צָבָא
tsavámasculine
The Hebrew word for army is צָבָא (tsavá). Wiktionary also lists חַיִל (ẖáyil).
Meaning: military force concerned mainly with ground operations (noun)
Ways to say it
| Hebrew | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| צָבָא | tsavá | masculine |
| חַיִל | ẖáyil | masculine |
The term is used to describe a military force primarily concerned with ground operations.
Which one should you use?
While both words can relate to military forces, צָבָא is the general term used to refer to the military as a whole institution or the concept of an army. In contrast, חַיִל often refers to a specific unit, force or a body of troops.
How do you pronounce it?
tsavá
Did you know?
- The word צָבָא also means 'host' or 'multitude' in Biblical Hebrew, often referring to a great assembly of angels rather than human soldiers.
- The root of חַיִל is shared with words for 'wealth' and 'strength', reflecting an ancient view that military power and material riches were fundamentally the same thing.
- In modern Hebrew, saying someone is 'in the army' (בצבא) functions more as a way to identify a person's life stage than to describe their actual profession.
Example sentences for Hebrew are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “army” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
