ההגנה חזקה.

strong

Breakdown of ההגנה חזקה.

• הגנה: defence

Questions & Answers about ההגנה חזקה.

How do you pronounce ההגנה חזקה?

A common pronunciation is:

ha-ha-ga-NA cha-za-KA

More carefully, in Modern Hebrew IPA, it is often approximately:

/hahaɡaˈna χazaˈka/

A few notes:

• ההגנה = ha-haganá
• חזקה = chazaká
• The ח sound is not like English h. It is a throaty sound, like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch.
• The stress is usually on the last syllable of both words: hagana and chazaka.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

In present-tense Hebrew, sentences like The defense is strong usually do not use a separate word for is.

So Hebrew says:

ההגנה חזקה
literally: the defense strong

This is a very normal Hebrew sentence structure in the present tense.

If you want past or future, Hebrew does use forms of to be:

• ההגנה הייתה חזקה = The defense was strong
• ההגנה תהיה חזקה = The defense will be strong

Why does the adjective come after the noun?