איזה

Hebrew

Determiner

אֵיזֶה • (éize) m (feminine counterpart אֵיזוֹ)

1. What, which; used in forming questions.

   באיזה בית ספר לימדת?

   b'éize beit séfer limád't(a)?

   What school did you teach at?

   עם איזה מהם דיברת?

   'im éize meihém dibárt(a)?

   With which of them did you talk to?

2. What, which; used in forming interrogative content clauses.

   עוד לא החלטנו איזה סרט נראה הערב.

   'od lo hekhlátnu éize séret nir'á ha'érev.

   We haven't decided what movie we're going to see tonight.

   אני לא יודע איזה הוא מעדיף – תה, או קפה.

   aní lo yodéa` éize hu ma`adíf – té, o kafé.

   I don't know which he prefers – tea, or coffee.

3. What; used in forming exclamations.

   איזה יופי!

   éize yófi!

   (literally) What beauty! (figuratively) How wonderful!

   איזה יום רע.

   éize yom ra'.

   What a bad day.

Usage notes

• When it introduces a question or interrogative content clause, אֵיזֶה – like its English counterparts – may introduce a noun, or may stand alone. When it introduces an exclamation, it – again like its English counterpart – must introduce a noun, since it and its noun together form the entirety of the clause.
• Properly, the feminine singular is אֵיזוֹ f (éizo) (compare זֶה m (ze) and זוֹ f (zo)) and the plural is אֵילוּ pl (eilu); however, in ordinary speech אֵיזֶה is frequently used regardless of gender and number.

See also

• זֶה (ze, “this”)