אני שומע רעש מבחוץ.

I hear noise from outside.

Breakdown of אני שומע רעש מבחוץ.

• אני: I
• רעש: noise
• לשמוע: to hear
• מבחוץ: from outside

Questions & Answers about אני שומע רעש מבחוץ.

How do you pronounce אני שומע רעש מבחוץ?

A common pronunciation is:

ani shoméa ra'ash mibáchutz

A rough guide:

• אני = a-NEE
• שומע = sho-MEH-a
• רעש = RA-ash or ra-ASH, depending on accent
• מבחוץ = mi-ba-CHUTZ

Notes:

• The ch in מבחוץ is the throaty sound heard in Hebrew ח, like German Bach or Scottish loch.
• In everyday speech, some sounds may be reduced a little, but this pronunciation will be understood well.

Why is שומע used with אני? Shouldn’t there be a special present-tense form for I hear?

In Hebrew, the present tense works differently from English.

שומע is the masculine singular present form of the verb לשמוע = to hear.

So:

• אני שומע = I hear / I am hearing if the speaker is male
• אני שומעת = I hear / I am hearing if the speaker is female

Unlike English, Hebrew does not usually make a strong everyday distinction between:

• I hear
• I am hearing

Both can be expressed with the same present-tense form, depending on context.