Lesson 17: Binyan Hitpa'el — reflexive and reciprocal. The metathesis rule · עברית

How to work with this lesson

Read — understand the rule (5 minutes, no more!)
Run through the persons — put every new verb in all present forms (mit-) and past forms (hit-) right away.
Check for metathesis — if the root starts with ש, ס or צ, you must swap the letters. This is the most common mistake English speakers make in Hitpa'el.
Tie it to reflexives — almost every Hitpa'el translates as an English reflexive ("dress oneself", "get dressed") or a reciprocal ("each other"). That's your anchor.

Hitpa'el is the seventh and last binyan on our map (L7). After it, the table from L7 is closed. It's the reflexive binyan: "do something to oneself", "to each other", "become like this".

Part 1: What Hitpa'el is

The binyan Hitpa'el (התפעל) is a verb model with two main meanings:

Reflexive — the action is directed at oneself. To get dressed (dress oneself), to wash up (wash oneself), to wake up (wake oneself).
Reciprocal — the action is performed by two or more subjects on each other. To correspond, to hug, to argue, to meet.

A third, less common shade — becoming: to develop (become developed), to change (become different), to get used to (become accustomed).

Direct parallel to English reflexives and get-passives:

lehitlabesh — to get dressed

lehitkatev — to correspond

lehit'orer — to wake up

lehishtanot — to change

Wherever English uses a reflexive ("dress yourself") or get-passive ("get dressed"), Hebrew is highly likely to use Hitpa'el. That's your first reflex.

Hitpa'el recognition signs

Tense	Prefix	Pattern
Infinitive	leh-it-	leHITlabesh, leHITragesh
Present	mit-	MITlabesh, MITragesh
Past	hit-	HITlabashti, HITragashti

Memorize the recognition formula: if you see the syllable mit- (present) or hit- (past/infinitive) in a verb — it's almost always Hitpa'el. Exceptions are rare.

Part 2: Present tense — the mitCaCeC model

As in all binyanim, the present tense in Hitpa'el is a participle, agreeing in gender and number (4 forms). The three-consonant root (C-C-C) is inserted into the model mitCaCeC.

Take the root ל-ב-ש (l-b-sh, "clothe"):

Form	Hebrew (with nikkud)	Translit	Translation
m. sg.	מִתְלַבֵּשׁ	mitlabesh	(he, I-m., you-m.) gets dressed
f. sg.	מִתְלַבֶּשֶׁת	mitlabeshet	(she, I-f., you-f.) gets dressed
m. pl.	מִתְלַבְּשִׁים	mitlabshim	(they-m., we-m., you-m.pl.) get dressed
f. pl.	מִתְלַבְּשׁוֹת	mitlabshot	(they-f., we-f., you-f.pl.) get dressed

Notice: between mit- and -labesh there's a dagesh in the middle root consonant (בּ → "b"). This is characteristic of Hitpa'el — the middle root letter is always "doubled" (with dagesh). In pronunciation this gives a sharp "b", "g", "d", "k", "p" and so on.

Example with the root ר-ג-ש (r-g-sh, "feel") → lehitragesh (to get excited)

Form	Hebrew	Translit
m. sg.	מִתְרַגֵּשׁ	mitragesh
f. sg.	מִתְרַגֶּשֶׁת	mitrageshet
m. pl.	מִתְרַגְּשִׁים	mitragshim
f. pl.	מִתְרַגְּשׁוֹת	mitragshot

Phrases:

אֲנִי מִתְרַגֵּשׁ — ani mitragesh — "I'm excited" (m.)
הִיא מִתְרַגֶּשֶׁת — hi mitrageshet — "she's excited"
הַיְלָדִים מִתְלַבְּשִׁים — ha-yeladim mitlabshim — "the children are getting dressed"

Part 3: Past tense — the hitCaCaCti model

Just like in Pa'al (L12), Pi'el (L13), Hif'il (L14), Nif'al (L16) — the past tense in Hitpa'el uses suffixes for person, gender, number (rather than separate participle-style forms as in the present).

Root ל-ב-ש, verb lehitlabesh — "to get dressed":

Person	Hebrew	Translit	Translation
אֲנִי	הִתְלַבַּשְׁתִּי	hitlabashti	I got dressed
אַתָּה	הִתְלַבַּשְׁתָּ	hitlabashta	you got dressed (m.)
אַתְּ	הִתְלַבַּשְׁתְּ	hitlabasht	you got dressed (f.)
הוּא	הִתְלַבֵּשׁ	hitlabesh	he got dressed
הִיא	הִתְלַבְּשָׁה	hitlabsha	she got dressed
אֲנַחְנוּ	הִתְלַבַּשְׁנוּ	hitlabashnu	we got dressed
אַתֶּם / אַתֶּן	הִתְלַבַּשְׁתֶּם / הִתְלַבַּשְׁתֶּן	hitlabashtem / hitlabashten	you got dressed
הֵם / הֵן	הִתְלַבְּשׁוּ	hitlabshu	they got dressed

Notice the familiar past-tense suffixes: -ti, -ta, -t, -ø/-a, -nu, -tem/-ten, -u. They're the same across all binyanim (L12). Only the verb stem changes.

Example with the root ר-ג-ש (get excited)

Person	Hebrew	Translit
אֲנִי	הִתְרַגַּשְׁתִּי	hitragashti
הוּא	הִתְרַגֵּשׁ	hitragesh
הִיא	הִתְרַגְּשָׁה	hitragsha
אֲנַחְנוּ	הִתְרַגַּשְׁנוּ	hitragashnu
הֵם	הִתְרַגְּשׁוּ	hitragshu

Phrases:

אֶתְמוֹל הִתְרַגַּשְׁתִּי מְאוֹד — etmol hitragashti me'od — "yesterday I was very excited"
הוּא הִתְלַבֵּשׁ מַהֵר — hu hitlabesh maher — "he got dressed quickly"

Part 4: CRITICAL rule — metathesis with sibilants

This is the most important mechanic in Hitpa'el. Without it you'll pronounce verbs incorrectly and people won't understand you.

The metathesis rule: If the first root letter is a sibilant (ש / ס / צ), it and the ת of the prefix (mit-/hit-) swap places.

In other words: instead of the expected hit-shamesh we get hishtamesh — the letters שת have switched places: it was /t+sh/, now it's /sh+t/.

Three classes of metathesis

Class 1: root starts with ש (shin) — simple swap

Root שׁ-מ-ש (sh-m-sh, "serve/use") → verb lehishtamesh (to use, to make use of).

DON'T say leh-it-shamesh — that's a mistake. Correct:

Form	Hebrew	Translit
Infinitive	לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ	le-hi-SHT-amesh
Pres. m.sg.	מִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ	mi-SHT-amesh
Pres. f.sg.	מִשְׁתַּמֶּשֶׁת	mi-SHT-ameshet
Past I	הִשְׁתַּמַּשְׁתִּי	hi-SHT-amashti
Past he	הִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ	hi-SHT-amesh

In writing the letter order (right to left): שׁ + תּ instead of ת + שׁ. Aurally — you first hear "sh", then "t": hi-SH-T-amesh.

Class 2: root starts with ס (samekh) — simple swap

Root ס-ד-ר (s-d-r, "order") → verb lehistader (to settle in, to arrange oneself, to manage).

Form	Hebrew	Translit
Infinitive	לְהִסְתַּדֵּר	le-hi-ST-ader
Pres. m.sg.	מִסְתַּדֵּר	mi-ST-ader
Past I	הִסְתַּדַּרְתִּי	hi-ST-adarti
Past he	הִסְתַּדֵּר	hi-ST-ader

You hear: first "s", then "t": mi-S-T-ader.

Class 3: root starts with צ (tsadi) — swap + ת → ט

This is the trickiest case: ת turns into ט (the same "t" sound, but a historical spelling rule).

Root צ-ל-ם (ts-l-m, "image") → verb lehitstalem (to have one's photo taken).

Form	Hebrew	Translit
Infinitive	לְהִצְטַלֵּם	le-hi-TsT-alem (letters: צ + ט)
Pres. m.sg.	מִצְטַלֵּם	mi-TsT-alem
Past I	הִצְטַלַּמְתִּי	hi-TsT-alamti

In writing: after צ stands ט, not ת. In sound — "ts-t".

Metathesis summary table

First root letter	What happens	Pres. prefix	Past/inf. prefix
ש (shin)	ת + ש → ש + ת	mish-	hish-
ס (samekh)	ת + ס → ס + ת	mis-	his-
צ (tsadi)	ת + צ → צ + ט (ת → ט)	mits-	hits-
everything else	no change	mit-	hit-

Why? Historically: it's hard to pronounce tsh, ts, tts in one syllable. The Semitic languages "smoothed out" that sequence thousands of years ago by swapping the letters. Learn it as a fact.

Minor exception for ז (zayin): there's metathesis there too, and ת turns into ד. But Hitpa'el verbs with a root starting in ז are rare; for the B-level it's enough to know about ש/ס/צ.

Part 5: Eight Hitpa'el verbs for active mastery

Memorize these eight verbs together with infinitive, root, and translation. This is the basic set of the lesson.

Infinitive	Root	Translation	Class
לְהִתְלַבֵּשׁ	ל-ב-ש	to get dressed	regular
לְהִתְרַגֵּשׁ	ר-ג-ש	to get excited, to be moved	regular
לְהִתְכַּתֵּב	כ-ת-ב	to correspond	regular, reciprocal
לְהִתְעוֹרֵר	ע-ו-ר	to wake up	weak root (ו in middle)
לְהִתְרַגֵּל	ר-ג-ל	to get used to	regular
לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ	ש-מ-ש	to use, to make use of	metathesis ש
לְהִשְׁתַּנּוֹת	ש-נ-ה	to change	metathesis ש + weak root (ה)
לְהִשְׁתַּכֵּר	ש-כ-ר	to earn (get a salary)	metathesis ש

Note on "to get used to": the task lists the root variant lehit'oner. In living modern Hebrew, people more often say lehitragel (from ר-ג-ל). We learn lehitragel as the main one.

Note on lehishtaker: etymologically it means "to receive a salary, to earn". In colloquial speech it's often "to be paid for work". Don't confuse it with leshalem (Pi'el) — "to actively pay someone".

Present conjugation for all eight

I'll give three forms (m. sg., f. sg., m. pl.) — you'll do the fourth (f. pl.) yourself:

Verb	m. sg.	f. sg.	m. pl.
to get dressed	מִתְלַבֵּשׁ mitlabesh	מִתְלַבֶּשֶׁת mitlabeshet	מִתְלַבְּשִׁים mitlabshim
to get excited	מִתְרַגֵּשׁ mitragesh	מִתְרַגֶּשֶׁת mitrageshet	מִתְרַגְּשִׁים mitragshim
to correspond	מִתְכַּתֵּב mitkatev	מִתְכַּתֶּבֶת mitkatevet	מִתְכַּתְּבִים mitkatvim
to wake up	מִתְעוֹרֵר mit'orer	מִתְעוֹרֶרֶת mit'oreret	מִתְעוֹרְרִים mit'orerim
to get used to	מִתְרַגֵּל mitragel	מִתְרַגֶּלֶת mitrageleт	מִתְרַגְּלִים mitraglim
to use	מִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ mishtamesh	מִשְׁתַּמֶּשֶׁת mishtameshet	מִשְׁתַּמְּשִׁים mishtamshim
to change	מִשְׁתַּנֶּה mishtaneh	מִשְׁתַּנָּה mishtana	מִשְׁתַּנִּים mishtanim
to earn	מִשְׁתַּכֵּר mishtaker	מִשְׁתַּכֶּרֶת mishtakeret	מִשְׁתַּכְּרִים mishtakrim

Past conjugation — selected verbs

lehitkatev (to correspond):

Person	Hebrew	Translit
אֲנִי	הִתְכַּתַּבְתִּי	hitkatavti
הוּא	הִתְכַּתֵּב	hitkatev
הִיא	הִתְכַּתְּבָה	hitkatva
אֲנַחְנוּ	הִתְכַּתַּבְנוּ	hitkatavnu
הֵם	הִתְכַּתְּבוּ	hitkatvu

lehishtamesh (to use) — with metathesis:

Person	Hebrew	Translit
אֲנִי	הִשְׁתַּמַּשְׁתִּי	hishtamashti
הוּא	הִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ	hishtamesh
הִיא	הִשְׁתַּמְּשָׁה	hishtamsha
אֲנַחְנוּ	הִשְׁתַּמַּשְׁנוּ	hishtamashnu
הֵם	הִשְׁתַּמְּשׁוּ	hishtamshu

lehit'orer (to wake up) — weak root ע-ו-ר:

Person	Hebrew	Translit
אֲנִי	הִתְעוֹרַרְתִּי	hit'orarti
הוּא	הִתְעוֹרֵר	hit'orer
הִיא	הִתְעוֹרְרָה	hit'orra
אֲנַחְנוּ	הִתְעוֹרַרְנוּ	hit'orarnu

Part 6: Does Hitpa'el need a preposition? (syntax)

The main feature: Hitpa'el rarely takes a direct object (with את — L11). The action is directed at the subject themselves.

Pa'al (transitive): הוא לוֹבֵשׁ אֶת הַחֻלְצָה — hu lovesh et ha-chultsa — "he puts on the shirt"
Hitpa'el (reflexive): הוא מִתְלַבֵּשׁ — hu mitlabesh — "he gets dressed" (no object!)

More often Hitpa'el uses prepositions to specify with whom or by means of what:

Verb	Preposition	Example
lehitkatev (to correspond)	עִם (with)	ani mitkatev im ha-chaver sheli — "I correspond with my friend"
lehishtamesh (to use)	בְּ- (with what)	ani mishtamesh be-ze — "I use this"
lehitragel (to get used to)	לְ- (to what)	hitragalti la-avoda — "I got used to the work"
lehitragesh (to get excited)	מִ- (from)	hitragashti mi-ze — "I got excited by this"

Lesson vocabulary

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Full dictionary

4,412 entries

Read the task, type your answer in Hebrew, and hit Check. Each answer is checked locally first; tricky cases ask Claude for a hint. Progress saves automatically.

🔊 ExercisesOpens the exercise answers in the external app — study with audio and word-by-word breakdown.

Exercise 1. Present conjugation — all four forms

Give all four present-tense forms (m.sg., f.sg., m.pl., f.pl.) for these verbs:

1.lehitlabesh (to get dressed)

2.lehitragesh (to get excited)

3.lehishtamesh (to use)

4.lehit'orer (to wake up)

Exercise 2. Metathesis or not?

For each verb, say: will there be metathesis, and if so — what sound do you get after the prefix?

1.root ל-ב-ש (to get dressed)

2.root ש-מ-ש (to use)

3.root ס-ד-ר (to settle in)

4.root ר-ג-ל (to get used to)

5.root צ-ל-ם (to get photographed)

6.root כ-ת-ב (to correspond)

7.root ש-נ-ה (to change)

Exercise 3. Past — all persons

Conjugate lehitkatev (to correspond) in all past-tense forms (10 forms: ani, ata, at, hu, hi, anachnu, atem, aten, hem, hen).

Open-ended drill — no automatic check. Say the answers aloud, then move on.

Exercise 4. Translate phrases into Hebrew

1.I (m.) get dressed slowly.

2.The children wake up early.

3.She is (now) using the computer (=machshev, m.).

4.Yesterday I (f.) was very excited.

5.We correspond with a friend from Tel Aviv.

6.Have you (f.) gotten used to the new job?

7.Life changes quickly.

8.They (m.) got dressed and went out. ("went out" — yatsu)

Exercise 5. "Question — answer" matrix across persons

Matrix: ask the same question with lehishtamesh ("to use"), changing only the person. Read the question and write the answer, using ba-telefon ("the phone").

1.בַּמָּה אַתְּ מִשְׁתַּמֶּשֶׁת? (to f.)

2.בַּמָּה הוּא מִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ? (answer: the phone)

3.בַּמָּה הִיא מִשְׁתַּמֶּשֶׁת? (answer: the phone)

4.בַּמָּה אַתֶּם מִשְׁתַּמְּשִׁים? (answer: the phone)

5.בַּמָּה הֵן מִשְׁתַּמְּשׁוֹת? (answer: the phone)

Need more practice? Claude will generate a fresh 10-prompt exercise from this lesson's vocab and theme.

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Listening texts

Three text variants per lesson. Open in glottos.com for synchronized audio playback.

Text A

Text 17a for Lesson 17: Morning routine

🔊 Audio practice ↗

כָּל בֹּקֶר אֲנִי מִתְעוֹרֵר בְּשֵׁשׁ.
הַשָּׁעוֹן מְעוֹרֵר אוֹתִי.
אִמָּא מִתְעוֹרֶרֶת לִפְנֵי כֻּלָּם.
אַבָּא מִתְעוֹרֵר אַחֲרֵיהָ.
הַיְלָדִים מִתְעוֹרְרִים בְּשֶׁבַע.
אֲנִי קָם מֵהַמִּטָּה וְהוֹלֵךְ לַמִּקְלַחַת.
אַחֲרֵי הַמִּקְלַחַת אֲנִי מִתְלַבֵּשׁ.
הַיּוֹם אֲנִי מִתְלַבֵּשׁ בְּחֻלְצָה לְבָנָה.
אֲחוֹתִי מִתְלַבֶּשֶׁת לְאַט מְאוֹד.
הַיְלָדִים מִתְלַבְּשִׁים לְבַד.
אֶתְמוֹל הִתְעוֹרַרְתִּי מְאֻחָר.
הִתְלַבַּשְׁתִּי מַהֵר וְרַצְתִּי לָעֲבוֹדָה.
אֲחוֹתִי הִתְעוֹרְרָה רַק בְּתֵשַׁע.
הִיא הִתְלַבְּשָׁה וְיָצְאָה.
אַבָּא הִתְעוֹרֵר מֵהָרַעַשׁ.
הוּא לֹא מִתְרַגֵּשׁ בַּבֹּקֶר.
אֲנִי מִתְרַגֵּשׁ לִפְנֵי יוֹם חָדָשׁ.
הָאִמָּא אוֹמֶרֶת: "תִּתְלַבְּשׁוּ מַהֵר, יְלָדִים!"
הַיְלָדִים עוֹנִים: "אֲנַחְנוּ מִתְלַבְּשִׁים!"
בְּחֹרֶף אֲנִי מִתְלַבֵּשׁ בְּחֹם.
בְּקַיִץ אֲנִי מִתְלַבֵּשׁ בְּקַל.
הִתְרַגַּלְתִּי לָקוּם מֻקְדָּם.
אֲחוֹתִי לֹא הִתְרַגְּלָה.
הִיא אוֹמֶרֶת שֶׁהַבֹּקֶר קָשֶׁה לָהּ.
אֲנִי מִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בְּשָׁעוֹן מְעוֹרֵר.
הִיא מִשְׁתַּמֶּשֶׁת בַּטֵּלֵפוֹן.
הִתְעוֹרַרְנוּ, הִתְלַבַּשְׁנוּ, וְשָׁתִינוּ קָפֶה.
כָּל יוֹם זֶה אוֹתוֹ דָּבָר.
אֲבָל הַיּוֹם מַשֶּׁהוּ הִשְׁתַּנָּה.
הִתְעוֹרַרְתִּי וּכְבָר הָיָה אוֹר בַּחוּץ.

Text B

Text 17b for Lesson 17: Correspondence

🔊 Audio practice ↗

יֵשׁ לִי חָבֵר בְּתֵל אָבִיב.
קוֹרְאִים לוֹ דָּוִד.
אֲנַחְנוּ מִתְכַּתְּבִים כְּבָר שָׁנָה.
אֲנִי כּוֹתֵב לוֹ בְּדֹאַר אֶלֶקְטְרוֹנִי.
הוּא עוֹנֶה מַהֵר.
לִפְעָמִים אֲנַחְנוּ מִתְכַּתְּבִים בַּוָּטְסְאַפּ.
אֲחוֹתִי מִתְכַּתֶּבֶת עִם חֲבֵרָה מִיְרוּשָׁלַיִם.
הֵן מִתְכַּתְּבוֹת כָּל יוֹם.
הִיא אוֹמֶרֶת: "אֲנִי מִתְרַגֶּשֶׁת לִקְרֹא אֶת הַמִּכְתָּב שֶׁלָּהּ."
בְּעָבָר אֲנָשִׁים הִתְכַּתְּבוּ עִם מִכְתָּבִים שֶׁל נְיָר.
הַיּוֹם הַכֹּל אֶלֶקְטְרוֹנִי.
הַחַיִּים הִשְׁתַּנּוּ.
אֲנִי הִתְרַגַּלְתִּי לַטֶּכְנוֹלוֹגְיָה הַחֲדָשָׁה.
סָבָתִי לֹא הִתְרַגְּלָה.
הִיא עֲדַיִן כּוֹתֶבֶת מִכְתָּבִים בְּיָד.
אֲנִי מִתְכַּתֵּב גַּם עִם חָבֵר מֵרוּסְיָה.
אֲנַחְנוּ מִתְכַּתְּבִים בְּעִבְרִית.
אֲנִי לוֹמֵד מִמֶּנּוּ הַרְבֵּה.
אֶתְמוֹל הִתְכַּתַּבְתִּי אִתּוֹ שָׁעָה שְׁלֵמָה.
שָׁאַלְתִּי אוֹתוֹ עַל הַחַיִּים בְּמוֹסְקְבָה.
הוּא עָנָה וְשָׁאַל אוֹתִי עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל.
לִפְעָמִים אֲנַחְנוּ מִתְרַגְּשִׁים מֵהַמִּכְתָּבִים.
הַשָּׂפָה מִשְׁתַּנָּה גַּם הִיא.
הוּא לוֹמֵד מִלִּים חֲדָשׁוֹת מִמֶּנִּי.
וַאֲנִי לוֹמֵד מִלִּים רוּסִיּוֹת מִמֶּנּוּ.
הִתְכַּתַּבְתָּ פַּעַם עִם מִישֶׁהוּ מֵחוּ"ל?
כֵּן, הִתְכַּתַּבְתִּי עִם בַּת־דּוֹדָה מֵאָמֶרִיקָה.
אֲנַחְנוּ עוֹד לֹא נִפְגַּשְׁנוּ.
אֲבָל אֲנַחְנוּ מַכִּירִים אֶחָד אֶת הַשֵּׁנִי טוֹב.
הַמִּכְתָּבִים מְקָרְבִים אֲנָשִׁים.

Text C

Text 17c for Lesson 17: Tools and changes

🔊 Audio practice ↗

הָעוֹלָם מִשְׁתַּנֶּה מַהֵר מְאוֹד.
הַטֶּכְנוֹלוֹגְיָה מִשְׁתַּנָּה כָּל שָׁנָה.
גַּם הַחַיִּים שֶׁלָּנוּ מִשְׁתַּנִּים.
הַסַּבְתָּא שֶׁלִּי לֹא מִשְׁתַּמֶּשֶׁת בְּמַחְשֵׁב.
הִיא מִשְׁתַּמֶּשֶׁת בַּטֵּלֶפוֹן הַיָּשָׁן.
הָאַבָּא שֶׁלִּי מִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בְּמַחְשֵׁב כָּל יוֹם.
אֲנִי מִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בַּטֵּלֵפוֹן הֶחָדָשׁ.
אֲחוֹתִי מִשְׁתַּמֶּשֶׁת בְּעֵט וּבְמַחְבֶּרֶת.
כָּל אֶחָד מִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בְּמַשֶּׁהוּ אַחֵר.
אֲנִי הִשְׁתַּמַּשְׁתִּי בְּמִלּוֹן לִכְתֹּב אֶת הַמִּכְתָּב.
אִמָּא הִשְׁתַּמְּשָׁה בַּמַּתָּכוֹן שֶׁל סָבְתָא.
אֲנַחְנוּ הִשְׁתַּמַּשְׁנוּ בָּאוֹטוֹבּוּס לְהַגִּיעַ הֵנָּה.
הַיְלָדִים הִשְׁתַּמְּשׁוּ בַּמַּחְשֵׁב לְשַׂחֵק.
אֲנִי הִשְׁתַּנֵּיתִי מְאוֹד בַּשָּׁנָה הָאַחֲרוֹנָה.
גַּם אַתְּ הִשְׁתַּנֵּית.
אָנוּ כֻּלָּנוּ מִשְׁתַּנִּים כָּל הַזְּמַן.
מֶזֶג הָאֲוִיר הִשְׁתַּנָּה.
הָיָה חַם, וְעַכְשָׁו קַר.
הָעִיר הִשְׁתַּנְּתָה לְגַמְרֵי.
הָיוּ פֹּה בָּתִּים קְטַנִּים, וְעַכְשָׁו יֵשׁ בִּנְיָנִים גְּבוֹהִים.
אֲנִי מִתְרַגֵּל לָעִיר הַחֲדָשָׁה.
בַּהַתְחָלָה זֶה הָיָה קָשֶׁה.
עַכְשָׁו אֲנִי כְּבָר הִתְרַגַּלְתִּי.
כְּשֶׁמַּשֶּׁהוּ מִשְׁתַּנֶּה, צָרִיךְ לְהִתְרַגֵּל אֵלָיו.
אֲנִי מִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בָּאַפְּלִיקַצְיָה לִלְמֹד עִבְרִית.
הִיא מִשְׁתַּמֶּשֶׁת בָּהּ גַּם כֵּן.
הַשִּׂיטָה מִשְׁתַּנָּה כֵּן וְלֹא — אוֹתוֹ עִקָּרוֹן, כֵּלִים חֲדָשִׁים.
תָּמִיד מִשְׁתַּלֵּם לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בַּכֵּלִים הַטּוֹבִים בְּיוֹתֵר.
וְתָמִיד צָרִיךְ לְהִשְׁתַּנּוֹת קְצָת.
זוֹ הַדֶּרֶךְ לִגְדֹּל.

Audio playback is handled by glottos.com — opens in a new tab.

No scales or matrices in this lesson yet — they start from Lesson 3. Use the listening texts above for speaking practice.

BINYAN HITPA'EL — REFLEXIVE / RECIPROCAL / BECOMING
  - Anchor translation: English reflexives / get-passives (get dressed, correspond).
  - Prefixes:
      infinitive:    leh-it-  →  lehitlabesh
      present:       mit-     →  mitlabesh
      past:          hit-     →  hitlabashti

PRESENT MODEL (4 forms, like a participle):
  m. sg.   mitCaCeC          mitlabesh, mitragesh
  f. sg.   mitCaCeCet        mitlabeshet, mitrageshet
  m. pl.   mitCaCCim         mitlabshim, mitragshim
  f. pl.   mitCaCCot         mitlabshot, mitragshot

PAST MODEL (person suffixes identical across all binyanim):
  ani        hitCaCaCti        hitlabashti
  ata        hitCaCaCta        hitlabashta
  at         hitCaCaCt         hitlabasht
  hu         hitCaCeC          hitlabesh
  hi         hitCaCCa          hitlabsha
  anachnu    hitCaCaCnu        hitlabashnu
  atem/aten  hitCaCaCtem/-ten  hitlabashtem/-ten
  hem/hen    hitCaCCu          hitlabshu

CRITICAL — METATHESIS WITH SIBILANTS:
  First root letter a sibilant? The ת from the prefix SWAPS WITH IT.

  ש (shin)    →  prefix  mish-/hish-       lehiSHTamesh   (NOT leh-it-shamesh!)
  ס (samekh)  →  prefix  mis-/his-         lehiSTader
  צ (tsadi)   →  prefix  mits-/hits-       lehiTsTalem (ת turns into ט)
  everything else → prefix mit-/hit-       lehitlabesh, lehitkatev

  Why: *tsh, *ts, *tts is unpronounceable. The Semitic language fixed it
  by metathesis thousands of years ago. Learn it as a fact.

EIGHT LESSON VERBS:
  לְהִתְלַבֵּשׁ      lehitlabesh     to get dressed   (reflexive)
  לְהִתְרַגֵּשׁ      lehitragesh     to get excited
  לְהִתְכַּתֵּב      lehitkatev      to correspond    (reciprocal → uses עִם)
  לְהִתְעוֹרֵר      lehit'orer      to wake up
  לְהִתְרַגֵּל      lehitragel      to get used to   (uses לְ-)
  לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ    lehishtamesh    to use           (metathesis ש; uses בְּ-)
  לְהִשְׁתַּנּוֹת    lehishtanot     to change        (metathesis ש)
  לְהִשְׁתַּכֵּר    lehishtakher    to earn          (metathesis ש)

SYNTAX:
  - Hitpa'el USUALLY doesn't take a direct object with את.
  - Common prepositions: עִם (with someone), בְּ- (with something), לְ- (to what), מִ- (from).

RECOGNITION IN A TEXT:
  See mit- in present or hit- in past?  That's Hitpa'el.
  See mish-/mis-/mits- or hish-/his-/hits-?  That's Hitpa'el with metathesis.

BINYAN MAP — STATUS AT END OF LESSON 17:
  Pa'al        — L8, L12     active, basic            ✓
  Nif'al       — L16          passive/middle of Pa'al  ✓
  Pi'el        — L13          intensive/causative      ✓
  Pu'al        — L24          (passive of Pi'el)       ○ still ahead
  Hif'il       — L14          causative                 ✓
  Huf'al       — L24          (passive of Hif'il)      ○ still ahead
  Hitpa'el     — L17 (NOW)    reflexive/reciprocal    ✓

  Five of seven binyanim on the map. Past and present in hand.
  This is the A2 "Chaver/Chavera" level (Companion). Three lessons to the end of block 2.

Next lesson: Lesson 18 — possession through של (shel). You'll learn how Hebrew says "my, your, his" — through an inflected preposition: sheli (my), shelkha (your-m.), shelo (his). It's a system directly parallel to the inflected prepositions from L15. After L18 — L19 (comparison of adjectives, adverbs) and L20 (smikhut — the "construct state"). The final stretch of block 2.

Next lesson:Lesson 18: Possession through של (shel) and its inflected forms