הכלב הוא חיית מחמד.

ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• כלב = dog
• הכלב = the dog

In this sentence, הכלב refers to the dog, not just a dog or dogs in general.

Here הוא functions as the copula, meaning is.

Hebrew often leaves out is/am/are in the present tense, especially in simple sentences, but when both parts are nouns, Hebrew commonly uses הוא or היא to connect them clearly.

So:

• הכלב חיית מחמד can sound incomplete or less standard in this context
• הכלב הוא חיית מחמד = The dog is a pet

Important: here הוא does not literally mean he in the usual pronoun sense, even though the same word can also mean he.

Because this is a construct phrase in Hebrew, called סמיכות.

The base noun is:

• חיה = animal

But when it comes before another noun in a construct relationship, it changes form:

• חיית = animal of ...
• מחמד = fondness / delight / pet-related noun in this expression

So:

• חיית מחמד literally means something like an animal of affection
• naturally, it means a pet

This pattern is very common in Hebrew:

• בית ספר = school (literally house of book)
• כוס מים = a cup of water
• חיית מחמד = pet

By itself, מחמד is not a very common everyday standalone word for beginners, but in the expression חיית מחמד it contributes the idea of something cherished / loved / kept for companionship.

In practice, you should learn חיית מחמד as a fixed expression meaning pet.

So even if the parts are interesting, the main useful takeaway is:

• חיית מחמד = pet

In Hebrew, predicate nouns often appear without the definite article in sentences like this.

Compare:

• הכלב הוא חיית מחמד = The dog is a pet

This is like English using a pet, not the pet.

If you said חיית המחמד, that would mean the pet animal or the pet, which changes the meaning and usually would not fit this sentence in the same way.

So:

• חיית מחמד = a pet
• חיית המחמד = the pet animal / the pet

It is singular.

• חיית מחמד = a pet
• חיות מחמד = pets

So the sentence is talking about one dog and identifying it as one pet.

Because חיה is a feminine noun in Hebrew.

That means the phrase חיית מחמד is grammatically feminine, regardless of whether the actual pet is male or female.

Hebrew grammatical gender does not always match real-world biological sex. Here:

• כלב is a masculine noun
• חיית מחמד is a feminine noun phrase
• that is completely normal

The sentence still works because Hebrew allows a masculine subject to be identified with a feminine predicate noun if that predicate noun is the correct word.

A simple pronunciation is:

ha-kélev hu chayat machmád

Approximate breakdown:

• הכלב = ha-KÉ-lev
• הוא = hu
• חיית = cha-YAT or kha-YAT depending on how strongly you pronounce ח
• מחמד = mach-MAD or makh-MAD

Notes:

• ח is a throat sound that English does not really have.
• כ and ח in transliteration often appear as kh or ch.
• Stress is usually toward the end in מחמד.

Sometimes learners will see simple present-tense Hebrew sentences without any word for is, such as:

• הכלב גדול = The dog is big

But with two noun phrases, Hebrew often uses הוא/היא to make the sentence clearer and more natural:

• הכלב הוא חיית מחמד

So a good rule for learners is:

• with adjective predicates, Hebrew often omits is
• with noun predicates, Hebrew often uses הוא/היא

That is not the whole story, but it is a very helpful beginner rule.

The word order is:

subject + copula + predicate noun

So:

• הכלב = subject
• הוא = is
• חיית מחמד = predicate noun

This matches English fairly closely:

• The dog is a pet

That makes this a nice beginner sentence, because the structure is familiar even though the internal Hebrew grammar is different.

Yes. In this sentence, הוא is masculine because הכלב is grammatically masculine.

If the subject were feminine, Hebrew would normally use היא:

• החתולה היא חיית מחמד = The cat is a pet

So the linking word agrees with the subject’s grammatical gender:

• masculine subject → הוא
• feminine subject → היא

That agreement is very important in Hebrew.

A very useful pattern is:

[definite noun] + הוא/היא + [noun phrase]

Examples:

• הכלב הוא חיית מחמד = The dog is a pet
• דני הוא תלמיד = Danny is a student
• מיכל היא מורה = Michal is a teacher

Also learn this vocabulary chunk as a set:

• חיית מחמד = pet

That will help you recognize and build many similar Hebrew sentences.