Hebrew Professions & Jobs: 40+ Words With Transliteration

"מה אתה עושה?" — "What do you do?" It's one of the first questions Israelis ask when they meet you. And they will ask. Within 60 seconds of introduction, an Israeli will want to know your name, where you're from, and what you do for a living. It's not nosiness — it's warmth and curiosity.

Being able to answer this question confidently, and ask it back, is a cornerstone of Israeli small talk. Plus, learning profession vocabulary gives you a window into Hebrew's fascinating grammatical gender system — because in Hebrew, a "doctor" is different depending on whether that doctor is male or female.

This guide covers 40+ professions in Hebrew, with masculine and feminine forms for each, transliteration, and the essential phrases to navigate any professional conversation.

Key takeaway: Hebrew profession nouns are gendered. Most follow predictable patterns: masculine ends in consonant or י- (-i), feminine adds ית- (-it) or ה- (-a). Learn the pattern, then apply it to every profession you learn.

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How Hebrew Profession Nouns Work

Before the big vocabulary table, let's understand the gender system for professions:

Pattern 1: Most common — add ית- for feminine

• רופא (rofe, male doctor) → רופאה (rofa, female doctor)
• מורה (more, male teacher) → מורה (mora, female teacher) ← same word, different pronunciation!

Pattern 2: Suffix ן- (masculine) → נית- (feminine)

• מלצר (meltsar, waiter) → מלצרית (meltsarit, waitress)
• נהג (nahag, male driver) → נהגת (nahéget, female driver)

Pattern 3: Completely different words (rare)

• שחקן (sachkan, actor) → שחקנית (sachkanit, actress)

Pattern 4: Same word for both genders (increasingly common)

• פסיכולוג (psicholог, psychologist) → פסיכולוגית (psichologit) — by adding ית

💡 Tip: In modern Israeli usage, there's a growing trend toward using gender-neutral forms or simply asking "are you masculine or feminine?" before using a profession noun. But knowing both forms is still essential and shows respect for Hebrew grammar.

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Healthcare & Medicine

English	Masculine	Transliteration	Feminine	Transliteration
Doctor / Physician	רופא	rofe	רופאה	rof'a
Nurse	אח	ach	אחות	achot
Dentist	רופא שיניים	rofe shinayim	רופאת שיניים	rofat shinayim
Surgeon	מנתח	menate'ach	מנתחת	menatachat
Pharmacist	רוקח	roke'ach	רוקחת	rokachat
Psychologist	פסיכולוג	psicholог	פסיכולוגית	psichologit
Paramedic	חובש	chovesh	חובשת	chovshet

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Education

English	Masculine	Transliteration	Feminine	Transliteration
Teacher	מורה	more	מורה	mora
Professor	פרופסור	profesor	פרופסורית	profesorit
Principal	מנהל	menahel	מנהלת	menahelet
Librarian	ספרן	safran	ספרנית	safranit
Lecturer	מרצה	martse	מרצה	martsa
Student	סטודנט	student	סטודנטית	studentit
Tutor	מדריך	madrich	מדריכה	madricha

💡 Tip: Notice that מורה (more/mora) is the same written word but with different vowel pronunciation depending on the gender. This is common in Hebrew — vowels change meaning but aren't shown in modern written Hebrew. Context is your friend!

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Technology & Business

English	Masculine	Transliteration	Feminine	Transliteration
Programmer	מתכנת	metachnet	מתכנתת	metachnetет
Engineer	מהנדס	mehandés	מהנדסת	mehandéset
Architect	אדריכל	adrichal	אדריכלית	adrichalit
Manager / Director	מנהל	menahel	מנהלת	menahelet
Accountant	רואה חשבון	ro'e cheshbon	רואת חשבון	ro'at cheshbon
Lawyer	עורך דין	orech din	עורכת דין	orchet din
Economist	כלכלן	kalkalan	כלכלנית	kalkalanit
Secretary	מזכיר	mazкir	מזכירה	mazkirа
Banker	בנקאי	bank'ai	בנקאית	bank'ait
Entrepreneur	יזם	yazam	יזמית	yazmit

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Trades & Services

English	Masculine	Transliteration	Feminine	Transliteration
Chef / Cook	טבח	tabách	טבחית	tabachit
Waiter	מלצר	meltsar	מלצרית	meltsarit
Driver	נהג	nahag	נהגת	nahéget
Police officer	שוטר	shoter	שוטרת	shotéret
Firefighter	כבאי	kaba'i	כבאית	kaba'it
Soldier	חייל	chayal	חיילת	chayelet
Pilot	טייס	tayas	טייסת	tayéset
Electrician	חשמלאי	chashmal'ai	חשמלאית	chashmal'ait
Plumber	שרברב	sharvrav	שרברבית	sharvravit
Hairdresser	ספר	sapar	ספרית	saparit
Farmer	חקלאי	chakla'i	חקלאית	chakla'it
Mechanic	מכונאי	mechona'i	מכונאית	mechona'it

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Arts, Media & Creative Fields

English	Masculine	Transliteration	Feminine	Transliteration
Actor	שחקן	sachkan	שחקנית	sachkanit
Singer	זמר	zamar	זמרת	zameret
Musician	מוזיקאי	muzika'i	מוזיקאית	muzika'it
Painter / Artist	צייר	tsayar	ציירת	tsayéret
Writer	סופר	sofer	סופרת	soferet
Journalist	עיתונאי	itoná'i	עיתונאית	itoná'it
Photographer	צלם	tsalam	צלמת	tsalémet
Designer	מעצב	me'atsev	מעצבת	me'atsevet

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Key Phrases: Talking About Work

Asking about someone's job

• "מה אתה עושה?" (Ma ata oseh?) — What do you do? (asking a man)
• "מה את עושה?" (Ma at osa?) — What do you do? (asking a woman)
• "מה המקצוע שלך?" (Ma ha'miktso'a shelcha?) — What is your profession?
• "איפה אתה עובד?" (Eifo ata oved?) — Where do you work?
• "כמה זמן אתה עובד שם?" (Kama zman ata oved sham?) — How long have you worked there?

Answering about your job

• "אני רופא/רופאה" (Ani rofe/rof'a) — I am a doctor (m/f)
• "אני עובד/ת בהייטק" (Ani oved/et ba'hi-tech) — I work in high-tech
• "אני עצמאי/עצמאית" (Ani atsma'i/atsma'it) — I'm self-employed
• "אני בעל עסק" (Ani ba'al esek) — I own a business
• "אני בין עבודות" (Ani bein avodot) — I'm between jobs (unemployed)
• "אני בחופשת לידה" (Ani be'chufshат leida) — I'm on maternity/paternity leave

Work-related vocabulary

English	Hebrew	Transliteration
Work / Job	עבודה	avoda
Workplace	מקום עבודה	makom avoda
Salary	משכורת	mashkoret
Resume / CV	קורות חיים	korot chayim (literally "history of life")
Interview	ראיון עבודה	ra'ayon avoda
Boss	בוס / מנהל	bos / menahel
Colleague	עמית לעבודה	amit la'avoda
Employee	עובד	oved
Employer	מעסיק	ma'asik
Promotion	קידום	kidum
Fired / Dismissed	מפוטר	mefutar
Retired	פנסיונר	pensioner

💡 Tip: קורות חיים (korot chayim, literally "the history of one's life") is the Hebrew word for CV/resume. It's such a poetic phrase — your resume is literally the story of your life. Don't you feel better about updating it now?

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Mini Dialogue: Meeting at a Party

אמיר: שלום, אני אמיר. מה שמך?
"Shalom, ani Amir. Ma shimcha?"
Amir: Hi, I'm Amir. What's your name?

שרה: שרה. נעים מאוד. מה אתה עושה?
"Sara. Na'im me'od. Ma ata oseh?"
Sara: Sara. Nice to meet you. What do you do?

אמיר: אני מהנדס תוכנה. עובד בסטארטאפ בתל אביב. ואת?
"Ani mehandés tochna. Oved be'startup be'Tel Aviv. Ve'at?"
Amir: I'm a software engineer. Working at a startup in Tel Aviv. And you?

שרה: אני מורה. מלמדת אנגלית בתיכון.
"Ani mora. Melamеdet anglit be'tichon."
Sara: I'm a teacher. I teach English in high school.

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The Israeli High-Tech World

Israel is known as the "Startup Nation" — a global hub for technology and innovation. Accordingly, some of the most common professions you'll encounter are:

• מפתח/מפתחת (mefate'ach/mefatchet) — Developer
• מנהל מוצר (menahel mutsар) — Product Manager (PM)
• מנהל שיווק (menahel shivuk) — Marketing Manager
• מעצב UX/UI (me'atsev UX/UI) — UX/UI Designer
• ראש צוות (rosh tsevet) — Team Lead
• סייבר (saiber) — Cybersecurity (as an industry/field)

High-tech vocabulary in Israeli Hebrew is heavily peppered with English loan words — "startup," "release," "sprint," "product," "manager" are all used in Hebrew conversation as-is, often with Hebrew grammatical endings attached!

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What's Next

You're now ready to introduce your professional self in Hebrew. Keep building:

• Hebrew Family Words — expand your personal vocabulary beyond work
• 100 Everyday Conversational Phrases — master the small talk that surrounds these introductions
• HebrewGlot Trainer — drill profession vocabulary with interactive exercises

"עבודה קשה לא הרגה אף אחד" — Hard work never killed anyone. Now get to work on your Hebrew! 💼

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