היא

היא

Hebrew

Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *šiʔa.

Pronoun

הִיא • (hi) f

1. she, it
   • Leviticus 10:19

     ‏כִּי חָקְךָ וְחָק בָּנֶיךָ הִוא מֵאִשֵּׁי יהוה‎

     ki chokchá v'chol banéch hi meishé YHVH

     because it is thy due, and thy sons' due, of the sacrifices of the LORD made by fire

   • Genesis 35:19, with translation of the King James Version:

     ‏וַתָּמָת רָחֵל וַתִּקָּבֵר בְּדֶרֶךְ אֶפְרָתָה הִוא בֵּית לָחֶם‎

     vatámot rachél vatikavvér b'dérech efráta hi bet láchem

     And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem

2. Used as an intensifier for a third-person singular feminine subject.
   • Maimonides, משנה תורה,‎ שגגות chapter 9:

     ‏כבר ביארנו בהלכות ביאות אסורות מה היא השפחה החרופה האמורה בתורה‎

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

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]
The form אנוכי / אָנֹכִי‎ (anokhí) occurs many times in the Hebrew Bible, but is basically obsolete today. In Modern Israeli Hebrew, the form אָנוּ‎ (ánu, “we”) is the more formal, אֲנָחנוּ‎ (anákhnu) the more colloquial. 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.

References

• H1931 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible