Imperative Mood in Hebrew

In Brief

Hebrew commands address one or more people directly and normally distinguish masculine singular, feminine singular, and plural: כתוב! “Write!” to one man, כתבי! to one woman, and כתבו! to a group. A negative command does not use a negative imperative; it uses אל + the second-person future, as in אל תדבר! “Don’t speak!” In everyday Israeli Hebrew, the positive future form is also extremely common as a command: תכתוב!.

Overview

The imperative mood (a verb form used for commands, instructions, requests, and encouragement) is called ציווי in Hebrew. You meet it in recipes, directions, signs, exercise instructions, conversations, and short expressions such as בוא! “Come!” Because the person being addressed is understood, Hebrew normally leaves out אתה, את, or אתם: saying כתוב! is enough.

This topic is introduced at B1 because it builds naturally on the second-person future. The traditional imperative often resembles a future form with its initial ת־ removed: תכתוב → כתוב. That is a useful starting rule, but it is not a complete method for every verb pattern. Some stems change, some common verbs are irregular, and modern speech often keeps the future form instead.

English uses one unchanged form for “Write!” whether it addresses a man, a woman, or several people. Hebrew makes that information visible in the verb. Learning commands therefore reinforces two central features of Hebrew verbs: gender and number agreement, and the binyan (the verb pattern that shapes a root into a verb).

How It Works

The three forms you need first

For practical Modern Hebrew, learn three positive command forms. The plural form is normally used for any group, regardless of gender.

Addressee	Pronoun understood	“Write!”	Typical ending or shape
one man	אתה	כתוב!	masculine singular base form
one woman	את	כתבי!	usually ־י
two or more people	אתם / אתן	כתבו!	usually ־ו

The pronouns in the table show who is being addressed; they are not normally spoken with the command. If a name or pronoun is added, it usually calls attention to the person or creates contrast: דני, כתוב את הכתובת “Danny, write the address.”

Starting from the future tense

With many verbs, compare the second-person future and imperative:

Person addressed	Future: “you will write”	Imperative: “write!”	What changes
masculine singular	תכתוב	כתוב!	initial ת־ disappears
feminine singular	תכתבי	כתבי!	initial ת־ disappears
plural	תכתבו	כתבו!	initial ת־ disappears

This comparison explains why the future tense is the best prerequisite. It also gives a useful memory strategy: first identify the correct second-person future form, then learn the corresponding command as part of the same family.

Do not, however, treat “delete the first ת” as a universal spelling algorithm. In התפעל, for example, תתלבש “you will get dressed” corresponds to התלבש! “Get dressed!” In נפעל, תיכנס corresponds to היכנס! “Enter!” The imperative preserves the characteristic shape of its binyan.

Commands in several common binyanim

The exact vowels are not always recoverable from unpointed Hebrew spelling, so it is best to learn aloud as well as by sight.

Binyan	Infinitive	Masculine singular	Feminine singular	Plural
פעל	לכתוב, to write	כתוב!	כתבי!	כתבו!
פיעל	לדבר, to speak	דבר!	דברי!	דברו!
הפעיל	להקשיב, to listen	הקשב!	הקשיבי!	הקשיבו!
התפעל	להתלבש, to get dressed	התלבש!	התלבשי!	התלבשו!
נפעל	להיכנס, to enter	היכנס!	היכנסי!	היכנסו!

These are productive patterns, not a promise that every root behaves regularly. Weak roots (roots containing letters that often disappear or cause vowel changes) and very common verbs deserve separate memorization.

Common irregular commands

Infinitive	Masculine singular	Feminine singular	Plural	Meaning
לבוא	בוא!	בואי!	בואו!	come
ללכת	לך!	לכי!	לכו!	go
לשבת	שב!	שבי!	שבו!	sit
לקחת	קח!	קחי!	קחו!	take
לתת	תן!	תני!	תנו!	give

These short forms occur constantly. Learn them as complete three-part sets rather than trying to rebuild them from the infinitive during a conversation.

Negative commands: אל + future

Hebrew normally forms a negative command with אל followed by the appropriate second-person future form.

Addressee	Positive command	Negative command
one man	דבר!	אל תדבר!
one woman	דברי!	אל תדברי!
a group	דברו!	אל תדברו!

Notice that the ת־ returns after אל. English says “don’t” plus an unchanged verb, but Hebrew must still select a gender-and-number form: אל תלך to one man, אל תלכי to one woman, and אל תלכו to a group.

לא is the ordinary word for negating statements: אתה לא מדבר “You are not speaking.” For a direct “don’t” instruction, use אל. You will sometimes hear לא + future in warnings, regulations, or emphatic speech, but אל + future is the core learner rule for a negative command.

Future forms used as positive commands

In contemporary spoken Hebrew, the second-person future frequently does the work of a positive imperative:

• תכתוב לי. “Write to me.”
• תכתבי לי. “Write to me.”, addressing one woman
• תכתבו לי. “Write to me.”, addressing a group

This is not actually future time in context. Tone, situation, and the absence of a future-time expression make it a request or instruction. Traditional imperatives such as כתוב remain common in many fixed expressions, instructions, public language, and high-frequency verbs, but forms such as תתקשר, תיכנס, and תקשיב sound completely natural in everyday conversation.

Examples in Context

Hebrew	English	Note
כתוב את השם שלך כאן.	Write your name here.	One man; traditional imperative
כתבי לי כשתגיעי.	Write to me when you arrive.	One woman; both verbs agree with her
שבו בבקשה.	Please sit down.	A group; בבקשה softens the instruction
בואי איתנו לקפה.	Come with us for coffee.	One woman; common irregular verb
קחו מפה אחת לכל קבוצה.	Take one map for each group.	A group; irregular לקחת
תן לי רגע לחשוב.	Give me a moment to think.	One man; irregular לתת
תקשיב, יש לי רעיון.	Listen, I have an idea.	Colloquial future used as a command
תפתחי את החלון, בבקשה.	Open the window, please.	Spoken request to one woman
אל תדבר בזמן הסרט.	Don’t speak during the film.	Negative command to one man
אל תשכחי את המפתחות.	Don’t forget the keys.	Negative command to one woman
אל תחכו לי.	Don’t wait for me.	Negative command to a group
פנו ימינה ברמזור.	Turn right at the traffic light.	Plural instruction; suitable for directions
ערבבו את החומרים והוסיפו מים.	Mix the ingredients and add water.	Plural/formal recipe style
היכנסו ושבו.	Come in and sit down.	Two plural imperatives in a welcoming instruction

Punctuation may look visually surprising when right-to-left Hebrew is embedded in an English page. The exclamation mark belongs at the end of the Hebrew sentence even if mixed-direction display makes it appear unusual.

Common Mistakes

Using an imperative after אל

• Wrong: אל דבר!
• Right: אל תדבר!
• Why: A negative command uses אל + second-person future, not אל + positive imperative.

Forgetting the addressee’s gender

• Wrong: כתוב לי when addressing one woman.
• Right: כתבי לי or colloquial תכתבי לי.
• Why: Hebrew command forms agree with the person being addressed. English does not mark this difference, so English-speaking learners often default to the masculine singular.

Using a singular form for a group

• Wrong: שב! to several people.
• Right: שבו! or תשבו!.
• Why: A group takes the plural form. In ordinary Modern Hebrew, the same plural is generally used for mixed, masculine, and all-female groups.

Removing ת mechanically from every future form

• Wrong: deriving תלבש from תתלבש as the command “Get dressed!”
• Right: התלבש!; colloquially, תתלבש! is also natural.
• Why: The binyan determines the command stem. The “remove ת־” shortcut works well for examples such as תכתוב → כתוב, but not for every pattern.

Making a request sound sharper than intended

• Awkward in a polite situation: סגור את הדלת! “Close the door!”
• Better: תסגור את הדלת, בבקשה. “Please close the door.”
• Why: A bare imperative can sound efficient, urgent, friendly, or abrupt depending on tone and relationship. בבקשה, a future-as-command form, or an indirect question can make the request gentler.

Usage Notes

The imperative itself does not encode politeness. Context does. A parent may say בוא הנה affectionately or sternly; a road sign may use a concise command without sounding rude; a stranger’s bare command may feel abrupt. Voice, facial expression, בבקשה “please,” and the relationship between speakers all matter.

Everyday Israeli Hebrew has a strong preference for future-shaped commands in many situations. תקשיב “listen,” תראה “look,” תחכה “wait,” and תיכנס “come in” are routine spoken forms. Choosing them is not simply “bad grammar.” It is part of normal modern usage. Traditional imperatives can sound especially concise and forceful, but many—such as בוא, לך, שב, קח, and תן—are themselves perfectly ordinary in speech.

Written instructions often use the plural imperative even when each reader acts individually: לחצו כאן “Click here,” מלאו את הטופס “Fill out the form,” or ערבבו היטב “Mix well.” The plural can address an audience and may feel less personally commanding than masculine singular. Instructions can also use an impersonal infinitive, especially on signs or in formal directions, but that is a different construction.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Softening, strengthening, and encouraging

A command can be adjusted without changing its basic grammar:

• בבקשה adds “please”: חכה בבקשה “Please wait.”
• נא is a concise polite marker common in announcements, signs, and formal instructions: נא להמתין “Please wait.” It often appears with an infinitive rather than a personal imperative.
• Repeating a command may encourage rather than order: בוא, בוא can mean “Come on in.”
• אל נא occurs in elevated, literary, or strongly pleading language; learners mainly need to recognize it.

English speakers should not assume that adding the exact equivalent of “please” is the only route to politeness. Hebrew often uses an intonationally gentle future form, a reason, or a question such as אתה יכול לסגור את החלון? “Can you close the window?” The direct grammatical imperative is only one point on a scale from order to request.

Feminine plural forms

Older, biblical, literary, or highly formal Hebrew has specifically feminine plural command and future forms ending in ־נה, such as כתובנה. They are rare in ordinary Modern Hebrew. In everyday use, כתבו addresses any group, including a group made up entirely of women. Recognize ־נה when reading older or elevated texts, but do not make it your default in conversation.

Commands connected with other clauses

Commands combine naturally with purpose, time, and condition clauses:

• התקשר אליי כשתגיע. “Call me when you arrive.”
• קח מטרייה כדי שלא תירטב. “Take an umbrella so that you don’t get wet.”
• אם אתה עייף, שב קצת. “If you’re tired, sit for a while.”

These sentences show why agreement matters beyond the command itself. In כתבי לי כשתגיעי, both כתבי and תגיעי identify a female addressee. Keeping the same addressee throughout the sentence prevents mismatched endings.

Practice Tips

1. Build three-form cards. For each useful verb, record masculine singular, feminine singular, and plural together: פתח — פתחי — פתחו. Add the three negatives on the back: אל תפתח — אל תפתחי — אל תפתחו.
2. Transform future forms aloud. Start with תכתוב, תכתבי, תכתבו, produce כתוב, כתבי, כתבו, and then make the negative set with אל. For verbs such as להתלבש and להיכנס, learn the full pattern rather than applying the shortcut.
3. Notice register in real speech. When watching Hebrew videos, mark each positive instruction as a traditional imperative or a future-shaped command. Listen for what softens it: tone, בבקשה, a name, an explanation, or question wording.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Future Tense (Pa'al) — provides the second-person forms used for colloquial commands and all negative commands.