Pronominal suffixes כִּנּוּי kinnui
Hebrew does not write “my flesh” as two words; it adds “my” to the end of the noun: one word, בְּשָׂרִי (besari). “To him” is likewise one word, לוֹ (lo). These short endings are the pronominal suffixes. This page gives the suffix for each person in tables for singular nouns, plural nouns and prepositions, and shows each in words actually used in the Bible.
“substitute name” — a short form standing in for the noun
Colour key blue = added at the front · orange = added at the end · purple = a mark inside (dot · doubled letter · changed vowel) · underline = the word this page is about
1What the pronominal suffixes are
The pronouns “I, you, he, she, we, you (pl), they,” shortened and attached to the end of a word, are the pronominal suffixes. On a noun they mean “of” (possession): זַרְעוֹ “his seed” (1:11). On a preposition they are its object: לָהֶם “to them” (1:28). (Object suffixes on verbs have their own page, “Object suffixes on verbs.”)
The suffixes distinguish ten persons: first person (I, we), second masculine and feminine (you), third masculine and feminine (he, she, they). Hebrew uses different forms of “you” for a man and for a woman.
They are very common. Counted from the OSHB morphology, 24,703 nouns and 11,534 prepositions in the Old Testament carry a suffix; Genesis 1–2 has 45 (all listed at the end of this page).
2Where the name comes from — כִּנּוּי kinnui
“Pronominal suffix” means a suffix that acts as a pronoun.
Hebrew grammars call it כִּנּוּי (kinnui), “a substitute name, calling by another name”: instead of repeating the noun, a short form stands in for it. The suffix on a noun meaning “of” is also called כִּנּוּי הַקִּנְיָן (kinnui haqinyan, “the suffix of possession”).
3At a glance — the final letters for each person
Look at the final letters before the vowels. These are the forms on a singular noun.
- my — ִימִבְּשָׂרִי from my flesh (Gen 2:23).
- your — to a man ְךָ · to a woman ֵךְקֹלְךָ your voice (Gen 3:10) · אִישֵׁךְ your husband (Gen 3:16).
- his — וֹ (or ֵהוּ)זַרְעוֹ his seed (Gen 1:11) · לְמִינֵהוּ (Gen 1:12).
- her — ָהּ (a dot in the ה)לְמִינָהּ according to her kind (Gen 1:24).
- our — ֵנוּבְּצַלְמֵנוּ in our image (Gen 1:26).
- your (pl) — ְכֶם (feminine ְכֶן)דִּמְכֶם your blood (Gen 9:5).
- their — ָם (or ֵהֶם, feminine ָן)צְבָאָם their host (Gen 2:1).
- Plural nounsA plural sign י comes before the suffix — מֵעֲצָמַי my bones (Gen 2:23), מִצַּלְעֹתָיו his ribs (Gen 2:21).
4On a singular noun
The model noun סוּס (horse) has unchanging vowels, so the suffixes stand out: “… horse.”
| Whose | Suffix | Model סוּס | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| my (1cs) | ִי | סוּסִי | susi | my horse |
| your (2ms) | ְךָ | סוּסְךָ | suskha | your (m) horse |
| your (2fs) | ֵךְ | סוּסֵךְ | susekh | your (f) horse |
| his (3ms) | וֹ | סוּסוֹ | suso | his horse |
| her (3fs) | ָהּ | סוּסָהּ | susah | her horse |
| our (1cp) | ֵנוּ | סוּסֵנוּ | susenu | our horse |
| your (2mp) | ְכֶם | סוּסְכֶם | suskhem | your (m pl) horse |
| your (2fp) | ְכֶן | סוּסְכֶן | suskhen | your (f pl) horse |
| their (3mp) | ָם | סוּסָם | susam | their (m) horse |
| their (3fp) | ָן | סוּסָן | susan | their (f) horse |
“His” וֹ is also written ֵהוּ, and “their” ָם also ֵהֶם (Gen 1:12 לְמִינֵהוּ, 1:21 לְמִינֵהֶם), with the same meaning.
5Singular nouns — real examples from the Bible
The end of the word (orange) tells “whose.” The 2nd and 3rd feminine plural (ְכֶן ָן) are rare and have no example here.
mibbesari — from my flesh
מִ (from) + בְּשָׂר (flesh) + ִי (my). “My” is ִי (-i). The first ָ of the absolute בָּשָׂר shrinks to a sheva, because the suffix pulls the stress forward.
YLVAnd Adam said, "This now is bone of my bones and flesh (basar) of my flesh (basar); for this one it shall be called Woman (ishah), because from Man (ish) this one was taken."
qolekha — your (m) voice
קֹל (voice) + ְךָ (your, to a man). “Your” (masculine) is ְךָ (-ekha). Adam says to YHWH, “I heard your voice” — God is addressed with the masculine “you.”
YLVAnd he said, "I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself."
ishekh — your (f) husband
אִישׁ (man, husband) + ֵךְ (your, to a woman). Speaking to a woman, “your” is ֵךְ (-ekh), closing with a sheva. Compare ְךָ spoken to a man.
YLVTo the woman (ishah) he said, "I will greatly multiply your pain and your conception; in pain you shall bear children, and to your man (ish) shall be your desire, and he shall rule over you."
zar‘o — its (his) seed
זֶרַע (seed) + וֹ (his). “His” is וֹ (-o). Here “he” is the tree (עֵץ, a masculine noun), so “its seed.” Hebrew has no separate “it”: a masculine noun is “he,” a feminine noun “she.”
YLVAnd God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, herb yielding seed, fruit tree making fruit after its kind, in which is its seed, upon the earth"; and it was so.
leminehu — according to its kind
לְ (according to) + מִין (kind) + ֵהוּ (his). Another form of “his,” ֵהוּ (-ehu). 1:11 has לְמִינוֹ, 1:12 לְמִינֵהוּ — the same “his” in two shapes. ֵהוּ is the older, fuller form; וֹ is its contraction.
YLVAnd the earth brought forth vegetation, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree making fruit, in which is its seed, after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
leminah — according to its (her) kind
לְ + מִין + ָהּ (her). “Her” is ָהּ (-ah). The dot (mappiq) inside the final הּ shows that this ה is a real consonant. It refers to נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה (living being, feminine).
YLVAnd God said, "Let the earth bring forth a living soul (nephesh) after its kind, beast and creeping thing and living thing (chai) of the earth after its kind"; and it was so.
betsalmenu — in our image
בְּ (in) + צֶלֶם (image) + ֵנוּ (our). “Our” is ֵנוּ (-enu). כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ (after our likeness) in the same verse has the same suffix.
YLVAnd God said, "Let us make man (adam) in our image, after our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the beast, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."
dimkhem — your (pl) blood
דָּם (blood) + ְכֶם (your, masculine or mixed plural). “Your” (plural) is ְכֶם (-khem). It is a “heavy” suffix with its own syllable, so the vowel before it shrinks a lot (דָּם → דִּמְ).
YLVAnd surely your blood, for your souls (nephesh), I will require; from the hand of every living thing (chai) I will require it, and from the hand of man (adam), from the hand of a man (ish), his brother, I will require the soul (nephesh) of man (adam).
tseva’am — their host
צָבָא (host, army) + ָם (their). “Their” is ָם (-am): וְכָל־צְבָאָם “and all their (the heavens’ and earth’s) host.” There is also a long form ֵהֶם (-ehem), as in לְמִינֵהֶם (1:21).
YLVAnd the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their host.
6On a plural noun — a י before the suffix
Model סוּסִים (horses). The plural ending ִים drops, and a suffix containing the plural sign י takes its place: “… horses.”
| Whose | Suffix | Model סוּסִים | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| my | ַי | סוּסַי | susai | my horses |
| your (m) | ֶיךָ | סוּסֶיךָ | susekha | your (m) horses |
| your (f) | ַיִךְ | סוּסַיִךְ | susayikh | your (f) horses |
| his | ָיו | סוּסָיו | susav | his horses |
| her | ֶיהָ | סוּסֶיהָ | suseha | her horses |
| our | ֵינוּ | סוּסֵינוּ | susenu | our horses |
| your (m pl) | ֵיכֶם | סוּסֵיכֶם | susekhem | your (m pl) horses |
| your (f pl) | ֵיכֶן | סוּסֵיכֶן | susekhen | your (f pl) horses |
| their (m) | ֵיהֶם | סוּסֵיהֶם | susehem | their (m) horses |
| their (f) | ֵיהֶן | סוּסֵיהֶן | susehen | their (f) horses |
Compared with the singular table, almost every plural form has a י before the suffix. If you see the י, think “…s.” Even a silent י, as in ָיו (his …s) and ֵינוּ (our …s), is written.
7Plural and dual nouns — real examples from the Bible
Look for the י before the suffix.
me‘atsamai — from my bones
מֵ (from) + עֲצָמ (bones) + ַי (my …s). On a plural noun “my” is ַי (-ai), not the singular ִי (-i). Compare מִבְּשָׂרִי (from my flesh, singular) in the same verse.
YLVAnd Adam said, "This now is bone of my bones and flesh (basar) of my flesh (basar); for this one it shall be called Woman (ishah), because from Man (ish) this one was taken."
ḥayyekha — your life
חַיִּים (life, always plural) + ֶיךָ (your, on a plural noun). The singular ְךָ takes the plural sign י and becomes ֶיךָ (-ekha): כָּל־יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ “all the days of your life.”
YLVAnd YHWH God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the cattle and above every living thing (chai) of the field; upon your belly you shall go, and dust (aphar) you shall eat all the days of your life (chai).
mimme‘ayikh — from your (f) womb
מִ (from; its נ has merged into a dot in מ) + מֵעִים (inward parts, plural) + ַיִךְ (your, to a woman, on a plural noun). Spoken to Rebekah, so feminine “your.”
YLVAnd YHWH said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples shall be separated from your bowels; and one people shall be stronger than the other people, and the elder shall serve (avad) the younger."
mitsal‘otav — from his ribs
מִ (from) + צַלְעֹת (sides, ribs; feminine plural ֹת) + ָיו (his …s). On a plural noun “his” is ָיו (-av); the י is written but the sound is “av.” A feminine plural keeps its ֹת and adds the plural-type suffix after it.
YLVAnd YHWH God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs and closed up flesh (basar) in its place.
yameha — her days
יָמִים (days) + ֶיהָ (her, on a plural noun). The singular ָהּ takes the plural sign י: ֶיהָ (-eha). “Her (Rebekah’s) days were fulfilled.”
YLVAnd her days to be delivered were fulfilled, and behold, twins were in her womb.
aḥenu — our brothers
אַחִים (brothers) + ֵינוּ (our, on a plural noun). The singular ֵנוּ takes a י: ֵינוּ. The sound is nearly the same (-enu); the written י shows “brothers.”
YLVWith whomever you find your gods, he shall not live; before our brothers discern for yourself what is with me, and take it to you." For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
‘enekhem — your (pl) eyes
עֵינַיִם (eyes, dual) + ֵיכֶם (your, plural noun). A dual takes the same suffixes as a plural. The serpent says “your eyes will be opened.”
YLVfor God knows that in the day you eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be like God, knowing good and evil."
mippenehem — because of them (from their faces)
מִ (from) + פָּנִים (face) + ֵיהֶם (their, plural noun). It is the construct פְּנֵי (1:2) plus הֶם: the plural-type suffixes grow out of the plural construct ֵי.
YLVAnd God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh (basar) has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.
8Why the forms look like this
- 1. Suffixes attach to the constructA suffix adds “of,” so the noun uses its construct (“of”) form as a base. The construct base of מְלָאכָה (work) + וֹ gives מְלַאכְתּוֹ (his work).
- 2. Feminine ָה becomes תSo feminine singular nouns show a ת before a suffix — מְלַאכְתּוֹ (2:2), אִשְׁתּוֹ (2:24).
- 3. The plural י comes from the construct ֵיThe plural construct ends in ֵי (פְּנֵי 1:2). Add “their” הֶם and you get פְּנֵיהֶם (their faces). That is why the plural suffixes contain a י.
- 4. The stress moves, the vowels shrinkA suffix lengthens the word and pulls the stress to the end, so earlier vowels shorten — בָּשָׂר → בְּשָׂרִי, דָּם → דִּמְכֶם.
9The base a suffix attaches to — real examples from the Bible
melakhto — his work
מְלָאכָה (work) → construct base מְלֶאכֶת → מְלַאכְתּ + וֹ (his). The feminine ָה comes back as ת before a suffix. “His work” appears three times in 2:2–3.
YLVAnd God finished on the seventh day his work which he had made, and he shabbatted on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
be’ishto — to his wife
בְּ (to, cling to) + אִשְׁתּ (the suffix base of אִשָּׁה) + וֹ (his). אִשָּׁה (woman, wife) also shows its ת before a suffix: “cling to his wife.”
YLVTherefore a man (ish) shall leave his father and his mother and cleave to his woman (ishah), and they shall become one flesh (basar).
aviv — his father
אָב (father, singular) + ִיו (his). A singular noun, yet with ִיו, which looks like the plural “his” ָיו. אָב and אָח (brother) are special: they insert ִי before a suffix. It is still singular.
YLVTherefore a man (ish) shall leave his father and his mother and cleave to his woman (ishah), and they shall become one flesh (basar).
10On prepositions — לְ (to) and בְּ (in)
Nearly the same suffixes attach to prepositions. The meaning is not “my” but “to me, in me.”
| Who | לְ to | Reading | בְּ in | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| me | לִי | li | בִּי | bi |
| you (m) | לְךָ | lekha | בְּךָ | bekha |
| you (f) | לָךְ | lakh | בָּךְ | bakh |
| him | לוֹ | lo | בּוֹ | bo |
| her | לָהּ | lah | בָּהּ | bah |
| us | לָנוּ | lanu | בָּנוּ | banu |
| you (m pl) | לָכֶם | lakhem | בָּכֶם | bakhem |
| them (m) | לָהֶם | lahem | בָּהֶם | bahem |
Some prepositions take the י-type suffixes like plural nouns: עַל (on) → עָלָיו (on him), אֶל (to) → אֵלָיו (to him), לִפְנֵי (before) → לְפָנַי (before me, Gen 6:13). לִפְנֵי actually comes from the plural noun פָּנִים (face), and עַל and אֶל have settled on the same kind of suffix.
11Preposition + suffix — real examples from the Bible
li — to me
לְ (to) + ִי (me). The same ִי as “my” on a noun means “me” on a preposition. The dot in ל comes from reading it joined to the word before.
YLVAnd Adam said, "The woman (ishah) whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."
lekha — to you (m)
לְ + ךָ (you, to a man): “Who told you …?”
YLVAnd he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree which I commanded (tzivvah) you not to eat of it?"
lakh — for you
לָ + ךְ. It looks like the feminine “to you,” but it is spoken to Adam. In pause (the resting form at a major break — here the athnach accent) the masculine לְךָ becomes לָךְ. Do not decide gender from shape alone.
YLVAnd thorns and thistles it shall sprout for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.
lo — to him, its
לְ + וֹ (him): “whatever the man called it” (יִקְרָא־לוֹ, called to it).
YLVAnd YHWH God formed out of the ground (adamah) every living thing (chai) of the field and every bird of the heavens, and brought it to Adam to see what he would call it; and whatever Adam called it, the living soul (nephesh), that was its name.
vo — in it
בְּ (in) + וֹ (him/it): אֲשֶׁר זַרְעוֹ־בוֹ “whose seed is in it.” “His” זַרְעוֹ and “in it” בוֹ stand side by side: the same וֹ on a noun and on a preposition.
YLVAnd God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, herb yielding seed, fruit tree making fruit after its kind, in which is its seed, upon the earth"; and it was so.
lakhem — to you (pl)
לְ + כֶם (you, plural): “I have given to you.” Before כֶם the vowel of לְ becomes ָ.
YLVAnd God said, "Behold, I have given to you every herb yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food.
lahem — to them
לְ + הֶם (them): “God said to them.” Instead of the short ָם used on nouns, prepositions often take the long הֶם.
YLVAnd God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing (chai) that creeps upon the earth."
kenegdo — corresponding to him
כְּ (like) + נֶגֶד (in front of) + וֹ (him). Two prepositions joined, with “him”: “as one facing him,” a match for him.
YLVAnd YHWH God said, "It is not good for Adam to be alone; I will make him a helper as his counterpart."
mimmennah — from it (her)
מִן (from) with “her.” Before a suffix מִן expands to מִמֶּ-, and נָּה (her) follows. It refers to הָאֲדָמָה (the ground, feminine): “for from it you were taken.”
YLVBy the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, until(ad עד) you return to the ground (adamah); for out of it you were taken; for dust (aphar) you are, and to dust (aphar) you shall return.
12Easy to confuse
ָהּ (her) and ָה (feminine ending) — a dot (mappiq) inside the final ה means “her” (לְמִינָהּ 1:24). Without it, it is the end of a feminine noun (חַיָּה 1:24). One dot decides it.
ִי (my) and the ordinal ִי — the ִי of הַשִּׁשִּׁי (1:31, “the sixth”) is not “my” but an ordinal ending. With the article it cannot be a suffix (a noun with a suffix never takes the article).
ֵי (construct) and ַי (my …s) — פְּנֵי (1:2, “the face of”) and לְפָנַי (6:13, “before me”): ֵ (e) or ַ (a) decides it.
וֹ is not always “his” — there is also a וֹ inside the root, as in יוֹם (day), אוֹר (light). It is “his” when it is at the end and a noun remains when you remove it.
אָבִיו is singular — אָב (father) and אָח (brother) insert ִי before a suffix and look plural (2:24 אָבִיו his father). Context shows they are singular.
Pausal forms — at a major break in the verse the vowels can change so that the masculine לְךָ looks like the feminine לָךְ (3:18). Check from context who is addressed.
13Where this appears in Genesis 1–2
All 45 places, found from the OSHB morphology. Tap one to go to that word’s notes.