בן

Hebrew

Etymology 1
Root
ב־ן‎

From Proto-Semitic *bin-.

Pronunciation

Noun

בֵּן • (bén) m (plural indefinite בָּנִים‎, singular construct בֶּן־, plural construct בְּנֵי־‎, feminine counterpart בַּת‎)

  1. A son.
  2. (chiefly in Biblical Hebrew) A direct male descendant.
    ‏בן אדם‎ ― bén-adám ― a human [literally a son of Adam]
  3. A guy, a boy.
  4. (no longer productive, construct state) Possessor of (knowledge, ability, etc.)
    ‏בן דעת‎ ― bén dá'at ― someone legally competent
    ‏בן תורה‎ ― bén torá ― someone devoted to the Torah
  5. (construct state) Used in expressing the age of a man, a boy, or the referent of a masculine noun: age, aged.
    ‏הוא בן שש.‎‎ ― hú bén shésh. ― He is six years old. [literally, a son of six]
    • 2011 September 28, Nir Hasson (ניר חסון), in Haaretz online:
      ‏בית קברות בן 4,000 שנה שופך אור על י-ם בתקופת הברונזה‎
      béit-k'varót bén 4,000 shaná shofékh ór ál y-m bit'kufát-hab'rónza
      4,000-year-old cemetery sheds light on Bronze-Age Jerusalem
Usage notes
  • In colloquial Modern Hebrew, the plural יְלָדִים‎ is generally used to refer to children (of mixed or unknown sex) while בָּנִים‎ is generally used to refer to boys.
  • When constructing new forms, the Aramaic loanword בַּר‎ (bar) is more common, e.g. בַּר דַּעַת‎ (bar dá'at), בַּר קַיָּמָא‎ (bar kayamá).
Declension
Declension of בֵּן
NumberIsolated formsWith possessive pronouns
StateFormPersonsingularplural
m.f.m.f.
singularindefinite בֵּן first בְּנִי‎בְּנֵנוּ‎
definite הַבֵּן‎ second בִּנְךָ‎בְּנֵךְ‎בִּנְכֶם‎בִּנְכֶן‎
construct בֶּן־ third בְּנוֹ‎בְּנָהּ‎בְּנָם‎בְּנָן‎
pluralindefinite בָּנִים‎ first בניי \ בָּנַי‎בָּנֵינוּ‎
definite הַבָּנִים‎ second בָּנֶיךָ‎בנייך \ בָּנַיִךְ‎בְּנֵיכֶם‎בְּנֵיכֶן‎
construct בְּנֵי־‎ third בָּנָיו‎בָּנֶיהָ‎בְּנֵיהֶם‎בְּנֵיהֶן‎

Proper noun

בֵּן • (bén) m

  1. A male given name, Ben.

Derived terms
Terms derived from the word בן
  • בֶּן אָדָם‎ (ben adám, “human being”)
  • בֶּן בַּיִת‎ (ben báyit, “roommate”)
  • בֶּן בְּלִיַּעַל‎ (ben bliyá'al, “roughneck, scoundrel”)
  • בֶּן בְּרִית‎ (ben brit, “ally”)
  • בֶּן גִּיל‎ (ben gil, “of age”)
  • בֶּן דּוֹד‎ (ben dod, “cousin”)
  • בֶּן זוּג‎ (ben zug, “spouse”)
  • בֶּן זוֹנָה‎ (ben zona, “son of a bitch, motherfucker, badass”)
  • בֶּן הַזְּמַן‎ (ben hazmán, “contemporary”)
  • בֶּן זְקוּנִים‎ (ben ziquním, “youngest child”)
  • בֶּן חוֹרִין‎ (ben ḥorín, “freeman”)
  • בֶּן טוֹבִים‎ (ben tovím, “one from a good family”)
  • בִּנְיָמִין‎ (binyamín, “Benjamin”)
  • בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ (bnei yisraél, “Israelites”)
  • בִּן לַיְלָה‎ (bin láyla, “overnight”)
  • בֵּן מֶלֶךְ‎ (bén mélech, “prince”)
  • בֶּן עֲרֻבָּה‎ (ben arubá, “hostage”)
  • בֶּן פּוֹרָת יוֹסֵף‎ (ben porát yoséf)
  • בִּן רֶגַע‎ (bin regá', “instantly”)
  • בֶּן תּוֹרָה‎ (ben torá)
  • בֶּן תְּמוּתָה‎ (ben tmutá, “mortal”)
  • בֶּן תַּעֲרוֹבֶת‎ (ben ta'aróvet, “mixed breed”)
  • בֶּן תַּרְבּוּת‎ (ben tarbút, “cultured person”)

Etymology 2
Root
ב־י־ן‎

Verb

בָּן • (bán) (pa'al construction)

  1. (rare, archaic) to understand.
Conjugation
Conjugation of בָּן (see also Appendix:Hebrew verbs) 
non-finite forms
finite forms singular plural
m. f. m. f.
past first בַּנְתִּי‎בַּנּוּ‎
second בַּנְתָּ‎בַּנְתְּ‎בַּנְתֶּם‎בַּנְתֶּן‎
third בָּןבָּנָה‎בָּנוּ‎
present בָּןבָּנָה‎בָּנִים‎בָּנוֹת‎
future first אָבִין‎נָבִין‎
second תָּבִין‎תָּבִינִי‎תָּבִינוּ‎תָּבֵנָּה‎1
third יָבִין‎תָּבִין‎יָבִינוּ‎תָּבֵנָּה‎1
imperative בִּין‎בִּינִי‎בִּינוּ‎בֵּנָּה‎1
notes
  1. Uncommon in Modern Hebrew.

Etymology 3

Preposition

‎‎בָּן • (ban)

  1. (poetic or archaic) Form of בְּ־‎ (b'-) including third-person feminine plural personal pronoun as object.
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