שופט
shofét
The English phrase 'judge' can be translated into Hebrew as שופט (shofét).
The term is used to refer to a public judicial official.
Meaning: public judicial official (noun)
Which one should you use?
While שופט is the standard term, דָּיָן is a formal term specifically used to refer to a religious Jewish judge. שׁוֹפֵט is the masculine singular term used in formal settings.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word שופט is the masculine singular present tense of the verb 'to judge'. The noun changes based on gender and number: the feminine singular is שופטת, the masculine plural is שופטים and the feminine plural is שופטות.
How do you pronounce it?
shofét
Did you know?
- In the Hebrew Bible, the term שופט refers to the charismatic tribal leaders and military commanders of the Book of Judges, rather than seated courtroom officials.
- The word שופט is a cognate of the Ugaritic word 𐎘𐎔𐎉 (ṯpṭ), showing that the concept of legal judgment has been linguistically linked across Semitic languages for millennia.
- In modern Hebrew slang, one might use the root of שופט to describe someone who is 'judging' a person's fashion or choices, similar to the English 'judgmental'.
Examples in context
- איזה שופט דן בתיק?Which judge heard the case?This sentence is useful for identifying which judge heard a specific case using שופט.Tatoeba #1435049 by MrShoval, translation #263664 by CK
- טום היה שופט בתחרות אמנות.Tom was a judge in an art contest.This sentence shows how to use שופט when referring to a judge in an art contest.Tatoeba #1412858 by MrShoval, translation #681266 by Source_VOA
- אני במקרה שופט אופי די טוב.I happen to be a pretty good judge of character.This sentence demonstrates the use of שופט when describing a judge of character.Tatoeba #5667513 by fekundulo, translation #3135751 by CK
- הדיין פיסק דין מסוים על פי הלכה.The religious judge ruled on a specific case according to Jewish law.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Noam and Maya are watching a news report about a courtroom.
- נועם Noamהאם השופט היה נחמד?ha'im ha'shofet haya nekhmad?Was the judge nice?
- מאיה Mayaלא, הוא נראה מאוד קשוח.lo, hu nir'a me'od kashu'ach.No, he looked very tough.
- נועם Noamהוא שופט מאוד מוכר בחדשות.hu shofet me'od mukar ba'khadashot.He is a very well-known judge in the news.
- מאיה Mayaנכון, כולם מדברים עליו.nakhon, kulam medabrim alav.True, everyone is talking about him.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry שופט, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries שופט, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
