It is a simple question to ask: How do you pronounce this date: 7/10 (7th of October)?

But the answer is not that simple. There’s an official way, determined by the Hebrew Academy, that says that this is the correct format:

Male form of the number + be + the month.

But in this case, of saying the date, there’s also the way that people talk.

The “correct” way vs. the common way

Let’s go back to this very charged date – 7.10 (I trust you know why this date carries such weight). The correct way to pronounce it is: השבעה באוקטובר (ha-shiv’ah be-October).

However, many people say: השביעי באוקטובר (ha-shvi’i be-October) / השביעי לאוקטובר (ha-shvi’i le-October) / השביעי לעשירי (ha-shvi’i la-asiri) and even though these are not “correct”, it is highly common to make this kind of “mistake”.

So, is everyone wrong except for the Academy + some people that follow its rules?

Why “mistakes” aren’t always wrong

My philosophy of language is that it is dynamic and developing, and if the majority of people are saying something in a certain way, it is not wrong. Yes, it can be annoying to some other people who really care about the language rules, but this way of making mistakes is actually expanding the language and transforming it so it becomes more “spoken” and natural.

I have a feeling that in some years more ways of saying the date will also be considered correct.

Personally, I find myself switching between forms depending on the situation. In formal writing, I stick to השבעה באוקטובר. But in casual conversation? Whatever feels natural in the moment, and usually, even though I’m a Hebrew teacher, I choose the “wrong” format.

In today’s podcast episode, I dive deeper into this topic – and it is only in Hebrew. So if you feel like you are ready to learn more about dates in Hebrew, and listen to it in Hebrew – here’s the link.

And let’s hope no more dates will be as famous as 7.10 – in Israel and globally.