Suffixes in Hebrew
There are several suffixes in Hebrew which are appended to regular words to introduce a new meaning. Suffixes are used in the Hebrew language to form plurals of nouns and adjectives, in verb conjugation of grammatical tense, and to indicate possession and direct objects. They are also used for the construct noun form. The letters which form these suffixes (excluding plurals) are called "formative letters" (Hebrew: אוֹתִיּוֹת הַשִּׁמּוּשׁ, Otiyot HaShimush).
Gender and number
Due to noun-adjective agreement rules, these apply to nouns and to adjectival modifiers. In some cases, a masculine plural noun will have a feminine plural suffix and vice versa, but the adjectival modifiers are always the same.
| Suffix | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| ָ ה (Kamatz and He) | feminine singular |
|
| ִ ים (Chirik, Yud and Final Mem) | masculine plural |
|
| וֹת (Cholam and Tav) | feminine plural |
|
| ַ יִם (Patach, Yud with Chirik and Final Mem) | masculine and feminine noun dual form |
|
Construct state
| Suffix | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| ַ ת (Patach and Tav) | Changes a singular feminine noun to the construct form. of | תּוֹרַת מֹשֶׁה Torat Moshe (Torah of Moses) |
| ֵ י (Tzere and Yud) | Changes a plural masculine noun to the construct form. of | סִפְרֵי קְדֻשָּׁה Sifre q'dusha (Books of holiness) |
Pronominal suffixes
Singular nouns
| Suffix | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| ִ י (Chirik and Yud) | First person, singular possessive. My |
|
| ְ ךָ (Shva and Final Khaf with Kamatz) | Second person, singular, masculine possessive. Your |
|
| ֵ ךְ (Tzere and Final Khaf with Shva) | Second person, singular, feminine possessive. Your |
|
| וֹ ( Cholam male) | Third person, singular, masculine possessive. His |
|
| ָ הּ (Kamatz and He with Mappiq) | Third person, singular, feminine possessive. Her |
|
| ֵ נוּ (Tzere and Nun with Shuruk) | First person, plural possessive. Our |
|
| ְ כֶם (Shva, Khaf with Segol and Final Mem) | Second person, plural, masculine possessive. Your |
|
| ְ כֶן (Shva, Khaf with Segol and Final Nun) | Second person, plural, feminine possessive. Your |
|
| ָ ם (Kamatz and Final Mem) | Third person, plural, masculine possessive. Their |
|
| ָ ן (Kamatz and Final Nun) | Third person, plural, feminine possessive. Their |
|
Plural nouns
| Suffix | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| ַ י (Patach and Yud) | First person, singular possessive. My |
|
| ֶ יךָ (Segol, Yud and Final Khaf with Kamatz) | Second person, singular, masculine possessive. Your |
|
| ַ יִךְ (Patach, Yud with Chirik and Final Khaf with Shva) | Second person, singular, feminine possessive. Your |
|
| ָ יו (Kamatz, Yud and Vav) | Third person, singular, masculine possessive. His |
|
| ֶ יהָ (Segol, Yud and He with Kamatz) | Third person, singular, feminine possessive. Her |
|
| ֵ ינוּ (Tzere, Yud and Nun with Shuruk) | First person, plural possessive. Our |
|
| ֵ יכֶם (Tzere, Yud, Khaf with Segol and Final Mem) | Second person, plural, masculine possessive. Your |
|
| ֵ יכֶן (Tzere, Yud, Khaf with Segol and Final Nun) | Second person, plural, feminine possessive. Your |
|
| ֵ יהֶם (Tzere, Yud, He with Segol) and Final Mem) | Third person, plural, masculine possessive. Their |
|
| ֵ יהֶן (Tzere, Yud, He with Segol) and Final Nun) | Third person, plural, feminine possessive. Their |
|
Conjugation of verbs
Qal Perfect
| Suffix | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| תִּי (Tav with Hiriq male) | 1st person sg. I did | שָׁמַרְתִּי shamarti (I kept) |
| תָּ (Tav with Kamatz) | 2nd person, masc. sg. You did | שָׁמַרְתָּ shamarta (you kept) |
| תְּ (Tav with Sh'va) | 2nd person, fem. sg. You did | שָׁמַרְתְּ shamart (you kept) |
| - (None, Base form) | Qal perfect Did 3rd person, masc. sg. He did |
שָׁמַר shamar (kept/he kept) |
| ָ ה (Kamatz and He) | 3rd person, fem. sg. She did | שָׁמְרָה shamra (she kept) |
| נוּ (Nun with Shuruk) | 1st person pl. We did | שָׁמַרְנוּ shamarnu (we kept) |
| תֶּם (Tav with Segol and Final Mem) | 2nd person, masc. pl. You did | שְׁמַרְתֶּם shmartem (you kept) |
| תֶּן (Tav with Segol and Final Nun) | 2nd person, fem. pl. You did | שְׁמַרְתֶּן shmarten (you kept) |
| וּ (Shuruk) | 3rd person pl. They did | שָׁמְרוּ shamru (they kept) |
Imperfect
| Suffix | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| ִי (Chirik male) | Second person, feminine singular. You will do |
|
| וּ (Shuruk) | Third and Second person, masculine plural. They will do, You will do |
|
| נָה (Nun with Kamatz and He) | Third and Second person, feminine plural. They will do, You will do |
|
Imperative
| Suffix | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| ִ י (Chirik male) | Feminine singular. do! | שִׁמְרִי shimri (keep!) |
| וּ (Cholam male) | Masculine plural. do! | שִׁמְרוּ shimru (keep!) |
| נָה (Nun with Kamatz and He) | Feminine plural. do! | שְׁמֹרְנָה shmorna (keep!) |
Derivative
Diminutive
| Suffix | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| וֹן (Cholam male and Final Nun) | Diminutive, sometimes masculine |
|
| ֹנֶת (Cholam chaser and Nun and Tav) | Diminutive, a feminine version of וֹן |
|
| ִ ית (Chirik male and Tav) | Diminutive, sometimes feminine |
|
Abstract nouns
| Suffix | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| וּת (Qubbutz and Tav) | Abstractive, feminite |
|
Collective nouns
| Suffix | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| וֹן (Cholam male and Final Nun) | Collective, masculine |
|
Loanwords
These suffixes (Hebrew: סוֹפִית sofit) often come from loanwords from English (Latin, Greek, etc...) which are especially prevalent with technical and academic terms.
| Suffix | Origin | Hebrew | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -graphy | Ladino | גְרַפְיָה- -grafya | field of study; writing |
|
| -ic/-ical | Biblical Hebrew/ English | ִי- i | of or pertaining to |
|
| -ian/-an/-ish | Biblical Hebrew/ English | ִי- i | belonging to |
|
| -ism | English | יזְם- -izm | movement; discriminatory belief |
|
| -kinesis | Greek | קִינֶזִיס- -qinezis | movement, motion |
|
| -logy (and -ology) | Ladino | לוֹגְיָה- -logya | branch of learning |
|
| -mania | Greek | מַנְיָה- -manya | obsession |
|
| -maniac | English | מָן- -man | person with obsession |
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| -oid | English | וֹאִיד- -oid | similar, but not the same |
|
| -onym | English | וֹנִים- -onim | name |
|
| -scope | English | סְקוֹפּ- -sqop | instrument for viewing |
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| -esque | French | ֶסְקָה- -esqa | resembling |
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| -y | Ladino | יָה- -ya | having the quality of |
|
| -meter | English | מֶטֶר- -meter | measuring device; units of measure |
|
| -nik | Yiddish/Russian | נִיק- nik | one connected with |
|
See also
References
External links
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