Object Pronouns in Hebrew

In Brief

Hebrew uses forms such as אותי “me,” אותך “you,” אותו “him/it,” and אותנו “us” for a definite person or thing receiving an action. The usual beginner pattern is verb + object pronoun: הוא רואה אותי means “He sees me.” Choose the form for the object—not for the person doing the action.

Overview

A direct object is the person or thing directly affected by an action. In “Maya sees Dan,” Maya does the seeing and Dan is the person seen. English can replace “Dan” with “him”; Hebrew can replace דן with אותו: מאיה רואה אותו. A direct object answers a practical question such as “whom?” or “what?” after a verb: whom does Maya see?

These forms build on the personal pronouns learned at A1, but subject and object forms have different jobs. הוא means “he” when that person performs the action; אותו means “him” when that person receives it. Compare הוא מכיר אותי (“He knows me”) with אני מכיר אותו (“I know him”). Switching the people switches the pronouns.

At A2, the useful rule is simple: learn the object forms as a set and place them after an ordinary verb. Hebrew also marks gender in places where English does not. There are masculine and feminine forms for singular “you,” plural “you,” and “them”; a third-person pronoun referring to a thing follows the grammatical gender of the Hebrew noun.

How It Works

The complete basic set

Person	Hebrew object form	Meaning	Pronunciation
first-person singular	אותי	me	oti
second-person singular, masculine	אותך	you	otkha
second-person singular, feminine	אותך	you	otakh
third-person singular, masculine	אותו	him; it	oto
third-person singular, feminine	אותה	her; it	ota
first-person plural	אותנו	us	otanu
second-person plural, masculine or mixed	אתכם	you all	etkhem
second-person plural, feminine	אתכן	you all	etkhen
third-person plural, masculine or mixed	אותם	them	otam
third-person plural, feminine	אותן	them	otan

The two singular forms spelled אותך look identical in ordinary unvowelled Hebrew. Their pronunciation shows the difference: masculine אוֹתְךָ (otkha) and feminine אוֹתָךְ (otakh). Context usually makes the intended gender clear.

For groups, Hebrew traditionally uses the masculine plural for an all-male or mixed group: אתכם, אותם. Use אתכן, אותן for an all-female group. In everyday speech, speakers do not all maintain every plural gender distinction equally consistently, but learners should recognize and use the standard forms.

Subject versus object

Hebrew	English	Note
הוא רואה את דנה.	He sees Dana.	הוא is the subject: the person who sees.
דנה רואה אותו.	Dana sees him.	אותו is the object: the person seen.
הם הזמינו אותנו.	They invited us.	הם performs the action.
אנחנו הזמנו אותם.	We invited them.	אותם receives the action.

Do not choose an object pronoun according to the verb’s gender or the subject’s gender. In היא אוהבת אותו, the feminine subject היא does not make the object feminine: אותו is masculine because the person loved is male.

The connection with את

Hebrew commonly places את before a definite direct object—a specific person or thing identified by a name, a possessive expression, or the definite article ה־ (“the”):

• אני רואה את דני. — I see Danny.
• אני קורא את הספר. — I am reading the book.
• היא מכירה את המורה שלי. — She knows my teacher.

When that object becomes a pronoun, Hebrew uses a combined form rather than את + subject pronoun:

Full definite object	Pronoun replacement	English
אני רואה את דני.	אני רואה אותו.	I see Danny. → I see him.
היא קנתה את החולצה.	היא קנתה אותה.	She bought the shirt. → She bought it.
פגשנו את יעל ורות.	פגשנו אותן.	We met Yael and Ruth. → We met them.

Object pronouns are already definite: “him” and “it” point to an identified referent. Therefore, do not add a separate את before אותו, אותה, or the other forms.

Not every object takes את. An indefinite noun normally does not: קניתי ספר means “I bought a book.” This does not change the pronoun set; it simply explains why את may be absent before a noun but is built into forms such as אותו.

Gender when “it” means a thing

English uses “it” for most objects. Hebrew nouns have grammatical gender, so the pronoun must match the noun being replaced:

• איפה הספר? אני לא מוצא אותו. — Where is the book? I cannot find it. (ספר is masculine.)
• איפה המחברת? אני לא מוצא אותה. — Where is the notebook? I cannot find it. (מחברת is feminine.)
• קניתי כיסאות, אבל עוד לא קיבלתי אותם. — I bought chairs, but I have not received them yet. (כיסאות is masculine plural.)
• שטפתי את הכוסות והחזרתי אותן לארון. — I washed the glasses and put them back in the cupboard. (כוסות is feminine plural.)

This is grammatical agreement—the pronoun matching the noun’s gender and number. It does not depend on whether an object seems naturally masculine or feminine.

Position in the sentence

In a neutral sentence, the direct object pronoun normally follows the verb:

subject + verb + object pronoun + other information

• אני אפגוש אותך מחר. — I will meet you tomorrow.
• המורה שאלה אותנו שאלה. — The teacher asked us a question.
• הם לא שמעו אותה היטב. — They did not hear her well.

Negation does not change the pronoun: put לא before the finite verb and leave the object after it. With an infinitive, the separate object pronoun usually follows the infinitive in everyday Hebrew: אני רוצה לראות אותו (“I want to see him”).

Use only with direct objects

These forms cannot replace every English object pronoun. Many Hebrew verbs require a preposition. For example, “speak with him” is לדבר איתו, not לדבר אותו; “wait for her” is לחכות לה, not לחכות אותה. Learn a Hebrew verb together with any preposition it requires.

A useful test is the noun version. If Hebrew says את דני, the pronoun is likely אותו. If it says עם דני, לדני, or על דני, use the corresponding prepositional form instead: איתו, לו, or עליו.

Examples in Context

Hebrew	English	Note
הוא רואה אותי בכל בוקר.	He sees me every morning.	First-person singular object
אני אוהב אותך.	I love you.	Said by a male speaker; אותך depends on the listener
נועה מחפשת אותך בחוץ.	Noa is looking for you outside.	The spelling can mean masculine or feminine singular “you”
אני מכירה אותו מהעבודה.	I know him from work.	Female speaker; masculine object
ראית את המפה? שמתי אותה על השולחן.	Did you see the map? I put it on the table.	אותה refers to feminine מפה
היא הזמינה אותנו לארוחת ערב.	She invited us to dinner.	First-person plural object
המנהל רוצה לפגוש אתכם מחר.	The manager wants to meet you tomorrow.	Masculine or mixed plural audience
אני אשלח אתכן הביתה במונית.	I will send you home by taxi.	All-female plural audience
אני מכיר אותם היטב.	I know them well.	Masculine or mixed group
פגשנו את דנה ומיכל והזמנו אותן לקפה.	We met Dana and Michal and invited them for coffee.	All-female group
הספר מעניין, אבל עוד לא סיימתי אותו.	The book is interesting, but I have not finished it yet.	Masculine inanimate noun
איפה המפתחות? אני לא מוצאת אותם.	Where are the keys? I cannot find them.	Female speaker; masculine plural object
אל תתקשר עכשיו; אני אתקשר אליך אחר כך.	Do not call now; I will call you later.	להתקשר אל requires a preposition, not an אות־ form

Notice that the verb may reveal the speaker’s or subject’s gender—מכיר versus מכירה, מוצא versus מוצאת—while the object pronoun identifies the object independently. Keep those two agreement decisions separate.

Common Mistakes

Using a subject pronoun after the verb

• Wrong: אני רואה הוא.
• Right: אני רואה אותו.
• Why: הוא means “he” as a subject. After “see,” the person seen needs the object form אותו.

Adding את twice

• Wrong: היא מכירה את אותו.
• Right: היא מכירה אותו.
• Why: In this meaning, אותו already contains the definite-object function. A separate את is unnecessary. Be aware that את אותו + noun can occur with a different structure meaning “the same …,” as in את אותו הספר (“the same book”); that is not an object pronoun by itself.

Matching the object to the subject

• Wrong: היא אוהבת אותה. when the intended meaning is “She loves him.”
• Right: היא אוהבת אותו.
• Why: The subject is female, but the loved person is male. The object controls the choice between אותו and אותה.

Ignoring the gender of a thing

• Wrong: קניתי את המכונית ואני אוהב אותו.
• Right: קניתי את המכונית ואני אוהב אותה.
• Why: מכונית (“car”) is grammatically feminine, so “it” is אותה.

Using a direct object form after the wrong verb

• Wrong: אני מדבר אותו. for “I am speaking with him.”
• Right: אני מדבר איתו.
• Why: לדבר uses עם or את in the sense “with,” whose pronoun forms include איתו. Verb patterns do not always match English.

Guessing the pronunciation of אותך from its spelling

• Potential mistake: Reading every אותך in the same way.
• Correct distinction: masculine otkha; feminine otakh.
• Why: Ordinary unvowelled spelling hides the final vowel pattern. Learn the form together with who is being addressed.

Usage Notes

Spoken and written Hebrew

The separate forms in the main table are normal in both conversation and neutral writing. Everyday Modern Hebrew strongly favors phrases such as ראיתי אותו (“I saw him”) and רציתי לראות אותה (“I wanted to see her”). They are not merely informal substitutes; they are the default forms learners need.

Gender distinctions are clearest and most useful in careful standard Hebrew. The feminine plural forms אתכן and אותן are fully standard, though some speakers may extend masculine plural forms to broader groups in casual speech. Recognizing both patterns will help with real conversation, but standard agreement remains the safest model for your own speech and writing.

Object pronouns and emphasis

English can stress an object with the voice: “I invited him, not her.” Hebrew can use intonation and contrast in a similar way:

• הזמנתי אותו, לא אותה. — I invited him, not her.
• אותך אני רוצה לשאול. — You are the one I want to ask.

The second example places the object first for contrast or focus. This marked word order is useful, but beginners should first become comfortable with the neutral verb-before-object pattern.

Beyond the Basics

You do not need to produce the forms in this section at A2, but you will meet them in formal writing, literature, journalism, and fixed styles.

Hebrew can attach object suffixes directly to some verbs and infinitives. For instance, formal ראיתיו means “I saw him,” where ordinary speech would usually use ראיתי אותו. Likewise, לראותו can mean “to see him,” while conversational Hebrew normally prefers לראות אותו. These attached forms depend on the exact verb form and may sound elevated or literary; do not build them by guesswork from the basic table.

You may also encounter אותו before a noun with the meaning “the same,” not “him”: אנחנו עובדים באותו מקום means “We work in the same place.” In קראתי את אותו הספר, the sequence את אותו is correct because את marks the whole definite noun phrase אותו הספר (“the same book”). This explains why the apparent “double את” is acceptable there but not in אני רואה את אותו when you simply mean “I see him.”

Finally, direct-object forms belong to a larger Hebrew system of pronoun forms joined to prepositions: לי (“to me”), איתי (“with me”), עליו (“about/on him”), and many others. Their endings often resemble one another, but each preposition has its own pattern. Learning the required preposition with each verb is more reliable than translating English “me/him/them” first.

Practice Tips

1. Transform names into pronouns. Start with אני רואה את דנה and replace the object: אני רואה אותה. Repeat with one masculine noun, one feminine noun, and two plural nouns.
2. Practice in contrasting pairs. Say הוא מכיר אותי / אני מכיר אותו and הן הזמינו אותנו / אנחנו הזמנו אותן. This trains you to separate the doer from the receiver.
3. Record nouns with their pronouns. When learning ספר, note אותו beside it; for מחברת, note אותה. This turns grammatical gender into a sentence-building habit rather than an isolated fact.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Personal Pronouns — learn the subject forms and Hebrew’s person, gender, and number distinctions before contrasting them with object forms.