לא
lo/lo/
The Hebrew word for "not" is לא (lo).
לא is used to express negation or to deny that something is true. It functions as both a word to negate specific parts of a sentence and as a standalone response to mean "no" when answering a question.
Which one should you use?
In English, you might distinguish between "no" and "not" depending on the sentence structure, but in Hebrew, לא serves both of these functions.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is lo and the IPA is /lo/.
Did you know?
- Hebrew speakers often accompany the word לא with a subtle upward flick of the head or a slight shake, which can sometimes be mistaken for a 'yes' by foreigners.
- In some traditional religious contexts, speakers avoid saying לא when referring to God's attributes, preferring phrases that emphasize what God is rather than what He is not.
- The word לא is a cognate with the Arabic word لا, meaning both languages inherited this same sound for 'no' from a common Proto-Semitic ancestor.
Examples in context
- אתה בא או לא?Are you going or not?This sentence shows how to use לא to ask a binary question.Tatoeba #764085 by Eldad, translation #518631 by CK
- לא כל כך מהר!Not so fast!Tatoeba #1593191 by MrShoval, translation #1422568 by Alkrasnov
- זה לא דבר רע.It's not a bad thing.Tatoeba #1985233 by MrShoval, translation #1983990 by Spamster
- אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצֶה לָלֶכֶתI do not want to go.
- אֵין חֲדֵשׁוֹת הַיּוֹםThere is no news today.
- 4488 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daniel and Agur are discussing whether to go to a restaurant.
- דניאל Danielעגור, את רוצה לאכול משהו?Agur, at rotza le'echol mashehu?Agur, do you want to eat something?
- עגור Adiלא, אני לא רעבה עכשיו.Lo, ani lo re'eva achshav.No, I am not hungry now.
- דניאל Danielאז את לא רוצה לצאת?Az at lo rotza latzet?So you do not want to go out?
- עגור Adiלא, אני מעדיפה להישאר בבית.Lo, ani maadifa lehisha'er babait.No, I prefer to stay at home.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry לא, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries לא, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
