שְׁלִים
shlim
The Aramaic phrase שְׁלִים (shlim) means "it is finished".
This phrase is used to state that a task or a life's work has been completed.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is shlim.
Did you know?
- Because Aramaic is a Semitic language, the word שְׁלִים is a cognate of the Arabic word 'salam'. Both derive from the same ancestral root denoting safety and completeness.
- The root of שְׁלִים is shared with the Hebrew word for 'peace', meaning that finishing a task is linguistically linked to the concept of being whole or at rest.
- In certain Semitic contexts, the root of שְׁלִים is used to describe 'settling a debt', meaning a task is only truly finished once the balance is zero.
Example conversation
Two builders finish a stone wall.
- Michaelמִיכָאל, הֲוֵי שְׁלִים?Michael, havi shlim?Michael, is it finished?
- Sargiהֵן, שְׁלִים.Hen, shlim.Yes, it is finished.
- Michaelשְׁלִים בְּשַׁלְמָא.Shlim b'shalma.Finished in peace.
- Sargiשְׁלִים בְּשַׁלְמָא, סַרְגִּי.Shlim b'shalma, Sargi.Finished in peace, Sargi.
