ל־

Etymology
From.

Preposition

 * 1) to, for

Etymology
From.

Particle

 * 1) To;

Usage notes

 * In most verbs of the pa'ál construction, the vowel is khirík (as in ), but in others it may be patákh (as in or ), segól (as in ), kamáts (as in  or ), or, very rarely, tseiréi (as in ) or kholám malé (as in ).
 * In verbs of the pi'él, hitpa'él, hitpu'al, and hif'íl constructions (including variations such as polél, hitpolél, and nitpa'él), the vowel is sh'vá ná.
 * Verbs of the pu'ál and huf'ál constructions do not have infinitives.

Preposition

 * 1) To;
 * 2) To, for;
 * 3) Of;
 * 4) To, into;
 * 5) For, according to, in the opinion of;
 * 6) Of;
 * 7) Of, to, before:
 * 8)  Before:
 * 1) Of;
 * 2) To, into;
 * 3) For, according to, in the opinion of;
 * 4) Of;
 * 5) Of, to, before:
 * 6)  Before:
 * 1) Of;
 * 2) To, into;
 * 3) For, according to, in the opinion of;
 * 4) Of;
 * 5) Of, to, before:
 * 6)  Before:
 * 1) To, into;
 * 2) For, according to, in the opinion of;
 * 3) Of;
 * 4) Of, to, before:
 * 5)  Before:
 * 1) To, into;
 * 2) For, according to, in the opinion of;
 * 3) Of;
 * 4) Of, to, before:
 * 5)  Before:
 * 1) For, according to, in the opinion of;
 * 2) Of;
 * 3) Of, to, before:
 * 4)  Before:
 * 1) Of;
 * 2) Of, to, before:
 * 3)  Before:
 * 1) Of;
 * 2) Of, to, before:
 * 3)  Before:
 * 1) Of;
 * 2) Of, to, before:
 * 3)  Before:
 * 1) Of, to, before:
 * 2)  Before:
 * 1) Of, to, before:
 * 2)  Before:
 * 1)  Before:
 * 1)  Before:
 * 1)  Before:

Usage notes

 * The above list of uses is not exhaustive; many verbs and compound prepositions use to construe their objects, and in general, this is an idiosyncratic property of the verb or preposition. Conversely, above-listed uses are not definitive; in many cases, there are other prepositions that may be used similarly (or even somewhat interchangeably). Finally, the above-listed uses are not mutually exclusive; a single instance of  may serve more than one of them.
 * Like all one-letter words in Hebrew, functions as a clitic, attaching to the word that follows it. Since it is a preposition, this means it attaches to the first word of its object.
 * In traditional grammar, undergoes some vowel changes, depending on the word it attaches to:
 * The default form, used when none of the below rules applies, is . It is also the only form in ordinary use in colloquial Modern Hebrew, except for the forms that merge with the definite article (see below) and in various fixed expressions that always use the traditional pronunciation.
 * When the first syllable of the word has a sh'vá ná, the form is used; hence, when  is attached to the noun, we obtain the adverb . Further, when the word starts with the syllable , it loses its sh'va; hence, in traditional grammar, when  is attached to , we obtain.
 * When the first syllable of the word has a khataf vowel, takes the corresponding non-khataf vowel.
 * When it is combined with the clitic, the two clitics fuse into one syllable, with the onset being and the vowel being that of the  (i.e., a pataḥ, a qamatz, or a segol, depending on the first syllable of the word); for example, when  and  are attached to , we obtain  (note the dagesh forte in the ), and when they're attached to , we obtain.
 * The same modifications occur with and.
 * Since the attachment of means that the following letter now follows an open syllable or sh'va, that letter loses any dagesh lene; hence the above example, where  becomes  rather than *.
 * As in English ("it's ten to"), the complement of this preposition is often omitted in informal registers.

Inflection

 * In older forms of Hebrew, and still in formal Modern Hebrew, has been distinguished from the similar preposition . In everyday Modern Hebrew, however, this distinction is preserved only in the inflected forms, with the effect that  essentially has two different sets of inflected forms: its own original forms, which are used in most circumstances, and the forms originally belonging to, which are used with words of motion, words of connection, words of relation, and so on.