לחיות
lichyot
The English verb 'live' is translated into Hebrew as לחיות (lichyot).
The verb לחיות is used to describe the action of living. It can also be used idiomatically to mean 'to cope' or 'to live with' a specific situation, such as in the phrase לחיות עם זה.
Meaning: be alive (verb)
Which one should you use?
While לחיות is the verb used for the action of living, the adjective חַי is used to describe the state of being alive.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The form לחיות is the infinitive form of the verb. In a sentence, it is used after other verbs, such as 'want' or 'can'.
How do you pronounce it?
lichyot
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not confuse לחיות with the verb לָלוּן, which means 'to stay' when referring to temporarily staying at a place.
Did you know?
- In Hebrew, if you want to say someone 'lives' at an address, you do not use לחיות, but rather the verb לגור, which literally means 'to reside' or 'to dwell'.
- The common toast לחיים! literally means 'to lives!' and is the Hebrew equivalent of 'Cheers!'
- While לחיות is for the act of living, the word for 'life' itself, חיים, is always plural in Hebrew, much like the English word 'waters' or 'clothes' is used for a singular concept.
Examples in context
- נוכל לחיות עם זה.We can live with that.This sentence shows how to use the verb לחיות to mean 'to live with' a situation.Tatoeba #4659534 by fekundulo, translation #3312788 by CK
- אסור לתת לו לחיות.He must not live.This sentence uses the verb לחיות to express a prohibition regarding life.Tatoeba #5447170 by fekundulo, translation #271710 by CM
- אני רוצה לחיות כך.I want to live like that.This sentence demonstrates the use of לחיות after the verb 'want'.Tatoeba #5602901 by fekundulo, translation #5193583 by CK
- הוא אוהב להתגורר בעיר הגדולה.He likes to live in the big city.
- היא מתכננת לגור בתל אביב.She is planning to live in Tel Aviv.
- 173 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing the wonders of nature.
- נועם Noamזה מדהים לראות איך הדברים האלה מצליחים לחיות.Ze madhim lir'ot eich ha-dvarim ha-ele matzlichim lichyot.It's amazing to see how these things manage to live.
- עגור Adiכן, הם פשוט נלחמים כדי לחיות.Ken, hem pashut nilchamim kedei lichyot.Yes, they simply fight to live.
- נועם Noamנועם, את חושבת שזה קשה לחיות שם?Noam, at choshevet she-ze kashe lichyot sham?Noam, do you think it's hard to live there?
- עגור Adiאני בטוחה שהם רגילים לחיות בתנאים האלה.Ani betucha she-hem regilim lichyot ba-tna'im ha-ele.I'm sure they are used to living in these conditions.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
