הם

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

Hebrew

Etymology 1

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

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
Derived terms
  • בימים ההם‎ (bayamím hahém, “formerly, in olden days”)
  • הוא‎ (hu', “that-MASCULINE”)
  • היא‎ (hi', “that-FEMININE”)
  • הן‎ (hen, “that-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
  • (those): אֵלֶּה‎ (éileh, “these-MASCULINE”)
  • (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) אֲתֶּם‎ (atém)
f אַתְּ‎ (at) אֲתֶּן‎ (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.

See also

Anagrams
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