In Hebrew words there are patterns of vowels called מִשְׁקָלִים (mishkalím, “patterns”, literally “weights”), that can have different concepts and into which roots are "cast" to create different words. Commonly the consonants of the root are indicated with the placeholder letters ק־ט־ל (k-t-l). Patterns can have affixes and formational dageshes "built" into them in addition to nikud.
| pattern | meaning | examples |
|---|---|---|
| קְטָל (k'tal, qəṭāl) | — | פְּרָט (prat, “a detail; an individual”), כְּלָל (klal, “a rule; a generality”) |
| מִקְטָל (miktál, miqṭāl) | sometimes denoting locations | מִבְחָן (mivkhán, “a test”), מִנְזָר (minzár, “a monastery”) |
| קְטִיל (k'til, qəṭīl) | — | שְׁתִיל (shtíl, “a seedling”), צְלִיל (tslíl, “a sound, a tone”) |
| הַקְטָלָה (haktalá, hakṭālā) | feminine form of the action noun in binyan hifil | הַצְלָחָה (hatslakhá, “success”), הַפְקָרָה (hafkará, “abandoning”) |
| קִטּוּל (kitúl, qiṭṭūl) | action noun of binyan piel | סיפור / סִפּוּר (sipúr, “a story, a tale”), בישול / בִּשּׁוּל (bishúl, “cooking”) |
| קַטָּל (katál, qaṭṭāl) | denoting an occupation or a person having some characteristic | סַפָּר (sapár, “a barber, a hairdresser”), זַמָּר (zamár, “a singer”), חַלָּשׁ (khalásh, “weak”) |