# I am Blessed



## helloyellowbird

Hello, I was wondering how you write "I am blessed" in Hebrew? And could you write down the pronunciation as well?


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## mediterraneo24

If you mean "I was fortunate to.." it could be translateted as 
התברכתי hitbarakhti
or זכיתי zakhiti
but unlike english saying those words in hebrew out of context doesn'y really make a lot of sense..


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## OsehAlyah

Would אֲנִי מְבֹרָךְ work?


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## mediterraneo24

No, saying that otside of any context simply doesn't convey the message.
You need to use it in a sentence, like:
התברכתי בהרבה אושר
זכיתי להכיר אישה כמוך
etc...


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## Aoyama

Mediterraneo is right, because the idiom "I am blessed" (= I am lucky, or some other meaning) doesn't really exist in Hebrew, mainly because probably the concept of "blessing" is different between Judaism and Christianity.
Jews won't say they are "blessed" (because they had a child, they were lucky etc).
Remember that every jewish prayer starts with "_be blessed G.od" [barukh Ata Adonai]_. Jews bless G.od rather then be blessed ...


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## jdotjdot89

Aoyama said:


> Remember that every jewish prayer starts with "_be blessed G.od" [barukh Ata Adonai]_.


 
Not true. Most _blessings_ start out that way, but even then not all. But certainly not all prayers do.

Additionally, the formula you cite in the quote above (ברוך אתה ה') means "Blessed art thou, O God"--it's a declaration, not imperative nor mandative subjunctive.  What you suggest above, "Be blessed, God" or alternatively "May you be blessed...", etc., would come out as: תהא ברוך יקוק or something along those lines.



Aoyama said:


> Jews bless G.od rather then be blessed ...


 
Also not quite true.  Here's one example of Jews blessing someone other than God, from when parents bless their children during the consecration of Shabbat:

יברכך ה' וישמרך יאר ה' פניו אליך ויחונך ישא ה' פניו אליך וישם לך שלום

This is structured in the jussive mood I described above.


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## LL1984

*>>> NEW QUESTION - threads merged by moderator <<<*​
Hello,

I have a question. I want to know how to say/write 'I am blessed' in hebrew. It should refer to having a fortunate life.I searched the internet and found hitbarakhti and Ani mevorechet (i'm female). But i also found this ::

, because the idiom "I am blessed" (= I am lucky, or some other meaning) doesn't really exist in Hebrew, mainly because probably the concept of "blessing" is different between Judaism and Christianity.
Jews won't say they are "blessed" (because they had a child, they were lucky etc).
Remember that every jewish prayer starts with "be blessed G.od" [barukh Ata Adonai]. Jews bless G.od rather then be blessed ...

I want to us it or a tattoo, so hope that somebody can help me!

Thanks,

Linda​


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## arielipi

Do you want the judaism concept of "i am blessed" or just how to write it in hebrew?


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## Tararam

There are several ways of saying this:
בורכתי
התברכתי
נתברכתי

The last two are the same verb. the one starting with נ is more formal nowadays.

I have no idea however, what is the difference between בורכתי and התבכרתי/נתברכתי ,if such difference even exists.

מישהו יודע מה ההבדל באמת, בין בורך להתברך?


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## LL1984

I would like to know both


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## origumi

You can try expressions based on "luck":

התמזל מזלי
אני בת מזל
המזל משחק לידי

All mean (with small variations) "I am / was fortunate" or "I had / have / am having good fortune".


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## InfatigableLearner

LL1984,

Along with the answers given by others, I thought I might toss something out there that may or may not ultimately work. Others who are native speakers will have to chime in to evaluate whether it will work or not. The starting point for my idea begins with something you quoted:



LL1984 said:


> because the idiom "I am blessed" (= I am lucky, or some other meaning) doesn't really exist in Hebrew, mainly because probably the concept of "blessing" is different between Judaism and Christianity.
> Jews won't say they are "blessed" (because they had a child, they were lucky etc).
> Remember that every jewish prayer starts with "be blessed G.od" [barukh Ata Adonai]. Jews bless G.od rather then be blessed ...




What is said here seems to be specifically centered around the word ברך (“bless”) which the person explains is not used in the same manner as the English word “bless” which in turn they seem to presuppose is influenced by Christian usage which is certainly possible. Working backward from this, Christian usage of course comes from the Christian New Testament and one indeed finds passages there that come closer to the meaning you are searching for:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)

“Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh.” (Luke 6:21)

Turning to translations of the Christian New Testament in Hebrew, one finds that the Hebrew word used in such passages is the word אַשְׁרֵי (“happy”). This is not incidental, because the usage אַשְׁרֵי... (“blessed is/are...”) seen in the Christian New Testament is actually rooted in the Jewish Scriptures:

“Blessed is he who considers the poor!” (אַשְׁרֵי מַשְׂכִּיל אֶל־דָּל; Psalm 41:2)

“Blessed is the man who fears YHWH” (אַשְׁרֵי־אִישׁ יָרֵא אֶת־יְיָ; Psalm 112:1)

Through the Second-Temple period and beyond one still finds this use of אַשְׁרֵי so that such “blessings” (irony quotes, also used below) in the Christian New Testament are actually nothing distinctive:

“Blessed is the husband of a good wife, double is the number of his days” (אשה טובה אשרי בעלה ומספר ימיו כפלים; Ben Sira 26:1 [MS C])

“Blessed is the man who has reached wisdom and walks in the law of the Most High” (אשרי אדם השיג חוכמה ויתהלך בתורת עליון; [Dead Sea Scroll] 4Q525 frag. II 2 )

In all of these examples a better translation for אַשְׁרֵי would be “Happy is/are...” so that of course they are not actually “blessings” as such which in Hebrew is more narrowly reserved for the word ברך as noted by the person you quoted. Nevertheless, it is obvious that the English word “bless” covers a larger semantic domain than ברך which is why it is also used as an acceptable translation for אַשְׁרֵי. Thus reversing the equation in light of the English usage of “bless” in “I am blessed” (= “blessed am I”) it would seem that אַשְׁרֵי would be a good choice leading to אַשְׁרֵי אֲנִי (“blessed/happy am I”).

However, here is where a native speaker is going to have to jump in because, as one can see even from the examples I provided above (even those from the Christian New Testament), the use of אַשְׁרֵי always seems to accompany an explicit or implicit reason why person(s) is/are “blessed.” Furthermore, it would appear that such “blessings” would seem to be focused outward and rather than directly on the speaker themselves which may be what the person who you quoted alluded to when they said "Jews won't say they are 'blessed' (because they had a child, they were lucky etc)." This being the case, simply saying אַשְׁרֵי אֲנִי might be perceived as a kind of arrogant statement lacking any content, but I am not sure. At any rate, even if there is a problem with אַשְׁרֵי אֲנִי , it may be that there is some other way to use אַשְׁרֵי for the sentence you want which would sound more natural which is why I thought I would toss it out there since the other, no doubt better suggestions above did not mention אַשְׁרֵי perhaps for the reasons mentioned in this last paragraph.

InfatigableLearner

P.S. I went to a wedding recently where it was apparently the custom for the bride to give blessings at the end to the people who attended. I wonder what Hebrew word the bride uses to give such blessings...I also note, for example, at 1 Samuel 26:25 Saul blesses David saying בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה בְּנִי דָוִד גַּם עָשֹׂה תַעֲשֶׂה וְגַם יָכֹל תּוּכָל ("Blessed be you, my son David, you shall surely accomplish and shall surely prevail"). Is it really true to say that one can only ברך ("bless") God?


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## arielipi

ashrey, is equal to goodey mate to do X. We encourage you to do thus furthermore. Its not equal to blessed, and when thinking of it only b-r-kh root is equal to bless.


as for the question you can bless anyone in hebrew.


so anyhow, if its like the ashrey then you need to tell the specific gender,plural/single, he/she/it(f/m)/you(m/f)/i(m/f) and cause(like having a baby or anythign else?)


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## Egmont

In Numbers (במדבר) chapter 6, God tells Moses to instruct Aaron in how to bless the congregation. The formula includes the words "יברכך ה׳ וישמרך" - "May God bless you and keep you." God's instructions end with "... and I shall bless them" (ואני אברכם). The root ברכ (b-r-kh) is used in both instances to bless someone other than God. The first passage is used today by Cohanim (descendants of Aaron) to bless the congregation in some Jewish religious services.


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## origumi

ברוכה, מבורכת, מתברכת etc. are good for Biblical Hebrew but out of context for Modern Hebrew. While אני מבורכת is accurate, it will miss the point. People may stare and ask מי מברך אותך ולמה? Is it ברכת בוקר טוב? or ברוכה הבאה? Or maybe you are ברוכת ילדים? Or are you a goddess blessed by your worshipers?


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## Tararam

ב-ר-כ is the only root the can convey the same thing. The problem is, if you use it in Modern Hebrew it will usually (I'm afraid to say always) be followed by the thing that blessed you or why you feel blessed. There is no word-to-word translation for the simple term "I am blessed" which is a bit vague, and means general satisfaction and appreciation for your current "status".
In Hebrew you will always say ...בורכתי *ב* or ...התברכתי *ב*, there will always be a reason for your "feeling of content with what you have" (contrary to the English phrase.)

If you don't state the reason of your content and just say "התברכתי" or "אני מבורכת", as stand-alone phrases, it will automatically send a "religious" vibe ,and people will assume that you have been literally blessed (by a Rabbi/Priest/God/Flying spaghetti monster).

That's my personal opinion anyway.
Fortunately, only Hebrew speakers will find the stand-alone version odd, if any.


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## LL1984

Thank you all for reacting!!

So then I should change "I am blessed" into "I am blessed with a fortunate life" or "I am blessed with a beautiful life" or "I am grateful for my fortunate life" or "I am grateful for my beautiful life".. Or does "I am grateful" work as a stand-alone phrase? 

Could anyone help me with a normal version of this in Hebrew??

And I was thinking... Does it make a diffrence if "I AM blessed" is changed into "I FEEL BLESSED"??????

Or perhapse somebody know a great bible quote that's about being grateful for life?


thanks again!!


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## arielipi

Do you want to say you are happy with where you are?
If you dont want to give a reason theres a word for that that slipped for now.


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## LL1984

arielipi said:


> Do you want to say you are happy with where you are?


 
Yes!


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## InfatigableLearner

Hello,

Just a few things. On the view that only the Hebrew verb ברך (B-R-K) conveys the sentiment of the English verb “to bless” and that אַשְׁרֵי (“happy”) does not, the first definition in _Even-Shoshan_ (1979) is מְאֻשָּׁר הוּא! בָּרוּךְ הוּא! (“Happy is he! Blessed is he!”) so that even within Hebrew the idea that אַשְׁרֵי is not connected with ברך would be incorrect.

The question which was asked was how one might translate “I am blessed” from English with a comparable phrase in Hebrew. Looking to an English dictionary, one finds several definitions for the verb “to bless”:

1. to consecrate or sanctify by a religious rite; make or pronounce holy.
2. to request of God the bestowal of divine favor on: Bless this house.
3. to bestow good of any kind upon: a nation blessed with peace.
4. to extol as holy; glorify: Bless the name of the Lord.
5. to protect or guard from evil (usually used interjectionally): Bless you! Bless your innocent little heart!
6. to condemn or curse: I'll be blessed if I can see your reasoning. Bless me if it isn’t my old friend!
7. to make the sign of the cross over or upon: The Pope blessed the multitude.

The seven definitions given above from dictionary.com may be collapsed into three basic ideas: “to bless” in English means 1. to consecrate something as holy (1, 4) 2. to grant a favor (2, 3, 5, 7) 3. to curse [euphemistically] (6). The question thus becomes, when saying “I am blessed” with the past participle “blessed,” does one intend to say “I have been consecrated as holy,” “I have been granted favors,” or “I have been cursed.” It is clearly the second of these which is the intended meaning. Indeed, LL1984 specifically says in her first post “It should refer to having a fortunate life.” One should also note that the English is not focused on any particular good favor or fortune, but rather that one’s life is characterized by such fortune. The question then becomes, what are the ways one could convey this same idea in Hebrew?

Whether one uses ברך or אַשְׁרֵי , all are agreed that the use of these words would require a specific statement on why one is blessed so that they cannot be used so vaguely as the English verb “to bless.” That said, perhaps one could generalize the specific statement required for these words. What I mean is something like the following which native speakers will have to give their opinion on as to whether what I came up with makes any sense or not:

Using ברך:

בָּרוּךְ אֲנִי שֶׁלִי חַי כָּזֶה! (_barukh ani sheli chai kazeh_; “Blessed am I who has such a life!”)

Using אַשְׁרֵי:

אַשְׁרַי שֶׁלִי חַי כָּזֶה! (_ashrai sheli chai kazeh_; “Happy am I that I have such a life!” = “Blessed am I who has such a life!”)

Perhaps one could use both:

אַשְׁרַי שֶׁלִי יֵשׁ חַי מְבֹרָךְ! (_ashrai sheli yesh chai mevorakh_; "Happy am I for whom there is a blessed life")

I am not entirely sure about the grammar (i.e. use or not use of יֵשׁ (_yesh_)), but I think you see where I am going.

InfatigableLearner


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## arielipi

oh!

and infatig - the grammar is indeed wrong.

you could say 
ashray shezachiti -
אשרי שזכיתי
blessed i am that i have been fortunate.


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## Tararam

I thought about "בורכתי בחיי" which can be translated as "I was blessed with my life (I was blessed with the gift of life), and also as "I've been blessed in my life (fortunate things came my way in the course of life). Both translations sound good, and the Hebrew version cannot be mistaken for other meanings (other than the two I mentioned), especially religious ones.

Hope this helps.


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## InfatigableLearner

Greetings,

Concerning my suggestions, Arielipi stated that “the grammar is indeed wrong.” Fortunately for me this is just the place for straightening out grammatical errors. Since Arielipi did not specify where my error was, I am not sure what the problem was that he saw (perhaps he wished to agree with me about the need for יֵשׁ (_yesh_)). Nevertheless, after reviewing things myself I have thought that I should amend my suggestions as follows and add some new ones:

With בָּרוּךְ:

בָּרוּךְ אֲנִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לִי חַי כָּזֶה (_baruch 'ani sheiyesh li chai kazeh_; “Blessed am I who has a life such as this”) [Male]
בְּרוּכָה אֲנִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לִי חַי כָּזֶה (_beruchah 'ani sheiyesh li chai kazeh_; “Blessed am I who has a life such as this”) [Female]

With אַשְׁרֵי:

אַשְׁרַי שֶׁאֲנִי יֵשׁ לִי חַי כָּזֶה (_'ashrai she'ani yesh li chai kazeh_; “Blessed am I that I have a life such as this”)
אַשְׁרַי שֶׁאֲנִי יֵשׁ לִי חַי מְבֹרָךְ (_'ashrai she'ani yesh li chai mevorach_; “Blessed am I that I have a blessed life”)

אַשְׁרַי שֶׁאֲנִי הֹוֶה חַי כָּזֶה (_'ashrai she'ani hoveh chai kazeh_; “Blessed am I that I live a life such as this”)
אַשְׁרַי שֶׁאֲנִי הֹוֶה חַי מְבֹרָךְ (_'ashrai she'ani hoveh chai mevorach_; “Blessed am I that I live a blessed life”)

Suggestions with "Blessed...blessed life" may ultimately be redundant. If there are still grammatical problems with these suggestions, please let me know where.

As for Arielipi’s suggestion of אַשְׁרַי שֶׁזָּכִיתִי (_'ashrai shezzachiti_), I note that שֶׁזָּכִיתִי (vocalization assumed in his transliteration _shezachiti_) is a qal/pa’al perfect 1st person singular of זכה (_Z-K-H_). I also note that the first definition given in _Even-Shoshan_ (1979) for the qal/pa’al of this verb reads צָדַק בַּדִּין, הֻכַּר כְּנָקִי מִן הָאַשְׁמָה (“to be right by the law, to be recognized as innocent of the charge”). Given this fact, wouldn’t a person reading אַשְׁרַי שֶׁזָּכִיתִי be more likely to think “she must be very thankful that she was acquitted to get that tattoo. I wonder what she was charged with” rather than “Oh this person must have many things in their life that they are thankful for”?

InfatigableLearner


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## arielipi

Thats  zukketi  זוכיתי. I suggest zachiti  זכיתי - as i have explained in my previous post.
The mistakes are:
the whole sentence, could you give in english what you want to say and ill translate it? ill try now already - 
אשרי שיש לי חיים מבורכים
life is plural in hebrew ;always, and thus it will be long. Thats why i suggested the above.
Anyhow, you can make any ashray she+word you want without specific reason.
אשרי שהתברכתי
אשרי שבורכתי
אשרי שזכיתי

note that in this form theres no relevance to gender,
ashray she hitbarachti/burachti/zachiti.


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## LL1984

After reading all your reactions, i started thinking why i feel so blessed, and main reason is my beautiful children. So i was thinking wat about this? ::::

אני מבורכת יש לך  ??? It's propably incorrect . But after a lot of thinking, this is what i want my tattoo to say.
so if anyone can read what i tried to write in hebrew, could you please correct it, so it becomes a correct sentence.

Thanks


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## arielipi

you wanted to say im blessed for [i have] children?

then its
אני מבורכת בזכות ילדי
i am blessed thanks/because [to] my children.


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## InfatigableLearner

arielipi said:


> Thats  zukketi  זוכיתי. I suggest zachiti  זכיתי - as i have explained in my previous post.



I didn’t say that you suggested זוּכֵּיתִי (_zukeiti_) which is clear from my statement “שֶׁזָּכִיתִי (vocalization assumed in his transliteration _shezachiti_) is a *qal/pa’al* perfect 1st person singular of זכה (_Z-K-H_).” זוּכֵּיתִי (_zukeiti_) of course is a *pual* perfect 1st person singular and because I did not assume you said זוּכֵּיתִי (_zukeiti_), I never discussed the pual. What I did say was “I...note that the first definition given in _Even-Shoshan_ (1979) for the *qal/pa’al* of this verb reads צָדַק בַּדִּין, הֻכַּר כְּנָקִי מִן הָאַשְׁמָה (“to be right by the law, to be recognized as innocent of the charge”).” This meaning can be seen at Psalm 51:6: תִּצְדַּק בְּדָבְרֶךָ תִּזְכֶּה בְשָׁפְטֶךָ (“you are righteous in your sentencing, you are innocent/blameless in your judging”). The words “you are innocent/blameless” reflect תִּזְכֶּה (_tizkeh_) which is a *qal/pa’al* imperfect 2nd person masculine singular. Again at Job 15:14: מָה־אֱנוֹשׁ כִּי־יִזְכֶּה וְכִי־יִצְדַּק יְלוּד אִשָּׁה (“what is man that he should be innocent/blameless, or that one born of a woman should be righteous?”). The words “he should be innocent/blameless” reflect יִזְכֶּה (_yizkeh_) which is a *qal/pa’al* imperfect 3rd person masculine singular. A similar statement to Job 15:14 may also be found at Job 25:4. Thus the meaning "to be innocent/blameless" is the foremost meaning of זכה (_Z-K-H_) in the *qal/pa’al* as _Even-Shoshan_ indicates.

Now it is true that when I said, “she must be very thankful that *she was acquitted* to get that tattoo. I wonder what she was charged with” such phraseology could be interpreted as if I were thinking of the *pual* זוּכֵּיתִי (_zukeiti_), but actually my statement reflects the definition of the *qal/pa’al* given in _Even-Shoshan_ הֻכַּר כְּנָקִי מִן הָאַשְׁמָה (“to be recognized as innocent of the charge”) which appears to me to communicate a passive sense (note the pual הֻכַּר) even though it is a *qal/pa’al*. Essentially, “to be innocent/blameless” necessarily entails that one was "acquitted” in the judgment of someone else or in a court of law. As such, I would say that אַשְׁרַי שֶׁזָּכִיתִי (_'ashrai shezzachiti_) would most immediately mean “blessed am I who was/has been innocent/blameless.” “was/has been” because of your use of the perfect and “innocent/blameless” because of your use of the זכה (_Z-K-H_) in the qal/pa’al whose foremost meaning is “to be innocent/blameless.” Now to be sure there are other definitions given in _Even-Shoshan_ for the qal/pa’al of זכה (_Z-K-H_) which are as follows: 

*1*. צָדַק בַּדִּין, הֻכַּר כְּנָקִי מִן הָאַשְׁמָה (“to be right by the law, to be recognized as innocent of the charge”).
*2*. נִמְצָא רָאוּי, הָיְתָה לוֹ הַזְּכוּת לְדָבָר (“to be found appropriate, to have the right to speak”).
*3*. הִצְלִיחַ לְהַגִּיעַ לִדְבַר־מָה, עָלָה בְּחֶלְקוֹ (“to succeed in reaching something, to increase in one’s portion”).
*4*. עָשָׂה מַשֶּׁהוּ לִזְכוּתוֹ שֶׁל פְּלוֹנִי (“to do something for somebody’s favor”)
[not too sure about this last definition because the word זְכוּת means "acquittal, merit, privilege, credit" (Ben-Yehuda, pocket ed.) so that one could translate "to do something for the acquittal/merit/privilege/credit of somebody." As such, I have rendered it kind of vaguely.]

In line with these definitions from _Even-Shoshan_, I also note that the various Hebrew-English resources I have give for the qal/pa’al of זכה (_Z-K-H_) “win, merit, (be) privileged” (Tarmon-Uval), “win (prize, etc.), gain, acquire; be acquitted (of crime); be privileged” (Bolozky), and “to be innocent; to attain, win; to be worthy” (Ben-Yehuda, pocket ed.). Finally, Jastrow's dictionary for Rabbinic Hebrew gives for the qal/pa’al of זכה (_Z-K-H_):

*1*. to be acquitted, be right.
*2*. to be found worthy of, to be privileged, to succeed.
*3*. to take possession, have authority; to own, to gain, obtain a privilege.
*4*. to benefit another person by one's own merit, to transfer blessing.
*5*. to deserve well of, be of service to.

Which of these definitions for the qal/pa’al of זכה (_Z-K-H_) from five different reference works means “to be fortunate” to you?



arielipi said:


> The mistakes are:
> the whole sentence, could you give in english what you want to say and ill translate it? ill try now already -
> אשרי שיש לי חיים מבורכים
> life is plural in hebrew ;always, and thus it will be long. Thats why i suggested the above.



Um, can one really say the “whole sentence” was a mistake when the only mistake given is the failure to use the plural for “life” (and necessarily the words that modify it)? Indeed, except for this point your corrected sentence reads the same as mine. I will readily concede that my use of the singular was wrong. Adjusting for this mistake, my revised suggestions are as follows:

בָּרוּךְ אֲנִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לִי חַיִּים כָּאֵלֶּה (_baruch 'ani sheiyesh li chaiyim ka'elleh_; “Blessed am I who has a life such as this”) [Male]
בְּרוּכָה אֲנִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לִי חַיִּים כָּאֵלֶּה (_beruchah 'ani sheiyesh li chaiyim ka'elleh_; “Blessed am I who has a life such as this”) [Female]

אַשְׁרַי שֶׁאֲנִי יֵשׁ לִי חַיִּים כָּאֵלֶּה (_'ashrai she'ani yesh li chaiyim ka'elleh_; “Blessed am I that I have such a life”)
אַשְׁרַי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לִי חַיִּים כָּאֵלֶּה (_'ashrai sheiyesh li chaiyim ka'elleh_; “Blessed am I that I have such a life”)

אַשְׁרַי שֶׁאֲנִי יֵשׁ לִי חַיִּים מְבֹרָכִים (_'ashrai she'ani yesh li chaiyim mevorachim_; “Blessed am I that I have a blessed life”)
אַשְׁרַי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לִי חַיִּים מְבֹרָכִים (_'ashrai sheiyesh li chaiyim mevorachim_; “Blessed am I that I have a blessed life”)
[These two I think would be rather redundant]

אַשְׁרַי שֶׁאֲנִי הֹוֶה חַיִּים כָּאֵלֶּה (_'ashrai she'ani hoveh chaiyim ka'elleh_; “Blessed am I that I live such a life”)
אַשְׁרַי שֶׁאֲנִי הֹוֶה חַיִּים מְבֹרָכִים (_'ashrai she'ani hoveh chaiyim mevorachim_; “Blessed am I that I live a blessed life”)

I note that in your suggested correct reading, אשרי שיש לי חיים מבורכים, that you still use יֵשׁ לִי (_yesh li_; “I have,” literally, “there is for me”) even though חַיִּים (_chaiyim_) is now grammatically plural. I do not think you are wrong in doing this because a search for “יש לי חיים” on Google shows 496,000 results whereas a hypothetical reading of “ישנם לי חיים” with the third person masculine plural suffix to match חיים gives only 3 (ישנם לי itself only gives 769 results). However, I am now curious why יֵשׁ (_yesh_) should not appear with a suffix. Take for example the following sentence found on Google Books:

אם ישנם חיים לאחר העולם הזה ,מה אופיים (“If there is life after this world, what is [its] nature?”)

Here it can be seen that יֶשְׁנָם (_yeshno_) has a masculine plural suffix to match the masculine plural חַיִּים (_chaiyim_). Why not then in the above sentences? Consider another example also found on Google Books:

אבל למשפחת באודן לא היו חיים קלים (“but the Bowden family did not have an easy life,” literally, “but for the family of Bowden there were not easy lives”)

Here the word יֵשׁ (_yesh_) does not appear because the statement concerns the past thus requiring the use of הָיָה (_hayah_). Even so, one can see that the verb הָיָה (_hayah_) appears as the 3rd person masculine plural הָיוּ to match חַיִּים (_chaiyim_). Shifting the timeframe to the present and changing from the negative would yield the following which I believe to be grammatically correct:

אֲבָל לְמִשְׁפַּחַת באודן יֶשְׁנָם חַיִּים קַלִּים (“but the Bowden family has an easy life,” literally, “but for the family of Bowden there are easy lives”)

In light of the forgoing, I wonder why it is that one cannot say יֶשְׁנָם לִי חַיִּים (“I have a life,” literally, “there are for me lives”).

You stated that my suggestions are long which is certainly a valid criticism given that this is going to be a tattoo and more letters means more pain. I was just trying to be accurate to the sentiment of the original post which asked “I want to know how to say/write 'I am blessed' in hebrew. It should refer to having a fortunate life” while learning some things about Hebrew along the way for myself. Thank you for the help in working this out you have given thus far.

InfatigableLearner


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## LL1984

I actually ment " I am blessed to have you", because then it refers to my children/husband/parents.

So i tried to translate, and this was what i came up with..  אני מבורכת יש לך
But i don't think it's correct, so could you show the correct way for saying 'I am blessed to have you' and also how to pronounce it?

Greetings


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## InfatigableLearner

LL1984,

Looking at what you gave is a bit problematic for me. The first part אֲנִי מְבוֹרָכֶת (_'ani mevorachet_; "I am blessed" [w/ a present passive singular feminine verb]) I think is fine, but the second part is in error. יֵשׁ לְךָ (_yesh lecha_) literally means "there is for you," that is, "you have." Thus altogether your phrase means "I am blessed. You have" which I believe is not what you want.

How about אֲנִי מְבוֹרָכֶת בַּעֲבוּרְךָ (_'ani mevorachet ba'avurecha_; "I am blessed because of you")?

I'm not sure, but maybe closer to what you want are:

אַשְׁרַי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לִי אַתָּה (_'ashrai sheiyesh li 'attah_; "Blessed am I that I have you")
בְּרוּכָה אֲנִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לִי אַתָּה (_beruchah 'ani sheiyesh li 'attah_; "Blessed am I who has you") [Female]

perhaps:

בְּרוּכָה אֲנִי שֶׁלִי יֵשׁ אַתָּה (_beruchah 'ani sheli yesh 'attah_; "Blessed am I for whom there is you") [Female]
[This one simply inverts the word order in the middle]

InfatigableLearner


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## LL1984

@infatigableLearner

I like the example you gave, but when I type thiss אני מבורכת בעבורך in my translation app, i get i am blessed FOR you ?
I would like my tattoo to start with ......... אני מבורכת if that is possible.


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## InfatigableLearner

LL1984,


בַּעֲבוּר(_ba'avur_) is a preposition built from the preposition בְּ(_b__e_) and the noun עֲבוּר (_'avur_) and, as your software indicates, it not only has the meaning “because of” but “for the sake of” as well. The former meaning can already be seen in Genesis 3:17 where it is said to Adam “Cursed be the ground *because of you*” (אֲרוּרָה הָאֲדָמָה בַּעֲבוּרֶךָ, _'arurah ha'adamah *ba'avurecha*_) where it is fairly obvious that the ground was not cursed for the benefit of Adam. With this meaning, בַּעֲבוּר (_ba'avur_) serves as a synonym for בִּגְלַל (_biglal_). As for the later meaning, this can be found at Genesis 18:26 where it says, “If I find within the city of Sodom fifty righteous ones, then I will forgive the whole place *for their sake*” (אִם־אֶמְצָא בִסְדֹם חֲמִשִּׁים צַדִּיקִם בְּתוֹךְ הָעִיר וְנָשָׂאתִי לְכָל־הַמָּקוֹם בַּעֲבוּרָם, _'im-'emtza visdom chamishim tzaddikim betoch ha'ir venasati lechol-hammakom *ba'avuram*_). Here one can see that in this context that a translation of “I will forgive the whole place *because of them*” would equally work. This is the reason בַּעֲבוּר(_ba'avur_) has the both the meaning “because of” and “for the sake of.” At any rate, with this later meaning, בַּעֲבוּר (_ba'avur_) serves as a synonym for בִּשְׁבִיל(_bishvil_). There are still other nuances to this preposition, but the foregoing should be enough to show you that בַּעֲבוּרְךָ(_ba'avurecha_) does in fact mean “because of” as well.

Ultimately whether בַּעֲבוּר(_ba'avur_), בִּגְלַל (_biglal_), or בִּשְׁבִיל (_bishvil_) all of these prepositions have other nuances that bleed into each other in addition to those mentioned above. My feeling is that בִּשְׁבִיל(_bishvil_) is the least preferred choice for the context you want, בַּעֲבוּר(_ba'avur_) the best. Perhaps others will give their opinion as to which of these prepositions might work best or perhaps recommend still something else.

InfatigableLearner


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## arielipi

ba'avur is for.
if you want
אני מבורכת בזכותך
אשרי שיש לי אותך
אני ברוכה בזכותך

ברוכה אני שיש לי אותך

all are i am blessed to have you


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## InfatigableLearner

All great suggestions from Arielipi:

אֲנִי מְבוֹרָכֶת בִּזְכוּתְךָ (_'ani mevorachet bizchutecha_; “I am blessed because of you”) [Female]
אַשְׁרַי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לִי אוֹתְךָ (_'ashrai sheiyesh li 'otecha_; “Blessed am I that I have you”)
אֲנִי בְּרוּכָה בִּזְכוּתְךָ (_'ani beruchah bizchutecha_; “I am blessed because of you”) [Female]
בְּרוּכָה אֲנִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לִי אוֹתְךָ (_beruchah 'ani sheiyesh li 'otecha_; “Blessed am I who has you”) [Female]

The use of בִּזְכוּתְךָ (_bizchutecha_) is better than my suggestion of בַּעֲבוּרְךָ (_ba'avurecha_) since this word, created from the preposition בְּ (_be_) with the noun זְכוּת (_zechut_) with a second person suffix, literally means something like “by virtue of you” and thus would appear to lack the vagueness of בַּעֲבוּר (_ba'avur_) which can also mean “because of” as I already demonstrated, but _also_ “for” as well.

Arielipi’s use of the direct object marker (אֵת) with a second person suffix is apparently normal in Modern Hebrew in such phrases. As noted by Angel Sáenz-Badillos in his book _A History of the Hebrew Language_, “The [Modern Hebrew] vernacular language has also converted originally impersonal and intransitive structures into transitive ones, for example, יֵשׁ לִי אֵת הַסּוּס (_yēš lî ʾēt has-sūs_) ‘I have the horse’ (lit. ‘there is to me the horse’), where the object-marker אֵת (_ʾēt_) is inserted contrary to the standard rules of grammar” (p. 285).

At any rate, I think that with Arielipi’s first suggestion of אֲנִי מְבוֹרָכֶת בִּזְכוּתְךָ (_'ani mevorachet bizchutecha_; “I am blessed because of you”) you have found just the saying you wanted that also begins with the phrase אֲנִי מְבוֹרָכֶת (_'ani mevorachet_; “I am blessed”) that you had hoped for. The only other suggestion I can give would be not to get this tattoo with vowels as they will become distorted over time.

InfatigableLearner


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## Diadem

LL1984 said:


> @infatigableLearner
> 
> I like the example you gave, but when I type thiss אני מבורכת בעבורך in my translation app, i get i am blessed FOR you ?
> I would like my tattoo to start with ......... אני מבורכת if that is possible.



Translation apps aren't always accurate.


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## arielipi

I wonder where you get these books 
in hebrew its very important to be specific(surprisingly as words tend to have 4-5 meanings depend on context), and once you know what youre looking for its easier to find it.
Thats why i asked why you feel blessed. Hope you get a cool font for the tattoo, ad enjoy it!
A

P.S. no one says yesh li et hasus without adding "for...", if its just i have th horse itll be yesh li sus(= have me horse lit.)


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## InfatigableLearner

arielipi said:


> P.S. no one says yesh li et hasus without adding "for...", if its just i have th horse itll be yesh li sus(= have me horse lit.)



Um structurally there is no difference between יֵשׁ לִי אֶת הַסּוּס and יֵשׁ לִי אֶת הַסֵּפֶר, http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/יש_את . People evidently do say such things so it would seem Sáenz-Badillos' observation is correct. I also believe, if I am not mistaken, that even the phrase יֵשׁ לִי אוֹתְךָ which you gave is an example of the same syntax. Perhaps I am mistaken in thinking אוֹתְךָ is the object marker אֵת with a second person singular suffix.

 InfatigableLearner


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## LL1984

I've chosen this one, אני מבורכת בזכותך, and I am getting tattood next week! 
Thank you all for helping my out!!!


מעין רואה, 
Linda


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## arielipi

There's a difference between third and second person suffix.
I didnt say its incorrect, i said its not said.
Youre welcome linda,glad you found what you were looking for.


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