הם

See also: ה״מ and Appendix:Variations of "em"

Hebrew

Pronunciation
  • Rhymes: -em

Etymology 1

Has cognates in other Semitic languages, such as Arabic هم (hum, “they”). The central sense is “they”; other senses are by extension.

Pronunciation
  • (Biblical Hebrew) IPA(key): /him/
  • (file)

Adjective

הֵם • (hem)

  1. Those, yon, the masculine plural distant demonstrative adjective, masculine plural of הוא (hu').
Usage notes
  • This adjective is nearly always found in its definite form הָהֵם (hahém).
Antonyms
  • (antonym(s) of “those”): אֵלֶּה (éileh, “these-MASCULINE”)
Derived terms
  • בימים ההם (bayamím hahém, “formerly, in olden days”)
  • הוא (hu', “that-MASCULINE”)
  • היא (hi', “that-FEMININE”)
  • הן (hen, “those-FEMININE”)

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').
  3. 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.
Synonyms
  • (those): אֵלֶּה (éileh, “these-MASCULINE”)
  • (are): הינם (hinám, “here they-MASCULINE are, they-MASCULINE are, are-MASCULINE”)
Antonyms
  • (antonym(s) of “those”): אֵלֶּה (éileh, “these-MASCULINE”)
  • (antonym(s) of “are”): אינם (einám, “there they are-MASCULINE not, they-MASCULINE are not, are-MASCULINE not”)
  • הוא (hu', “he, it-MASCULINE, that-MASCULINE, am/is/are-MASCULINE-SINGULAR”)
  • היא (hi', “she, it-FEMININE, that-FEMININE, am/is/are-FEMININE-SINGULAR”)
  • הן (hen, “they-FEMININE, those-FEMININE, are-FEMININE”)
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. 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.

Etymology 2

From English heme.

Noun

הם • (him)

  1. (biology, medicine) Heme.

Further reading

Anagrams
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