חי

חי

Hebrew

Root
ח־י־ה‎ (ḥ-y-h)

Adjective

חַי • (kháy) (feminine חַיָּה‎, masculine plural חַיִּים‎, feminine plural חַיּוֹת‎)

1. alive; hence raw (flesh); fresh (plant, water, year), strong; also (as noun, especially in the feminine singular and masculine plural) life (or living thing), whether literally or figuratively: - + age, alive, appetite, (wild) beast, company, congregation, life, lifetime, maintenance, + merry, multitude, + (be) old, quick, raw, running, springing, troop.
2. living, live
3. lively

Verb

חַי • (kháy) (pa'al construction)

1. to live

Conjugation

Conjugation of חַי (see also Appendix:Hebrew verbs)

non-finite forms		to-infinitive: לִחְיוֹת‎
finite forms		masculine singular	feminine singular	masculine plural	feminine plural
past	first person	חָיִיתִי‎		חָיִינוּ‎
	second person	חָיִיתָ‎	חָיִית‎	חֲיִיתֶם‎	חֲיִיתֶן‎
	third person	חַי	חייתה \\ חָיְתָה‎	חָיוּ‎
present	all persons	חַי	חַיָּה‎	חַיִּים‎	חַיּוֹת‎
future	first person	אֶחְיֶה‎		נִחְיֶה‎
	second person	תִּחְיֶה‎	תִּחְיִי‎	תּחְיוּ‎	תִּחְיֶינָה‎1
	third person	יִחְיֶה‎	תִּחְיֶה‎	יִחְיוּ‎	תִּחְיֶינָה‎1
imperative	second person	חֲיֵה‎	חֲיִי‎	חֲיוּ‎	חֲיֶינָה‎1
notes		Uncommon in modern informal Hebrew, but used in formal speech and writing.

Related terms

• גר‎ (gar), while חי can describe living in both senses, existence and residency, גר defines only the latter.
• לחיים‎

Derived terms

• דּוּ־חַי‎ (du-khay) (amphibian)
• חַיְדַּק‎ (ḥaydáq) (bacteria)
• חי וקיים / חַי וְקַיָּם‎ (kháy vekayám) (alive and well)
• חַיְזָר‎ (ḥayzár) (alien, extraterrestrial)

References

• H2416 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible