Hebrew Questions

Basically, you have two options for learning Hebrew.

Free courses

**Free Hebrew Courses from the Government** – Of course, getting something for free is always nice, but it’s important to understand exactly what is being offered. The truth is, not everyone qualifies for this privilege of free Hebrew education. And even if you are one of the "lucky ones" who gets access to free Hebrew courses, you should know what to expect. Government-sponsored Ulpans are very similar to a school curriculum, where you might study English for four years but still struggle to form a sentence by the end. Essentially, free Ulpans offer daily lessons for 5-6 hours a day over six months. By the end of the course, you will have strong grammatical knowledge**—knowledge that even many Israelis don’t have. However, actually forming sentences and speaking fluently can still be a real challenge.

Private Schools / Ulpans

Private Ulpans are known for their effectiveness. They teach you only what you truly need, which is why the number of study hours is significantly lower, but the results are much stronger. In just six months, on average, you won’t complete just one level like in free Ulpans—you will master two levels: Aleph and Bet.

Hebrew

Here you will find answers to some of your questions about Hebrew. Hebrew is a Semitic language—like Arabic and Aramaic—and, like most ancient Semitic languages, its alphabet does not include vowels. However, between the mid to late first millennium, rabbis known as the Masoretes developed a system of dots and dashes to indicate how words should be pronounced. Torah scrolls and most modern Hebrew writings are still written without vowels.

The Revival of Hebrew

After not being spoken for two millennia, it was suddenly revived.

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda is considered the father of modern Hebrew. He developed a dictionary for modern Hebrew, incorporating words from ancient and medieval Hebrew while also creating new words. In 1922, Hebrew became one of the official languages of the British Mandate in Palestine, and today it is a modern language spoken by the citizens of Israel and Jews around the world.

Ulpan An Ulpan is a class or institute designed to teach adult immigrants the basic language skills of speaking, writing, and feeling like part of Israeli society. Its main goal is to help students integrate into Israeli life as quickly as possible by providing intensive Hebrew language instruction over an extended period.

The main question you should ask yourself is what level of Hebrew you need and how much time you can dedicate to reaching that level. If you have plenty of free time, you can try a free Ulpan (though not everyone qualifies for it). However, if you are limited on time and want to learn Hebrew quickly, then studying in a private Ulpan is the best option.

It is possible to learn Hebrew on your own, but according to recent data, only about 4% of people succeed. The reason for this is simple. Since there are many Hebrew textbooks and even more learning materials available, students often don’t know what to focus on. As a result, they end up spending over 80% of their time learning things they don’t actually need**. After a year of self-study, most learners can modify words but still struggle to speak, understand, or form sentences properly.

Definitely yes. However, it is important to understand that a dictionary will not help you learn Hebrew if you try to memorize every word in it. Instead, a dictionary is most useful for understanding specific words you encounter or want to use in conversation.

Hebrew is not a difficult language. Yes, it is different and unlike most other languages, but it is not hard to learn. What truly matters is who teaches you and what they focus on. It is important to concentrate on what is essential rather than blindly studying whatever is offered.

Ask yourself a simple question: if you are learning to drive a car, do you need to know the size of the bolts, where they were manufactured, and what material they are made of? The same applies to Hebrew vowel marks. Why learn them if you will never see them outside the Ulpan? There is a common misconception that knowing vowel marks will make learning easier Hebrew — that's nonsense! You will simply spend more time reading, focusing on individual letters instead of entire words. And once you finish Ulpan, you will be shocked to realize that no one uses vowel marks in Israel not using this

It is difficult to give a precise answer to this question because what matters is not how many words you know, but how correctly you use them. Typically, when studying at our Ulpan Ulpan4u… it will be enough for you to reach Alef and level Bet to communicate comfortably using intermediate-level Hebrew.

Here’s a shocking fact: most Israelis have a very poor knowledge of Hebrew grammar. Yet, this does not stop them from speaking correctly and confidently. So, grammar is necessary, but only at a basic level. Spending too much time on it will be a waste.