הן

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Hebrew

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Particle

הֵן (hen)

  1. Lo! also (as expressing surprise) if: - behold, if, lo, though.
    • Tanach, Numbers 23:9, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:
      כִּי־מֵרֹאשׁ צֻרִים אֶרְאֶנּוּ וּמִגְּבָעוֹת אֲשׁוּרֶנּוּ הֶן־עָם לְבָדָד יִשְׁכֹּן וּבַגּוֹיִם לֹא יִתְחַשָּׁב׃
      ki-merósh tsurím 'er'énu umig'va'ót 'ashurénu hen-'ám l'vadád yishkón uvagoyím ló yitkhasháv.
      kī-mērōš ṣūrīm ʾerʾénnū ūmiggəḇāʿōṯ ʾăšūrénnū hen-ʿām ləḇāḏāḏ yiškōn ūḇaggōyīm lō yiṯḥaššāḇ.
      For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
  2. (formal) yes, yea, aye
  3. as well as
Usage notes
  • Due to being the affirmative, it is used as a copula, inflected identically to (and confused with) הִנֵּה (hiné). Although this is in parallel to usage of the negative אֵין (ēn), this is discouraged by the Academy of the Hebrew Language.
Antonyms
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Semitic *šin. Cognate with Arabic هُنَّ (hunna). The central sense is “they”; other senses are by extension.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

הֵן (henf pl

  1. They (feminine).
See also
References
  1. ^ Samaritan Hebrew merges הן and הנה using the spelling and pronunciation from the latter.