חֲצוֹת הַלַּיְלָה
khatsòt-haláylafeminine
In Hebrew, midnight is expressed as חֲצוֹת הַלַּיְלָה (khatsòt-haláyla). Wiktionary also lists חֲצוֹת (khatsót).
Meaning: 12 o'clock at night exactly (noun)
Ways to say it
| Hebrew | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| חֲצוֹת הַלַּיְלָה | khatsòt-haláyla | feminine |
| חֲצוֹת | khatsót | feminine |
The phrase is used to refer to 12 o'clock at night exactly.
Which one should you use?
While חֲצוֹת can be used alone to mean 'midnight', the full phrase חֲצוֹת הַלַּיְלָה is much more common in standard speech and writing to specify the time of night.
How do you pronounce it?
khatsòt-haláyla
Did you know?
- The grammar of חֲצוֹת is a feminine plural form, even though it refers to a single point in time.
- The word חֲצוֹת comes from the root for 'half' or 'splitting'. In Hebrew, midnight is not viewed as the start of a new day but as the exact point where the night is split in two.
- While 'midnight' is חֲצוֹת הַלַּיְלָה, the Hebrew calendar defines specific religious moments by the exact middle of the night rather than by the clock.
Examples in context
- אנחנו צריכים להגיע לפני חֲצוֹת הַלַּיְלָה.anachnu tzrichim lehagi'a lifnei chatzot ha-layla.We need to arrive before midnight.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “midnight” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
