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”)

Related terms

• 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”)

Related terms

• 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)	אֲנַחְנוּ (anákhnu), אָנוּ (ánu)
2nd person	m	אַתָּה (atá)	אַתֶּם (atém)
	f	אַתְּ (at)	אַתֶּן (atén)
3rd person	m	הוּא (hu)	הֵם (hem)
	f	הִיא (hi)	הֵן (hen)

Etymology 2

From English heme.

Noun

הם • (him)

1. (biology, medicine) Heme.

Further reading

• הם on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he

Anagrams

• ה״מ, מה