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

Pronoun

הֵם • (hem) m pl

  1. they (the third-person masculine plural personal pronoun, masculine plural of הוא (hu'))
  2. those, yon (the masculine plural distant demonstrative pronoun, masculine plural of הוא (hu'))
    Synonym: אֵלֶּה (éileh, “these”)
    Antonym: אֵלֶּה (éileh)
  3. are (a masculine plural present-tense copula, masculine plural of הוא (hu'))
    Synonym: הינם (hinám)
    Antonym: אינם (einám)
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.
  1. ^ Samaritan Hebrew merges הם and המה using the former spelling but the pronunciation is derived from the latter.
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]
  1. ^ The form אנוכי / אָנֹכִי (anokhí) occurs many times in the Hebrew Bible, but is basically obsolete today.
  2. ^ In Modern Israeli Hebrew, the form אָנוּ (ánu, “we”) is the more formal, אֲנָחנוּ (anákhnu) the more colloquial.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 In colloquial Modern Israeli Hebrew, the nominally masculine forms אַתֶּם (atém) and הֵם (hem) are sometimes taken as gender-neutral and substituted for אַתֶּן (atén) and הֵן (hen), this is sometimes considered incorrect.

Adjective

הֵם • (hem)

  1. 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

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English heme.

Noun

הם • (him)

  1. (biology, medicine) heme

Further reading

Anagrams

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