ה־

See also: ־ה, ה, ה׳, and Appendix:Variations of "h"

Aramaic

Determiner

הָ־ • (hā-)

1. this

   הָשַׁתָּא (hāšattā, “this year”)

   הָכָא (hāḵā, “right here”)

Hebrew

Etymology 1

Possibly akin to Arabic هَا (hā) and هٰذَا (hāḏā, “this”); Rubin posits a connection Akkadian 𒀭𒉡𒌝 (annûm, “this”); the final ־נ (-n) in הַנ־* (*han-) would've been assimilated to the first syllable of consonant-initial words; this form would then be generalised to vowel-initial words as well.^[1]

Compare Arabic اَل (al-), the standardized Arabic definite article, which is of largely disputed etymology, and זה (definite הזה).

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ha/ (usually), IPA^(key): /he/ (sometimes; see usage notes below)

Article

הַ־ • (ha-)

1. (definite article) The.

   הוא מגיע לכתה עוד מעט. ― hú magía lakitá ód m'át. ― He's arriving at the classroom shortly.

2. This: the current or adjacent; used especially with nouns denoting periods of time, and especially יוֹם (yom, “day”).

   היום (hayóm, “today”)

   הערב (ha'érev, “tonight, this evening”)

   הבוקר (habóker, “this morning”)

   הלילה (haláila, “tonight; last night”)

   הפעם אין אף אחד שם. ― hapá'am én áf ekhád shám. ― This time there's no one there.

Usage notes

• In traditional grammar, Hebrew common nouns have three “states”: indefinite (corresponding to English “a(n)/some __”), definite (corresponding to English “the __”), and construct (corresponding to English “a(n)/some/the __ of”). Therefore, the definite article was traditionally considered to be an actual part of the definite noun. In modern colloquial use, the definite article is often taken as a clitic, attaching to a noun but not actually part of it. For example, the Hebrew term for school is בֵּית־סֵפֶר (bet séfer, “house-of book”); so in traditional grammar, “the school” is בֵּית־הַסֵּפֶר (bet-haséfer, “house-of-the-book”), but in modern colloquial speech, it is often הַבֵּית־סֵפֶר (habet-séfer, “the-house-of-book”).
• ה־ is used not only with nouns, but also with attributive adjectives; that is, attributive adjectives agree in definiteness with the nouns they modify. This agreement is strictly semantic; an attributive adjective takes ה־ if its noun is semantically definite, even if the noun does not itself have ה־, for example if it’s a proper noun.
• When ה־ follows לְ־ (l'-, “to, for”), בְּ־ (b'-, “in”), or כְּ־ (k'-, “like”), the two merge, with the consonant being ל, ב, or כ and the vowel being that from the ה־.
• In traditional grammar, the consonant after ה־ receives a dagésh khazák (gemination), unless it’s one of the letters that cannot take a dagésh (א, ה, ח, ע, ר), in which case the vowel in the ה־ changes:
  • If the consonant after the ה־ is א or ר, or if it’s ע and its syllable is stressed, then a kamáts is used instead of a patákh; so, הָ־ (ha-).
  • If the consonant after the ה־ is ע and its syllable is unstressed, then a segól is used instead of a patákh; so, הֶ־ (he-).
  • If the consonant after the ה־ is ה or ח, then a patákh is used as usual, unless the ה or ח has unstressed kamáts or khatáf kamáts, in which case a segól is used instead.

See also

• ה"א הידיעה on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he

Etymology 2

Compare Arabic أَ (ʔa) (also its purported dialectal, and now obsoleted, variant, هَ (ha)) and Arabic هَلْ (hal).

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ha/

Particle

הֲ־ • (ha-)

1. (archaic or poetic) An interrogative particle, introducing a yes-no question.

   הֲשָׁמַעְתָּ? ― hashamá'ta? ― Have you heard?

   הֲיָדַעְתָּ? ― hayadá'ta? ― Did you know?

   • Tanach, Genesis 4:09, with translation of the King James Version:

     […] הֲשֹׁמֵר אָחִי אָנֹכִי׃

     hashomér akhí anokhí

     Am I my brother's keeper?

   • Tanach, 1 Kings 21:19, with translation of the English Standard Version:

     הֲרָצַחְתָּ וְגַם־יָרָשְׁתָּ

     haratsakhtá ve'gám yarashtá

     Have you killed and also taken possession?

   • 1890 – 1931, Rachel the Poetess, זמר נגה 1:

     הֲתִשְׁמַע קוֹלִי, רְחוֹקִי שֶׁלִּי,

     hatishmá kolí, rekhokí shelí,

     Do you hear my voice, far one of mine,

Usage notes

• Before a sh'va this prefix has a patach.

See also

• ה"א השאלה on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he

References

1. Aaron Rubin (2005) “Definite Articles”, in Studies in Semitic Grammaticalization, Brill, →DOI, →ISBN, page 76