← Back to lessons
This is the lesson that started the whole track. Hif'il is the causative binyan: it means "to make / cause someone to do" the root's action. Its action-noun mould, הַ_ָ_ָה, is one of the most productive word-factories in Hebrew, once you see it, dozens of everyday nouns fall open at once. We start by fully decoding the word that triggered all of this: בְּהַצְלָחָה.
Decoding בְּהַצְלָחָה ("good luck")
בְּהַצְלָחָה
בְּ, preposition "with / in".
הַצְלָחָה, the noun "success".
צ-ל-ח, the root (succeed / thrive).
הַ_ָ_ָה, the hif'il action-noun mould poured over the root.
So literally: "with success" → the everyday way to say good luck.
The chain to remember, verb → action-noun → phrase.
הִצְלִיחַ (hitzliach, "succeeded")
→ הַצְלָחָה (hatzlacha, "success")
→ בְּהַצְלָחָה (b'hatzlacha, "good luck"). Every hif'il verb runs the same chain.
The snowball: same mould הַ_ָ_ָה, four more nouns
Each row is the identical machine on a different root. Learn the mould once, read all four.
verb (hif'il)
root
→ action-noun הַ_ָ_ָה
הִצְלִיחַ
צ-ל-ח
הַצְלָחָה, success
הִדְרִיךְ
ד-ר-ך
הַדְרָכָה, training / guidance
הִזְמִין
ז-מ-ן
הַזְמָנָה, invitation / order
הִצְהִיר
צ-ה-ר
הַצְהָרָה, declaration
הִתְחִיל
ת-ח-ל
הַתְחָלָה, beginning / start
Recognizing hif'il itself, Past mould הִ_ְ_ִי_ with the long i (hitzliach, hidlik, hizmin, hisbir). Present mould מַ_ְ_ִי_ with a leading מ and i (matzliach, madlik, mazmin, masbir). The present participle often becomes an agent noun: מַדְרִיךְ (a guide), מַתְחִיל (a beginner), מַזְכִּיר (a secretary).
Hif'il verbs: "cause / make happen"
הַ_ָ_ָה action-nouns: the factory
Huf'al: the passive twin ( הֻ / מֻ )
Hif'il flipped to passive, marked by u: "was made to happen".
Decode drill: build the chain yourself
See a הַ_ָ_ָה noun? Recover the root and the hif'il verb behind it.