# ה־
## Aramaic
### Determiner

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

#### Pronunciation

* (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA: (usually) /ha/, (sometimes; see usage notes) /he/

#### Article

הַ־ • (ha-)
* (definite article) The.
    הוא מגיע לכתה עוד מעט. ― hú magía lakitá ód m'át. ― He's arriving at the classroom shortly.
* 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

* Traditionally, Hebrew nouns are considered to have three “states”: indefinite (“a(n)/some __”), definite (“the __”), and construct (“a(n)/some/the __ of”), and the definite article ה־ was considered to be an actual part of the definite noun.
** In modern colloquial use, however, the definite article is often considered and functions as a clitic, attaching to a noun but not actually being part of it.
** For example, traditionally, the definite form of בֵּית־סֵפֶר (bet séfer, “school”, literally “house-of book”) is בֵּית־הַסֵּפֶר (bet-haséfer, “the school”, literally “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 ל, בּ, or כּ assuming the vowel 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.
** The dagésh khazák may also be omitted if the consonant after ה־ bears a shva, especially if it is a sonorant: הַיְלָדִים, הַלְוִיִּם, הַמְדַבְּרִים, etc.
Distribution of article variants before gutturals according to Gesenius :
| Guttural | Vowel following the guttural | Vowel following the guttural | Vowel following the guttural | Vowel following the guttural |
| Guttural | Stressed qameṣ: ה◌ָ֫ | Unstressed qameṣ: ה◌ָ | Ḥatef qameṣ: ה◌ֳ | Other: ה◌ |
| א | הָ־ | הָ־ | הָ־ | הָ־ |
| ר | הָ־ | הָ־ | הָ־ | הָ־ |
| ע | הָ־ | הֶ־ | הָ־ | הָ־ |
| ה | הָ־ | הֶ־ | הָ־? | הַ־ |
| ח | הֶ־ | הֶ־ | הֶ־ | הַ־ |

#### 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: /ha/

#### Particle

הֲ־ • (ha-)
* (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 anokhíAm I my brother's keeper?
** Tanach, 1 Kings 21:19, with translation of the English Standard Version:הֲרָצַחְתָּ וְגַם־יָרָשְׁתָּharatsakhtá ve'gám yarashtáHave 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

* ↑ Aaron Rubin (2005) “Definite Articles”, in Studies in Semitic Grammaticalization, Brill, →DOI, →ISBN, page 76
* ↑ https://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1192909/FULLTEXT01.pdf#page=115