This guide adapts rules and examples from Microsoft’s Localization Style Guide for Hebrew (originally written for software/UI localization). The underlying linguistic rules apply universally — to legal contracts, medical documents, marketing copy, and any Hebrew translation work. Restructured and reformatted as a general Hebrew translator reference by ChatsControl.

Hebrew Translation Style Guide — Voice, Word Choice & Common Pitfalls (Legal, Medical, Marketing, IT)¶

TL;DR¶

• Hebrew translation prefers everyday vocabulary over formal alternatives — להשתמש (not לעשות שימוש) for “use”, עכשיו (not כעת) for “now”, לגשת (not לקבל גישה) for “access”; applies to marketing, software UI, patient instructions, consumer-facing legal documents.
• Hebrew script is right-to-left (RTL) — UI strings, numbers, and English embeddings require careful directional handling; numerals remain LTR but interleave with RTL Hebrew text.
• Hebrew nouns and verbs have grammatical gender (masculine/feminine) — generic user references default to masculine but should be revised to address users directly with second-person rather than gender-marked third-person.
• Reference the Academy of the Hebrew Language (hebrew-academy.org.il) for normative orthography and terminology; supplement with Morfix (morfix.co.il) and Rav-Milim (ravmilim.co.il) dictionaries; Wikipedia Hebrew (he.wikipedia.org) for general reference.
• Avoid translating the English syntax word-for-word — Hebrew syntax often requires restructuring (VSO or SVO order, gender agreement throughout, postposed adjectives, possessive suffixes); think “how would I say this to a friend or family member?” rather than mirroring source.

Register and tone for modern Hebrew translation¶

Register is the level of formality, warmth, and conversational ease the target text projects. Modern Hebrew readers across consumer-facing spheres expect a clear, friendly, concise register that resembles everyday conversation rather than the formal, technical language traditional in commercial content.

Three principles define the target register:

• Warm and relaxed. Natural, less formal, more grounded in honest conversation.
• Crisp and clear. Written for scanning first, reading second.
• Ready to help. Anticipates user needs.

Avoid artificial high register at all costs — it sounds too “robotic” or technical. Think: “how would I say it to my friend, partner, parent, or any other family member?”

Why this matters: Formal high-register Hebrew damages outcomes across spheres. In marketing translation to Israeli consumers it kills brand approachability — the audience expects modern voice rather than academic Hebrew. In medical patient materials it reduces comprehension. In software UI it creates friction. In government translation Hebrew public-sector communications increasingly favor accessible language. Only sworn legal translation and rabbinic/academic texts retain the older formal register.

Flexibility: when to translate literally vs. when to rewrite¶

Flexibility is the translator’s discretion to modify or rewrite translated strings so they sound natural to Hebrew customers. Try to understand the whole intention of sentences, paragraphs, and pages, then rewrite as if writing the content yourself. Sometimes remove unnecessary content.

Word choice: terminology and everyday vocabulary¶

Approved terminology¶

Use terminology from Microsoft language resources where applicable, for key terms, technical terms, and product names.

Short word forms and everyday words¶

In Hebrew, many English short forms don’t apply. “App” and “application” translate the same way (אפליקציה or יישום); “info” and “information” are the same word. Use approved terminology consistently.

Words and phrases to avoid¶

Why this matters: Formal vocabulary signals institutional distance. In marketing translation “לעשות שימוש” reads as bureaucratic; “להשתמש” reads as someone talking to the user. In medical patient instructions “לקבל גישה למידע” delays comprehension; “לגשת למידע” lands immediately. In software UI, modern everyday forms are immediately understood by Hebrew users.

Word-to-word translation¶

To achieve fluent Hebrew, avoid word-for-word translation. Literal translation produces stiff, unnatural Hebrew. Text may be split into different sentences; descriptors may be omitted to make text snappier.

Sample translations: applying voice principles in context¶

Focusing on the user action¶

Explanatory text and providing support¶

Promoting a feature¶

Providing how-to guidelines¶

Inclusive language¶

All communications should be inclusive and diverse.

General guidelines:

• Comply with local language laws.
• Use plain language. Don’t copy English syntax — think in natural Hebrew syntax. Avoid artificial high register.
• Be mindful when referring to various parts of the world.
• Represent diverse perspectives in text and images.
• Don’t generalize or stereotype people.
• Don’t use profane, derogatory, or culturally appropriative slang.
• Don’t use terms with unconscious racial bias.

Avoid gender bias¶

Hebrew has grammatical gender (masculine/feminine) throughout nouns, verbs, and pronouns. Strategies for gender-inclusive Hebrew:

• Use plural forms (אתם encompasses mixed groups by convention).
• Use imperative or direct second-person where possible.
• Use abstract or collective nouns (משתמשים, צוות, צרכן).
• Rewrite to avoid gendered pronouns.
• Avoid slash forms like הוא/היא or noun.ות in product UI (considered awkward).

When writing about a real person, use the pronouns the person prefers.

Accessibility¶

Focus on people, not disabilities. Use generic verbs that apply to all input methods. Keep paragraphs short, one verb per sentence.

Why this matters: Accessible Hebrew translation supports users with disabilities across healthcare (Israeli patient materials), public services (Israeli accessibility law mandates), and education (Hebrew-medium curriculum across abilities).

Language-specific standards¶

Abbreviations¶

Common Hebrew abbreviations use double quotation marks (גרשיים) before the last letter (תנ”ך). Some computing abbreviations follow Hebrew conventions; most remain in English (PC, USB, HTML).

Acronyms¶

Computing and IT acronyms typically remain in English. Hebrew acronyms (תנ”ך, צה”ל) are written with גרשיים. Spell out on first occurrence if audience is general.

Adjectives¶

Hebrew adjectives follow the noun and agree in gender and number. Be careful with compound adjective constructions.

Articles¶

Hebrew has a definite article (ה-) but no indefinite article. The article is prefixed directly to the noun. Definite article use differs from English — consult dictionaries for proper use.

Compounds¶

Hebrew compounds may be formed by smikhut (construct state) or by juxtaposition. Be careful with morphological changes in construct state.

Gender¶

Hebrew nouns have masculine or feminine gender, sometimes both for the same concept (different roles). Adjectives, verbs, and pronouns agree with grammatical gender.

For user-facing text, default to masculine when audience is unknown (Israeli linguistic convention), but prefer direct address (second person) to avoid gender entirely.

Genitive¶

Hebrew expresses genitive through construct state (smikhut) or with של. Modern Hebrew often prefers של constructions over smikhut for readability.

Localizing colloquialism, idioms, and metaphors¶

Translate intended meaning, not literal colloquialism. Omit colloquialism if it can be removed.

Numbers¶

• Decimal separator: . (period)
• Thousand separator: , (comma)
• Numbers remain LTR within RTL Hebrew text.

Prepositions¶

Hebrew prepositions (ב-, ל-, מ-) attach to following nouns. Care with directionality and inflection.

Pronouns¶

Address users directly (אתה/את singular, אתם/אתן plural). Use possessives (שלך, שלכם). Avoid impersonal third-person constructions when direct address works.

Punctuation¶

Hebrew punctuation generally follows European conventions:

• Period (.) — end of sentences.
• Comma (,) — same as English.
• Question mark (?) — at end of question (right-most position in RTL).
• Quotation marks — Hebrew prefers ” ” for primary quotes; some use גרשיים (״״).
• Apostrophe (geresh) — used for English letters representation in Hebrew (ג’ for /dʒ/).

Sentence fragments¶

UI strings often use sentence fragments. Don’t artificially expand if source is terse.

Symbols and nonbreaking spaces¶

Use nonbreaking spaces between numerical values and units. Be aware of BIDI requirements for mixed RTL/LTR content.

Verbs¶

Hebrew verb tenses:

• Present for general statements.
• Past for completed actions.
• Future for future events.
• Imperative for instructions.

Hebrew imperative is gendered. For gender-neutral instructions, use infinitive or direct address forms.

Localization considerations¶

Accessibility¶

Generic verbs that work with all input methods. Short paragraphs, one verb per sentence.

Applications, products, and features¶

Microsoft product names are trademarked and not translated. They remain in English (LTR) within Hebrew RTL text.

Copilot predefined prompts¶

Copilot prompts are functional — translations must be accurate, consistent, concise, natural. Use second person singular when the user is addressing the AI. Use Hebrew quotation marks for quoted text within prompts. Pay attention to entity tokens — translate displayable text but not entity type attributes. Place ghost text placeholders at end of sentence.

Trademarks¶

Trademarked names should not be localized.

Software considerations¶

Standard software localization conventions apply: error messages should be natural and empathetic. Key names typically remain in English (Alt, Ctrl, Esc, Enter). Keyboard shortcuts use English notation.

RTL considerations¶

Hebrew RTL display affects all UI design. English embeddings (product names, code) remain LTR; numerals remain LTR. BIDI markers may be needed for complex mixed content.

Voice video considerations¶

For voice/video, English brand names are pronounced as in English. Hebrew pronunciation follows standard contemporary Israeli Hebrew.

Reference materials¶

Normative references¶

1. Academy of the Hebrew Language — hebrew-academy.org.il. Official Hebrew language authority for orthography, terminology, and grammar.
2. Morfix — morfix.co.il/en. English-Hebrew/Hebrew-English dictionary.
3. Rav-Milim — ravmilim.co.il. Hebrew dictionary.

Informative references¶

1. Hebrew Wikipedia — he.wikipedia.org. Contemporary usage and background.

FAQ¶

How do I address users in Hebrew translation?¶

Default to direct address using second person (אתה/את for singular, אתם/אתן for plural). Hebrew distinguishes grammatical gender — for generic single-user references, masculine forms are conventional, but rewriting to plural (אתם) or to imperative-direct forms avoids forcing gender. Avoid the impersonal “user” (משתמש) construction when direct address works. Generic third-person “he” or “she” for unknown users should be avoided in modern content.

Which authoritative references should I use for Hebrew translation?¶

Normative: The Academy of the Hebrew Language (hebrew-academy.org.il) for orthography, terminology, and grammar; Morfix English-Hebrew/Hebrew-English dictionary (morfix.co.il); Rav-Milim Hebrew dictionary (ravmilim.co.il). Informative: Hebrew Wikipedia (he.wikipedia.org) for general background, comparison, and contemporary usage.

How should I handle Hebrew RTL (right-to-left) layout with embedded English or numbers?¶

Hebrew is RTL but numerals remain LTR. When Hebrew text contains English words, product names, or numbers, the directionality should be handled by Unicode bidirectional algorithm — most software handles this automatically. Translators should ensure English brand names, code snippets, and numerals are correctly displayed in their natural LTR direction inside the RTL Hebrew flow. UI strings with embedded English may need explicit BIDI markers (LRM/RLM) in some contexts.

What’s the difference between formal and informal Hebrew vocabulary?¶

Formal: לעשות שימוש (use), כעת (now), לקבל גישה (access), לבצע התאמה אישית (customize), התקן נייד (mobile device), עוד אודות (more about). Informal/modern: להשתמש, עכשיו, לגשת, להתאים אישית, מכשיר נייד, מידע נוסף אודות. Modern voice prefers the informal vocabulary across consumer-facing translation — marketing, patient materials, software UI, consumer legal documents. Formal vocabulary remains only in sworn legal text and traditional academic/literary contexts.

How do I handle gender in Hebrew when the audience is mixed or unknown?¶

Hebrew has no fully gender-neutral form, but several strategies help: (1) use plural forms (אתם encompasses mixed groups by convention); (2) use imperative or direct second-person where possible; (3) use abstract or collective nouns (משתמשים, צוות, צרכן); (4) rewrite to avoid gendered pronouns; (5) in some contexts, slash forms like הוא/היא or noun.ות are used but considered awkward in product UI. The Academy of the Hebrew Language and contemporary style guides offer evolving recommendations on gender-inclusive Hebrew.

Should I translate “please” in Hebrew?¶

Often you can omit it — Hebrew doesn’t require politeness markers as often as English. The Hebrew בבקשה or אנא is appropriate in formal correspondence but can sound forced in UI strings. Modern Hebrew product voice generally omits “please” and relies on tone for politeness.

How do I handle English brand and product names in Hebrew text?¶

Keep them in English (LTR within the RTL Hebrew text). Don’t transliterate trademarked names. For common nouns (computer, browser, internet), Hebrew translations may be used (מחשב, דפדפן, אינטרנט). Hebrew has both pure Hebrew terms and transliterations for many IT concepts — use approved terminology.

Sources¶

• Microsoft Localization Style Guide for Hebrew (PDF)
• Microsoft Globalization Style Guides hub
• Academy of the Hebrew Language
• Morfix English-Hebrew Dictionary
• Rav-Milim Hebrew Dictionary