# I have (or don't have) a wife/husband



## Drink

Since the words for wife and husband in Hebrew pretty much have to be in the construct state (אשתו של מישהו, בעלה של מישהי), how would you say "I have a wife/husband" or "I don't have a wife/husband"? Is it acceptable to say "יש/אין לי אשה/בעל"?


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## origumi

Drink said:


> Since the words for wife and husband in Hebrew pretty much have to be in the construct state


This is incorrect.

One can say יש לי אשה ילדה ולמברטה or simply אני נשוי / נשואה.


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## arielipi

Drink said:


> Is it acceptable to say "יש/אין לי אשה/בעל"?


Yes.

יש לי אשה שאוהבת אותי
היא אמא שלי.


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## Drink

And also, how would you say "He/she *is* a husband/wife"? If you say "היא אשה", wouldn't it sound like "She is a woman"?



arielipi said:


> יש לי אשה שאוהבת אותי
> היא אמא שלי.



אם היא אמא שלך, היא לא אשתך


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## origumi

Drink said:


> And also, how would you say "He/she *is* a husband/wife"? If you say "היא אשה", wouldn't it sound like "She is a woman"?


הוא נשוי / נשואה.


> אם היא אמא שלך, היא לא אשתך


If she's a mother and she's his, it doesn't necessarily mean she's his mother. Her name could be Sima and she could be the mother of Dina.


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## Drink

origumi said:


> הוא נשוי / נשואה.



But that just means "He/she is married". It's not the same as saying "He/she is a husband/wife". Also, is it not "נשויה"?



origumi said:


> If she's a mother and she's his, it doesn't necessarily mean she's his mother. Her name could be Sima and she could be the mother of Dina.



Good point. Also, in "יש לי אשה שאוהבת אותי" is marriage implied, or could it refer to an unmarried relationship?


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## origumi

Drink said:


> But that just means "He/she is married". It's not the same as saying "He/she is a husband/wife".


We don't usually say הוא בעל / אשה with no context due to the ambiguity (in both words). For a woman one can say היא אשת איש. Therefore different terminology is needed. And yet הוא בעל טוב for example is ok, the addition of טוב clarifies the meaning.


> Also, is it not "נשויה"?


נשואה. The root is נשא. Only the masculine form is irregular for this word.


> Good point. Also, in "יש לי אשה שאוהבת אותי" is marriage implied, or could it refer to an unmarried relationship?


In case you haven't noticed, arielipi (and consequently myself) referred to a song by Arik Einstein (as a co-author), initially about his mother but then refers to his wife using similar words. And this move by arielipi looks like a reaction to an earlier quotation of a song by Shlomo Artzi. Neither of us tried to ridicule, we demonstrated the usage in contemporary language.


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## Drink

origumi said:


> We don't usually say הוא בעל / אשה with no context due to the ambiguity (in both words). For a woman one can say היא אשת איש. Therefore different terminology is needed. And yet הוא בעל טוב for example is ok, the addition of טוב clarifies the meaning.



Thanks! That was exactly what I wanted to know. If you have any more examples, I would greatly appreciate them.



origumi said:


> In case you haven't notice, arielipi (and consequently myself) referred to a song by Arik Einstein (as co-author), initially about his mother but then refers to his wife.



I knew you were referring to something, because it sounded familiar, but my question was different. If you assume that it does not refer to familial or platonic love or anything of that sort, could it refer to an unmarried relationship, such as a girlfriend or fiancee, or can it only refer to a wife?


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## origumi

Drink said:


> If you assume that it does not refer to familial or platonic love or anything of that sort, could it refer to an unmarried relationship, such as a girlfriend or fiancee, or can it only refer to a wife?


In normal situations אשה is either woman or wife, Other meaning are not inherent.


Few words about the issue of בעל / אשה, with biblical examples: http://hebrew-academy.org.il/2011/05/01/בַּעַל-האם-ראוי-למצוא-תחליף-למילה


Now a small riddle for non-natives. Find the meaning(s) of:

הוא אשה
הוא אישי
קורבן אשה
אשה בערה


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## Drink

origumi said:


> In normal situations אשה is either woman or wife, Other meaning are not inherent.



Let me rephrase yet again: If you assume that it does not refer to familial or platonic love or anything of that sort, does "אשה" necessarily mean "wife", or could it still mean "woman"?



origumi said:


> Now a small riddle for non-natives. find the meaning(s) of:
> 
> הוא אשה
> הוא אישי
> קורבן אשה
> אשה בערה



My guess:

He is her fire
He is my man (or: It is personal)
Sacrifice of her fire
Her fire burned

Are they supposed to be related?


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## origumi

Drink said:


> He is her fire - grammatically correct, but there's a natural translation (not including "he is a woman").
> He is my man (or: It is personal) - good.
> Sacrifice of her fire - grammatically correct, but there are 3 different natural translations.
> Her fire burned - good, and there's another natural translation
> 
> Are they supposed to be related? No, just demonstrating how difficult one small word (or letters combination) can be


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## Drink

I can't think of anything else unless איש can be spelled without the yud.
-
Sacrifice of a woman, and I can't think of anything else.
A woman burned?

I don't completely understand what you mean by a "natural" translation. And by "are they related", meant "are they related to each other", but it looks like they aren't.


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