The Hebrew term for quantity surveyor: a short spelling guide to kamai and related terms
The Hebrew term for quantity surveyor is כמאי (kamai), and the correct spelling ends in a single yod, the letter י, like חשמלאי (electrician), טכנאי (technician) and שמאי (valuer). A kamai (quantity surveyor) measures construction quantities; it is not a shamai, a real-estate valuer. In searches and messages you will also see forms such as כמאיי, קמאי, כמאיים, כתב כמיות and חישוב כמיות, and all of them are looking for the same professional. This short guide is for professionals from abroad who meet these words in Israeli drawings, quotes and bills of quantities. I have experience in quantity takeoff for residential, commercial and public buildings, and I have met most of the forms in the table below in real enquiries.
The Hebrew term for quantity surveyor, one yod or two: what the spelling rules say
Under the full-spelling rules of the Academy of the Hebrew Language, the rules for writing Hebrew without vowel signs, a consonantal yod in the middle of a word is doubled when there is no vowel letter next to it, as in בניין (binyan, building) and עניין (inyan, matter). At the end of a word it is not doubled: חשמלאי, ודאי (vadai, certainly), אולי (ulai, perhaps). כמאי belongs to the same family as חשמלאי and טכנאי, so it is written with one yod. The plural is כמאים (kamaim), and the feminine is כמאית (kamait). The profession itself is called כמאות (kamaut), quantity surveying.
Another rule explains two common errors: when an i vowel is followed by a silent sheva, the sign for no vowel, full spelling does not add a yod, as in מספר (mispar, number) and מנהל (minhal, administration). By the same rule you write תמחור (timchur, pricing) and מפרט (mifrat, specification), with no yod after the first letter.
Spelling table: the correct form and the common variants
| Correct form | How it sometimes appears | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| כמאי kamai | כמאיי, קמאי | The person who measures quantities and prepares bills of quantities and cost estimates: a quantity surveyor |
| כמאים kamaim | כמאיים | The plural of kamai |
| חשב כמויות chashav kamuyot | חשב כמיות, חשב כמוית | Another name for a kamai, common in job offers |
| חישוב כמויות chishuv kamuyot | חישוב כמיות, חשוב כמויות | The work itself, quantity takeoff: measuring from the drawings or the model |
| כתב כמויות ktav kamuyot | כתב כמיות, כתב כמויוית | The bill of quantities: the list of items, units and quantities that are priced |
| אומדן omdan | אומדנן, אומטן | A cost estimate before a tender or before construction |
| תמחור timchur | תימחור, תמכור | Pricing: putting a price on each item |
| אופני מדידה ofnei medida | אופני מדידא, אופני מדיידה | Methods of measurement: the rules that set how each item is measured |
| מפרט טכני mifrat techni | מיפרט, מפרת | The technical specification: the description of materials and workmanship that the bill rests on |
One pair is especially confusing: חישוב (chishuv), with a yod, is the work, the calculation; חשוב (chashuv), without a yod, means important, which the work also is. In fast typing the two words look almost the same, and in the title of a document the difference stands out.
From experience, most errors come from three causes: fast typing on a phone, which drops or doubles a letter; hearing, as in קמאי instead of כמאי, since both first letters sound like k; and copying from a title that was already wrong. The simplest fix is to check the word against the table before sending a document.
Three questions that help you choose the right word
- Is it about a person or about work? כמאי and חשב כמויות are the people. חישוב כמויות and כמאות are the work.
- Is it about a document? כתב כמויות, and in the plural כתבי כמויות (kitvei kamuyot). The document that describes the materials and the workmanship is the מפרט, the specification.
- Is it about money? אומדן before the work, תמחור of each item, and a חשבון (cheshbon, the contractor's account or payment application) during construction and after it. On the periodic account, see the page interim payment application.
And this is how one line of a bill of quantities looks with all the terms in place:
| Item | Description | Unit | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09.01.0010 | Two-coat internal plaster on blockwork walls, as per the specification | m² | 1,000 |
The kamai calculates the 1,000 m² from the drawings according to the methods of measurement, the contractor adds a price at the pricing stage, and the specification sets exactly what the line includes. Three terms, three roles, and one line that everyone reads the same way.
Kamai versus shamai (valuer), and kamai versus moded (land surveyor)
כמאי and שמאי (shamai) sound alike and follow the same pattern, but they are different professions. A שמאי מקרקעין (shamai mekarkein), a real estate valuer, assesses the value of a property. A kamai calculates the quantities and costs of construction works. A מודד מוסמך (moded musmach), a licensed land surveyor, measures the site and the structure on the site itself, and the kamai works from the survey, the drawings and the model. On a large project all three work together, and each one hands the others different data. What a quantity surveyor actually does is on the page what is a quantity surveyor, and how the role fits in with the other consultants is on the page the role of a quantity surveyor in the project.
Why the spelling matters
In an ordinary letter a spelling mistake is mostly an embarrassment. In a bill of quantities there are places where one letter changes the meaning: איטום (itum, waterproofing) is work, and אטום (atum, sealed) is an adjective; טיח (tiach, plaster) is the material, and טייח (tayach, plasterer) is the tradesman. In a bill that passes between several bidders, a description that can be read only one way saves clarification questions and disputes. On the structure of the bill itself, see the page bill of quantities.
On the other side, people search the way they type. Someone who types the Hebrew term for quantity surveyor as כמאי or כמאיי, or looks for כתב כמויות or כתב כמיות, should reach the same answer, so I have gathered the common forms here in one place.
Memory rule: כמאי like חשמלאי; כמויות with two vavs, the letter ו; תמחור and מפרט with no yod after the first letter. Everything else is in the table.
Frequently asked questions
Is it spelled כמאי or כמאיי?
כמאי, with one yod. The plural is כמאים, and the feminine is כמאית.
What is the feminine form?
כמאית (kamait), and in the plural כמאיות (kamaiyot). Here too the yod at the end of the word is not doubled.
What is the difference between kamai and chashav kamuyot?
None in the work: each is a Hebrew term for quantity surveyor, and both describe the same professional, an engineer or a registered building technician, like Yaakov Avital. חשב כמויות is more common in job offers, and כמאי in conversation and as the name of the profession.
Is it כתב כמויות or כתב כמיות?
כתב כמויות, with two vavs. כמיות is a common error in fast typing, mainly on a phone.
Where can I find a kamai?
Here: quantity surveyor for construction projects, quantity takeoff and bills of quantities from the drawings or the model. More site terms are on the page Hebrew construction terms and their spelling.
Have a project? Tell me briefly what the project is and what already exists. When the project is a good fit, I usually reply with focused questions and a written quote.
Contact me for a quote* Created with AI for marketing, for illustration only. Not reviewed by Yaakov Avital and not professional advice. Every project must be checked on its own by a professional quantity surveyor and an engineer.