# I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine



## Lettonacciaa

Its about Victoria Beckham's tattoo on the back of her neck. Its a quote from Song of Solomon 6:3. In english it says: I am my belove's and my belove is mine.
I googled it, found these translation, please someone find me the original quote in Hebrew or correct me with this Hebrew languages:

Translation 1:
אני של אהוב שלי אהוב שלי הוא שלי
Translation 2
אֲנִי לְדֹודִי וְדֹודִי לִי הָרֹעֶה בַּשֹּׁושַׁנִּים׃ ס
Translation 3
אני לדודי ודודי לי הרעה בשושנים׃ ס

Thank you very much in advance to whoever is gonna help


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## scriptum

Lettonacciaa said:


> Translation 2
> אֲנִי לְדֹודִי וְדֹודִי לִי
> Translation 3
> אני לדודי ודודי לי


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## Lettonacciaa

Thank you very much scriptum
I am totally new to this language.

Actually, I want a tatoo like the one Victoria has on her neck.
This is the photo of victoria's tatto on her neck

I cant see it very clearly. The full sentence means: "I am my love’s and my love is mine, who browses among the lilies." according to google.

Can someone read and write me down the part which means "I am my love’s and my love is mine" as a full sentence? 
I want to tattoo this on my skin


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## Lettonacciaa

Sorry, it says I am not allowed to paste a web link.

I am afraid you guys have to go to google picture, put in "victoria tatto".
It should come out many photos of the tattoo on her neck

Thanks a million to whoever helps!!!


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## scriptum

lettonacciaa said:


> can someone read and write me down the part which means "i am my love’s and my love is mine" as a full sentence?


אני לדודי ודודי לי


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## Aoyama

אני לדודי ודודי לי
that will read : ani ledodi ve* dodi li  (could also be read "udodi li")
which is different from 





> "I am my love’s and my love is mine"


.
It requires some explaining :
Dodi (or Doodi) is the Hebrew diminutive for David (here Beckham).
So the tattoo goes like : I belong to David (Dodi) and Dodi belongs to me. A little different from "My heart belongs to Daddy" ...


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## Lettonacciaa

Thank you Aoyama

I was about to tattoo that Hebrew already. Lucky I see your reply.

Can you translate "I belong to my love and my love belongs to me" for me please?
Or do it however makes better sense in Hebrew.

Merci beaucoup!


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## Aoyama

最好是要问Scriptum（还是别的人），给你写希伯来文的字.


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## amikama

Aoyama said:


> אני לדודי ודודי לי
> that will read : ani ledodi ve* dodi li  (could also be read "udodi li")


No, in this case the _ve_- doesn't change to _u_- (it changes to _u_- only before one of the letters בומפ or a shva).



> It requires some explaining :
> Dodi (or Doodi) is the Hebrew diminutive for David (here Beckham).
> So the tattoo goes like : I belong to David (Dodi) and Dodi belongs to me. A little different from "My heart belongs to Daddy" ...


Dodi means "my beloved" (male) in Biblical Hebrew. In Modern Hebrew it means "my uncle".
Dudi (not Dodi) is the diminutive of David.


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## scriptum

Aoyama said:


> 最好是要问Scriptum（还是别的人），给你写希伯来文的字.


C'est du grec ça...


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## Lettonacciaa

Thank you amikama and again scriptum and aoyama



scriptum said:


> C'est du grec ça...


Il a dit que cest mieux de vous demander de m'ecrire la phrase directement.

Est-ce que vous pouvez? Sil vous plait.

Change "my beloved" to feminine, cuz its a she, and correct and write me the full sentence,plzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Would be best if you can do it in the way it was, as in biblical Hebrew I mean.


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## Lettonacciaa

ohh found a similar topic in this forum
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1446345
might give some ideas


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## Aoyama

> Dodi means "my beloved" (male) in Biblical Hebrew. In Modern Hebrew it means "my uncle".


Right (didn't know that), but I wonder if there isn't a pun intended there (which would prove the Beckhams knowledge of Hebrew, kol hakavod lakhem, beemet).


> Dudi (not Dodi) is the diminutive of David.


nakhon again, but Doodi = Dudi and Dodi (which I thought could also be used in Hebrew) is used in ... Arabic (diminutive of Da'ud).


> C'est du grec ça...


Non, c'est de l'hébreu, ou du chinois, peu importe, ce sont des synagogues .


> Il a dit que c'est mieux de vous demander de m'écrire la phrase directement _en caractères hébraïques_.
> *Est-ce que vous pouvez ? S'il vous plaît*.


because Lettonacciaa is not going to tattoo the stuff in Latin ...


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## Lettonacciaa

Quote:

One of the mistakes that couples make is not to realize that this phrase in Hebrew is used of a bride (_female_) speaking to her bridegroom (_male_). Whereas in English the phrase works equally well either way, in Hebrew the phrase needs to be changed to reflect the correct gender.

In David's Hebrew Tattoo, he has kept exactly the same phrase as Victoria uses in her Hebrew Tattoo. _This works for Victoria, but unfortunately not for David._ Not only would the _nikud_ or Hebrew Vowels have to change, but _dodi_ (_my beloved_) is masculine; _dod_ would have to change to the feminine _doda_. (Incidentally, _dod_ and _doda_ in Hebrew  are also used for Uncle and Aunt! Hopefully nobody thinks the meaning of David's Hebrew tattoo is “I am my uncle's, and my uncle is mine.”)


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## Aoyama

> In David's Hebrew Tattoo, he has kept exactly the same phrase as Victoria uses in her Hebrew Tattoo. _This works for Victoria, but unfortunately not for David._ Not only would the _nikud_ or Hebrew Vowels have to change, but _dodi_ (_my beloved_) is masculine; _dod_ would have to change to the feminine _doda_. (Incidentally, _dod_ and _doda_ in Hebrew are also used for Uncle and Aunt! Hopefully nobody thinks the meaning of David's Hebrew tattoo is “I am my uncle's, and my uncle is mine.”)


good comment .


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## Lettonacciaa

Another comment:

We saw in the previous post that Victoria Beckham has a Hebrew Tattoo saying_ I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine._ Or if it did not have any Hebrew Vowels, it could say _I am my David's, and my David is mine._ (Nice play on words, Victoria!)

Well, Victoria has made sure that her beloved, David, has a Hebrew Tattoo to match hers. His runs down his left arm. (Possibly there was a two-for-one offer at the Tattoo shop that day, and they got a discount if they had a second Hebrew Tattoo done at the same time).


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## Aoyama

By the way, it should be *I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine* ...


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## scriptum

Lettonacciaa said:


> Change "my beloved" to feminine, cuz its a she, and correct and write me the full sentence,plzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
> Would be best if you can do it in the way it was, as in biblical Hebrew I mean.


But that's impossible. The word (דודי) exists only in the masculine form. Replacing it with another word would disfigure the verse completely.
Let me remind you that King Solomon, the alleged author of the text, was a man; which didn't prevent him from writing on behalf of a woman.
What was good enough for the wisest of men is good enough for you and me.
In my opinion, the quotation (אני לדודי ודודי לי) may be freely used by anyone regardless of age, creed, caste and sex.


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## Aoyama

> In my opinion, the quotation (אני לדודי ודודי לי) may be freely used by anyone regardless of age, creed, caste and sex.


right.
But then again, I dare think (as far as my humble knowledge of Hebrew goes) that דודי can be read "dodi" as well as "dudi" (vav can be *o* or *u*). So the sentence could very well be read as "I belong to Dudi (David) and Dudi belongs to me".
Without belittling King Salomon.


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## Flaminius

I have just checked the Bible for דודתי and דודה.  To my surprise, neither seems to have existed.  So *scriptum*, is דודי more or less a unisex noun?


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## scriptum

Seems to be so.


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## soniq2005

so in the end what's the correct translation for My beloved's mine and I am hers ?


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## Maayan

scriptum said:


> Seems to be so.


 
I don't think that דוֹדי can be referred to a female. The female form of דודי as appeared in Shir HaShirim will be (in my opinion) רעייתי or תמתי or אחותי כלה or יונתי as the male lover refers his female beloved.

So to your question, Soniq2005, I'd translate My beloved's mine and I am hers in either:
1. אני לרעייתי ורעייתי לי
2. רעייתי לי ואני לרעייתי


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## soniq2005

"My beloved's mine and I am hers"
thx Maayan. so they are 2 options, or did u translate the quote in 2 parts "My beloved's mine" "I am hers" ?...I want the full sentence "My beloved's mine and I am hers" for a tattoo  thx for ure help


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## Noam X

Aoyama said:


> right.
> But then again, I dare think (as far as my humble knowledge of Hebrew goes) that דודי can be read &quot;dodi&quot; as well as &quot;dudi&quot; (vav can be *o* or *u*). So the sentence could very well be read as &quot;I belong to Dudi (David) and Dudi belongs to me&quot;.
> Without belittling King Salomon.



 It's possible, especially considering the traditional Jewish interpretation of Song of Songs is that the man is God and his beloved is Israel.


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## Maayan

soniq2005 said:


> "My beloved's mine and I am hers"
> thx Maayan. so they are 2 options, or did u translate the quote in 2 parts "My beloved's mine" "I am hers" ?...I want the full sentence "My beloved's mine and I am hers" for a tattoo  thx for ure help


 
1. אני לרעייתי ורעייתי לי = literally: I am to my (female) lover and my (female) lover to me.
2. רעייתי לי ואני לרעייתי = literally: My (female) lover is to me and I am to my (female) lover.

Personally I prefer #1, sounds better in Hebrew.

I'm basing this traslation on King Solomon's Song (Song of Songs), let's say - Chapter 1 verses 15-16:
הִנָּךְ יָפָה *רַעְיָתִי*, הִנָּךְ יָפָה עֵינַיִךְ יוֹנִים. הִנְּךָ יָפֶה *דוֹדִי* אַף נָעִים, אַף-עַרְשֵׂנוּ רַעֲנָנָה

Seems like the equivalent of דודי (male lover) is רעייתי (female lover).


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## kenzo.t

** NEW QUESTION - threads merged by moderator **

Bonjour,
Je voudrai tradauire correctement cette phrase pour un tatouage
אֲנִי לְדוֹדִי וְדוֹדִי לִי הָרֹעֶה בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּים = Je suis à mon bien-aimé, mon bien-aimé est mien.

Malheuresement on ma dit que cette phrase concerné une fille envers un garçon . 

S'il vous plait pouvez vous me l'écrire correctement avec les voyelles pour que cela concerne un garçon envers une fille.
Merci beaucoup


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Hello
I would like to translate this phrase correctly for tattoo
אֲנִי לְדוֹדִי וְדוֹדִי לִי הָרֹעֶה בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּים = I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine.

This phrase in Hebrew is used of a bride (female) speaking to her bridegroom (male). .

Please can you write me in Hebrew the phrase with the vowels. I needs to be changed to reflect the correct gender. Male to Female.

This Bible quote אֲנִי לְדוֹדִי וְדוֹדִי לִי הָרֹעֶה בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּים can be used by males or not?

Thank you very much


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## kenzo.t

The phrase "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine" or "I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me" is the most popular translation request we receive.

The phrase comes from the Song of Songs in the Hebrew Bible. The song is about fidelity and is often engraved on wedding rings. It must be the most popular Hebrew tattoo design as well.

There's a lot of discussion if this Bible quote can be used by males or not. In the Bible the phrase is spoken by a female to a male. In Hebrew the phrase is pronounced as Ani le'dodi ve'dodi li. Dodi (a male word) means "my beloved" and can be interpreted as:

The female's lover
God
So the phrase can be interpreted as:

The love a woman has for her lover.
The love the people of Israel have for God.
Furthermore, in modern Hebrew (as opposed to Biblical Hebrew), Dod means uncle. Using the female version of dod, doda, would bring the phrase in the realms of modern Hebrew and would express the love of a guy for his aunt, which is at least said a bit peculiar. Trying to make the phrase masculine would disfigure it.

In my opinion this Bible phrase can be used by anyone, regardless of sex. In Israel the phrase is used on all wedding related things, like rings, decorations, art, ...


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## Aoyama

Hello again on this thread.
First of all, food for thought here :
http://ancienthebrewpoetry.typepad.com/ancient_hebrew_poetry/2007/07/victoria-beckha.html (and many others, if you Google the phrase in Hebrew).
The last part means " and browses in the lilies" though שּׁוֹשַׁנִּים means "roses" in Modern Hebrew.
BUT, I still think that the real meaning here deals with "David", not the biblical meaning of דוֹדִי which is taken here as Doodi, not Dodi. Remember that we are simply talking about David Beckham ...


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## kenzo.t

Donc un homme ne peut écrire cette phrase ?! Parce que David Beckham l'as exactement tatouer et écris comme celui sur le dos de Victoria.


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## Aoyama

> Parce que David Beckham l'a exactement tatouée et écrite comme celle sur le dos de Victoria.


Si c'est la même phrase c'est bizarre _à moins de la prendre dans les deux sens_ ("double entendre"), mais cela demanderait une connaissance très poussée de l'hébreu ... Dodi (mon amant, ) et Doodi, David ...


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## kenzo.t

Aoyama said:


> Si c'est la même phrase c'est bizarre _à moins de la prendre dans les deux sens_ ("double entendre"), mais cela demanderait une connaissance très poussée de l'hébreu ... Dodi (mon amant) et Doodi, David ...




De plus je crois que cette phrase est inscrite sur les bague de fiançaille etc...

Dans I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine en anglais il n'y a pas de sens masculin ni feminin on dit seulement "my".


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## Aoyama

> Dans I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine en anglais il n'y a pas de sens masculin ni feminin on dit seulement "my".


Oui, ce qui se traduit en français par mon/ma bien-aimé/e.
Mais, comme il a été dit plus haut, il semble qu'en hébreu דוֹדִ (dod, sans .) ne s'emploie (dans la Bible) qu'au masculin (l'amant ne pouvant être qu'un homme).


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## scriptum

Aoyama said:


> l'amant ne pouvant être qu'un homme


Ce n'est quand même pas si grave que ça.
Dans le texte la femme est appelée רעיה.
Il paraît que c'est l'équivalent féminin de דוד.


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## Aoyama

> Dans le texte la femme est appelée רעיה.
> Il paraît que c'est l'équivalent féminin de דוד.


D'accord, mais cette partie ne figure pas sur le tatouage.
Et puis (question un peu différente), je me demande si il y a une relation entre רעיה et *הָרֹעֶה* de *הָרֹעֶה* בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּים ?


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## scriptum

רעיה veut dire "épouse",
רועה veut dire "celui qui paît", ou bien "celui qui fait paître".
Je ne sais pas s'il y a un lien étymologique entre les deux mots.
Even-Shoshan n'en est pas sûr non plus.


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## kenzo.t

Mais je crois que cette phrase peut être employé en fesant reference à Dieu.
Je pense qu'elle est prononcé entre autre pendant le mois de Eloul 
http://www.modia.org/infos/calendrier/eloul.html


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## Aoyama

> Mais je crois que cette phrase peut être employée en faisant référence à Dieu.
> Je pense qu'elle est prononcée entre autre pendant le mois de Eloul


You are perfectly right. I cite below a comment from a friend who goes in the same direction. In fact, on a few counts, the verse "tatooed" here is taken in _a wrong meaning_ :

"(...)this passage from King Solomon, but on a mystical level or metaphorically speaking, is about the Love between the Jewish people and G.od; in fact this expression is the acronym for the month of Elul (based on the first letters of the statement). (...) the language of the Bible is at times very sexual, e.g. and Adam knew Eve. Intercourse is compared to knowledge because if/when we know something/someone we become one with them".



> רעיה veut dire "épouse",
> רועה veut dire "celui qui paît", ou bien "celui qui fait paître".


merci pour la réponse. On pourrait imaginer (?) "celui qui paît", ou bien "celui qui fait paître" (pasteur), comme ayant un rapport avec l'épouse qui devient mère et qui "ferait paître" les enfants ... Discutable.


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## kenzo.t

En faite je me suis fait tatouer אני לדודי ודודי לי הרעה בשושנים
sur le bras gauche il y a 1 semaine et maintenant je lis sur des site que cette phrase ne peut provenir d'un homme.

Ca me désèspere du coup je ne sais pas comment rattraper le coup.. aie


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## Aoyama

Moralité (et tristement) : ne pas se faire tatouer des choses dans une langue que l'on ne connaît pas. Les gens qui portent des idéogrammes incomplets, faux, ou ne voulant rien dire, sont légion...


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## blondu_rulz10

hello i am new here  

i wanna make a tattoo on hebrew with the text : i am my beloved and my beloved is mine, we love each other among lilies.

the second part is edited because the original one was too religious for me. can you please translate the text?


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## blondu_rulz10

someone just translated me like this : 

i know it's roses not lilies but it can work too. is it good?

אני  האהבה שלי והאהבה היא האהבה שלי ונאהב בשדה שושנים


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## anipo

Hello blondu and welcome to WR!

I would strongly recommend to read this thread from beginning to end before you do any tattoo in a language you don't know!

Remember that this is a sentence from the Song of Songs, so only the original is right and not some back-translation. And also remember that in Hebrew it is only appropriate for a woman. The text for a man would be different.


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## juliatopaz

*<<< NEW QUESTION - threads merged by moderator >>>*


Hello,

Apologies for not first making an attempt at this but I am not actively learning Hebrew, so I wouldn't know where to begin. At my upcoming wedding, we would like to make a modern declaration of the biblical "*אני לדודי ודודי לי*" (Ani L'Dodi V'Dodi Li). On the web, I found a modern interpretation of this old phrase, in both masculine and feminine forms:

*Ani le-ahuvi ve-ahuvi li *

and 

*Ani le-ahuvati ve-ahuvati li *

However, I only have the latin alphabet transliterations. I need the actual Hebrew text of these two phrases in order to have someone help us with pronunciation. Would anyone be so kind as to provide the Hebrew text for these two phrases, or point me to a resource that could help me?

Thank you!


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## MuttQuad

If I may put my two cents in here, why not go with the "biblical" form? It is elegant, poetic, simple, and avoids the problem of needing two versions.

And, by the way, Mazel Tov!


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## Drink

I agree with MuttQuad, but I will I will answer the question regardless:

Said to a male:
אני לאהובי ואהובי לי
ani le'ahuvi ve'ahuvi li

Said to a female:
אני לאהובתי ואהובתי לי
ani le'ahuvati ve'ahuvati li


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## origumi

l*a*-ahuvi etc.

MuttQuad's advice is good.


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## Drink

origumi said:


> l*a*-ahuvi etc.



To clarify, origumi means that technically "le'ahuv(at)i" and "ve'ahuv(at)i" should be "la'ahuv(at)i" and "va'ahuv(at)i". I didn't point this out because most Israelis would pronounce these words the first way, but if you want to go with proper Hebrew, then pronounce them the second way.


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## MuttQuad

scriptum said:


> But that's impossible. The word (דודי) exists only in the masculine form. Replacing it with another word would disfigure the verse completely.
> Let me remind you that King Solomon, the alleged author of the text, was a man; which didn't prevent him from writing on behalf of a woman.
> What was good enough for the wisest of men is good enough for you and me.
> In my opinion, the quotation (אני לדודי ודודי לי) may be freely used by anyone regardless of age, creed, caste and sex.



Thanks. That's what I always thought. And by the way, I understand that Dudu, not Dodi or Dudi, is a diminutive for David -- at least in the cases of Israeli singer Dudu Fisher and my late uncle David.


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## betzalel

This is biblical Hebrew from the song of songs, and refers to a woman who is longing for her lover and is a religious metaphor.


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