סעי קדימה לאט.

Drive forward slowly.

Breakdown of סעי קדימה לאט.

• לאט: slowly
• לנסוע: to drive
• קדימה: forward; onward

Questions & Answers about סעי קדימה לאט.

What kind of verb form is סעי?

סעי is the imperative form, used for giving a command.

More specifically, it is:

• 2nd person
• singular
• feminine

So this command is being said to one female. Hebrew verbs often show the gender of the person being addressed, including in commands.

Compare:

• סע — to one male
• סעי — to one female

Why is the command feminine? Does Hebrew really mark gender in imperatives?

Yes. In Hebrew, commands usually agree with the gender and number of the person you are speaking to.

That means English Drive forward slowly can have different Hebrew forms depending on who is being addressed.

For example:

• סע קדימה לאט — to one man
• סעי קדימה לאט — to one woman
• סעו קדימה לאט — to more than one person

For English speakers, this is a very common adjustment, because English imperatives do not change for gender.

Where did the נ from לנסוע go?