חי

Hebrew

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Chai (symbol)

Wikipedia

Root
ח־י־ה (kh-y-h)

Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *ḥyw (“to live”); cognate with Hebrew חַוָּה (khavá).^[1]

Pronunciation

• Audio:

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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

Derived terms

• חי וקיים / חַי וְקַיָּם (kháy vekayám, “alive and well”)
• כַּדּוּר חַי (kadúr khai)
• שידור חי / שִׁדּוּר חַי (shidúr kháy)

Verb

חַי • (kháy) (pa'al construction)

1. to live

Conjugation

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.

Conjugation of חַי (see also Appendix:Hebrew verbs)

Derived terms

• דּוּ־חַי (du-khay) (amphibian)
• חַיְדַּק (ḥaydáq) (bacteria)
• חַיְזָר (ḥayzár) (alien, extraterrestrial)

Related terms

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

References

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

1. Huehnergard, John (2011) “Proto-Semitic Language & Culture; Semitic Roots”, in American Heritage Dictionary‎, 5th edition, Appendix II: Semitic Roots, page 2074 of 2066-2078