feminine. So whether the group is all male, all female, or mixed, אנחנו still means we.

Examples:

• אנחנו לומדים = we study / are studying (masculine or mixed group)
• אנחנו לומדות = we study / are studying (all-female group)

Notice that the pronoun אנחנו stays the same, but the verb form can change.

גרים is the present-tense plural form of the verb לגור, which means to live in the sense of to reside.

Since the subject is אנחנו = we, Hebrew uses a plural form:

• גר = he lives
• גרה = she lives
• גרים = they / we live (masculine or mixed)
• גרות = they / we live (feminine)

So אנחנו גרים means we live, when the group is masculine or mixed.

If the speakers were all female, you would normally say:

• אנחנו גרות באותו בניין

Not exactly, but it often translates that way.

Hebrew present tense does a lot of work. גרים can mean:

• live
• are living
• sometimes even do live, depending on context

So אנחנו גרים באותו בניין could be understood as:

• We live in the same building
• We’re living in the same building

Usually context tells you which one sounds best in English.

Because Hebrew often attaches prepositions directly to the following word.

The preposition ב־ means in / at. Instead of writing it as a separate word, Hebrew usually attaches it to the next word.

So:

• ב = in
• אותו = same / that same
• באותו = in the same

This is very common in Hebrew. Other examples:

• בבית = in the house
• בכיתה = in the classroom
• בעיר = in the city

Here באותו means in the same.

It is made of:

• ב־ = in
• אותו = same (agreeing with a masculine singular noun)

So:

• אותו בניין = the same building
• באותו בניין = in the same building

This אותו is being used in the sense of same, not as the direct object pronoun him.

That can confuse learners, because אותו can also mean him or him/it as a direct object in other sentences. But here, because it comes before a noun (בניין), it means same.

Because בניין is a masculine singular noun.

In Hebrew, words like same must match the noun in gender and number.

So:

• masculine singular: אותו
• feminine singular: אותה
• masculine plural: אותם
• feminine plural: אותן

Since בניין = building is masculine singular, Hebrew uses אותו:

• אותו בניין = the same building

Compare:

• אותה דירה = the same apartment (because *דירה is feminine)*
• אותם בתים = the same houses (masculine plural)
• אותן ערים = the same cities (feminine plural)

Great question. In Hebrew, אותו / אותה / אותם / אותן already makes the noun definite in this kind of phrase.

So Hebrew says:

• אותו בניין = the same building

Not:

• אותו הבניין

That second version is not standard here.

This is different from English, where we need the in the same building. In Hebrew, the definiteness is already built into the construction with אותו.

Yes, it is the same Hebrew word: בניין.

In everyday language, בניין means building.

In grammar, בניין also means a verb pattern or verbal structure. That is a more technical meaning.

So the word literally has more than one meaning, depending on context:

• everyday speech: building
• grammar: verb pattern

In this sentence, of course, it simply means building.

The sentence uses a very natural Hebrew word order:

subject + verb + place

• אנחנו = we
• גרים = live
• באותו בניין = in the same building

So:

• אנחנו גרים באותו בניין

That is the most neutral and straightforward order.

Hebrew can sometimes move things around for emphasis, for example:

• באותו בניין אנחנו גרים

That sounds more marked, like:

• It’s in the same building that we live or
• We live in the same building

But the original version is the normal one learners should start with.

They could often say just:

• גרים באותו בניין

because the verb form already suggests a plural subject.

However, Hebrew speakers often include the pronoun too, especially:

• for clarity
• for emphasis
• in simple teaching examples
• in conversation when the subject is being stated clearly

So both are possible, but:

• אנחנו גרים באותו בניין = explicit we live in the same building
• גרים באותו בניין = live in the same building, with we understood from context

Then the verb would normally change to the feminine plural form:

• אנחנו גרות באותו בניין

Only גרים changes to גרות.

The rest stays the same because בניין is still a masculine singular noun, so באותו בניין does not change.

So:

• mixed group / all male: אנחנו גרים באותו בניין
• all female: אנחנו גרות באותו בניין