הם
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See also: ה״מ and Appendix:Variations of "em"
Hebrew
Etymology 1
Inherited from Proto-Semitic *šum. Cognate with Arabic هُم (hum). The central sense is “they”; other senses are by extension.
Pronunciation
- (Biblical Hebrew) IPA(key): /him(m)/
- (Samaritan Hebrew) IPA(key): /im.ma/[nt. 1], [ˈʔim.mæˑ]
- (Tiberian Hebrew) IPA(key): /ˈheːm/, [ˈheː.em]
- (Yemenite Hebrew) IPA(key): /ˈhem/, [ˈheːm]
- (Persian Hebrew) IPA(key): /hem/
- (Iraqi Hebrew) IPA(key): /hem/
- (Sephardi Hebrew) IPA(key): /hem/
- (Ashkenazi Hebrew) IPA(key): /hejm/
- (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA(key): /(h)em/
Audio (Modern Israeli Hebrew): (file) - Rhymes: -em
Pronoun
הֵם • (hem) m pl
- they (the third-person masculine plural personal pronoun, masculine plural of הוא (hu'))
- those, yon (the masculine plural distant demonstrative pronoun, masculine plural of הוא (hu'))
- are (a masculine plural present-tense copula, masculine plural of הוא (hu'))
Usage notes
- Like the other personal pronouns, הם is not used as a direct object, as the object of preposition, or as a possessive pronoun; rather, its sense is incorporated into the preceding word (which is usually a preposition, especially in Modern Hebrew), which then appears in its third-person-masculine-plural-personal-pronoun-including form. This applies to its demonstrative-pronoun sense as well, as these senses are not truly distinct.
- Like other masculine plural forms, הם is used both with masculine-only antecedents or referents and with mixed-gender antecedents or referents.
- Like other masculine plural forms with feminine counterparts in -ן (-n), הם is sometimes substituted for its feminine counterpart הן (in which case it takes feminine adjectives and verbs), but this is not usually considered correct.
Related terms
See also
Hebrew personal pronouns
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1st person | אֲנִי (aní), אנוכי / אָנֹכִי (anokhí)[PP 1] |
אֲנַחְנוּ (anákhnu), אָנוּ (ánu)[PP 2] | ||
2nd person | m | אַתָּה (atá) | אַתֶּם (atém) | |
f | אַתְּ (at) | אַתֶּן (atén) | ||
3rd person | m | הוּא (hu) | הֵם (hem)[PP 3] | |
f | הִיא (hi) | הֵן (hen)[PP 3] | ||
|
Adjective
הֵם • (hem)
- those, yon (the masculine plural distant demonstrative adjective, masculine plural of הוא (hu'))
- Antonym: אֵלֶּה (éileh, “these”)
Usage notes
- This adjective is nearly always found in its definite form הָהֵם (hahém).
Derived terms
- בימים ההם (bayamím hahém, “formerly, in olden days”)
Related terms
Etymology 2
Noun
הם • (him)
Further reading
- הם on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia he
Anagrams
Categories:
- Hebrew terms inherited from Proto-Semitic
- Hebrew terms derived from Proto-Semitic
- Hebrew terms with IPA pronunciation
- Hebrew terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Hebrew/em
- Rhymes:Hebrew/em/1 syllable
- Hebrew lemmas
- Hebrew pronouns
- Hebrew adjectives
- Hebrew terms borrowed from English
- Hebrew terms derived from English
- Hebrew nouns
- he:Biology
- he:Medicine
- Hebrew personal pronouns