נָשִׂיא
nasí
The Hebrew word for president is נָשִׂיא (nasí). Wiktionary also lists נְשִׂיאָה.
Meaning: the head of state of a republic (noun)
Ways to say it
| Hebrew | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| נָשִׂיא | nasí | |
| נְשִׂיאָה | feminine |
The term is used to refer to the head of state of a republic. In formal contexts, you may see the phrase נָשִׂיא הַמְּדִינָה to mean 'the president of the state'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine singular form is נָשִׂיא. To refer to a female president, use the feminine form נְשִׂיאָה. For multiple male presidents or a mixed group, use the masculine plural נְשִׂיאִים. If you are referring specifically to a group of female presidents, use the feminine plural נְשִׂיאוֹת. To say 'the president' in a formal context, the prefix הַ is used before נָשִׂיא.
How do you pronounce it?
nasí
Did you know?
- The root of נָשִׂיא is related to the verb נָשָׂא, which means 'to lift' or 'to carry', suggesting a leader is someone 'raised above' others.
- Long before the modern state of Israel, נָשִׂיא was used in the Mishnah to describe the head of the Sanhedrin and the leader of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel.
- In some Hebrew texts, the term for 'president' of a company or a committee might actually be 'יוֹשֵׁב רֹאשׁ' instead of נָשִׂיא, to avoid sounding like a head of state.
Examples in context
- אֲנַחְנוּ צְרִיכִים לִבְחַר נָשִׂיא חָדָשׁ.anachnu tzrichim livchar nasi chadash.We need to elect a new president.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “president” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
