מי
mi
The Hebrew word for "who" is מי (mi).
מי is an interrogative pronoun.
Meaning: who? (interrogative pronoun) (pron)
How does it change in a sentence?
The word מי is invariant, meaning it does not change based on gender or number.
How do you pronounce it?
mi
Did you know?
- In biblical Hebrew, מי was sometimes used as a rhetorical device to mean 'no one', such as in the phrase 'who is like unto thee'.
- The Hebrew word מי is an ancient relative of the Arabic word مين, meaning the two languages share a common ancestor for this specific question word.
- The word מי can function as a relative pronoun meaning 'whoever' or 'anyone who' without any additional modification.
Examples in context
- מי בנה את זה?Who built it?This sentence shows how to use מי to ask who performed an action in the past.Tatoeba #1247411 by Eldad, translation #276317 by CK
- מי שבר את זה?Who broke this?Tatoeba #1345893 by Eldad, translation #54973 by CK
- מי קנה את זה?Who bought that?Tatoeba #3870585 by fekundulo, translation #2254701 by CK
- 1245 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Maya and Ido are at the office front desk.
- מאיה Mayaמי בא לבקר?mi ba levaker?Who came to visit?
- עידו Idoהלקוח מהבוקר.halakoach mehaboker.The client from this morning.
- מאיה Mayaמי הוא?mi hu?Who is he?
- עידו Idoהוא מנהל חדש.hu menahel chadash.He is a new manager.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries מי, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
