יכול

Hebrew

Etymology

Possibly cognate with Arabic وَكَلَ (wakala, “to trust”), also found in Akkadian and Ethiopic, from Proto-Semitic *wakal-. Alternatively, Huehnergard and Olyan propose k-h-l as the proto-root.^[1]

Root
י־כ־ל (y-k-l)

Pronunciation

(Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /jaˈχol/
Audio: (file)

Verb

יכול / יָכֹל • (yakhól) (pa'al construction)

can, to be able to

Usage notes

הָיָה (hayá, “was”) is commonly added to the third-person singular past tense to differentiate it from the present tense: היה יכול / הָיָה יָכֹל (hayá yakhól) or יכול היה / יָכֹל הָיָה (yakhól hayá).

Conjugation

Conjugation of יכול \ יָכֹל (see also Appendix:Hebrew verbs)

finite forms		masculine singular	feminine singular	masculine plural	feminine plural
non-finite forms		to-infinitive: לִהְיוֹת יָכוֹל
past	first person	יכולתי \ יָכֹלְתִּי		יכולנו \ יָכֹלְנוּ
	second person	יכולת \ יָכֹלְתָּ	יכולת \ יָכֹלְתְּ	יכולתם \ יְכָלְתֶּם	יכולתן \ יְכָלְתֶּן
	third person	יכול \ יָכֹל	יָכְלָה	יָכְלוּ
present	all persons	יָכוֹל	יְכוֹלָה	יְכוֹלִים	יְכוֹלוֹת
future	first person	אוּכַל		נוּכַל
	second person	תּוּכַל	תּוּכְלִי	תּוּכְלוּ	תּוּכַלְנָה¹
	third person	יוּכַל	תּוּכַל	יוּכְלוּ	תּוּכַלְנָה¹
imperative	second person	–	–	–	–¹
notes		Uncommon in modern informal Hebrew, but used in formal speech and writing.

Derived terms

כִּבְיָכוֹל (kiv'yakhól)

References

H3201 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible

^ Huehnergard, J., & Olyan, S. M. (2013). The Etymology of Hebrew and Aramaic Ykl ‘to be able’. Journal of Semitic Studies, 58(1), 13-19.

Anagrams

וילך

[1] Huehnergard, J., & Olyan, S. M. (2013). The Etymology of Hebrew and Aramaic Ykl ‘to be able’. Journal of Semitic Studies, 58(1), 13-19.

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