כומר
kómerChristian, masculine
The Hebrew word for priest is כומר (kómer) or כֹּהֵן depending on the religious context. Wiktionary also lists כֹּמֶר and כּוֹהֵן.
Meaning: clergyman (clergywoman, clergyperson) (noun)
Ways to say it
| Hebrew | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| כומר | kómer | Christian, masculine |
| כֹּמֶר | ||
| כּוֹהֵן | ||
| כֹּהֵן | kohén | masculine |
In Hebrew, the term for priest is highly dependent on whether you are referring to a Christian clergyman or a figure from a Jewish or biblical context.
Which one should you use?
כומר is used specifically for a Christian priest.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation of כומר is kómer.
Did you know?
- Jewish law prohibits a כֹּהֵן from marrying a divorcee, a rule that still influences some traditional marriages today.
- The word כומר shares an unexpected distant relative with the Old Church Slavonic word коумиръ, which also means priest.
- Because כּוֹהֵן refers to a specific lineage, a person can be a כּוֹהֵן by birth without ever performing any religious duties.
Examples in context
- תום רוצה להיות כומר.Tom wants to become a priest.This sentence shows someone expressing a desire to become a כומר.Tatoeba #5564029 by fekundulo, translation #5243054 by Hybrid
- כאשר הוא השתכר, הוא היה כומר מעניין, ודיבר על מגוון נושאים.When he became drunk, he was quite an interesting priest, and he talked about various things.This sentence describes a priest who was an interesting speaker when intoxicated, using the form כומר.Tatoeba #1362443 by Ynhockey, translation #605953 by Scott
- הוא כומר.He's a priest.This sentence is a simple identification of someone as a כומר.Tatoeba #8785485 by shekitten, translation #8403819 by Amastan
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Agur and Ido are discussing a friend's recent career change.
- עגור Adiשמעת שמרקוס הפך לכומר?shamat she-markus hafakh le-komer?Did you hear that Marcus became a priest?
- עידו Idoכן, זה נשמע כמו התפקיד המושלם עבורו.ken, ze nishma kmo ha-tafkid ha-mushlam avuro.Yes, it sounds like the perfect role for him.
- עגור Adiהוא תמיד רצה לעזור לאנשים דרך הכנסייה.hu tamid ratsa la-azor le-anashim derekh ha-knissiya.He always wanted to help people through the church.
- עידו Idoהוא יהיה כומר נהדר, אני בטוח.hu yihiye komer nehdar, ani betuah.He will be a great priest, I am sure.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “priest” translations and entries כומר, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries כומר, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
