χάρις G5485
Grace, favor, or kindness — especially God's unmerited favor toward humanity; also thanks, a concrete act of goodwill, or a charitable gift.
One of the New Testament's most theologically rich words, χάρις (charis) spans from the divine grace that saves sinners to the simple human courtesy of saying 'thank you.' At its heart lies the idea of undeserved generosity — God's lavish favor poured out on those who have no claim to it (John 1:16, Eph 2:8). Paul anchors entire epistles around this word, and every Pauline letter opens or closes with it. Yet charis also covers everyday gratitude (Luke 6:32–34, 'what credit is that to you?'), concrete acts of political favor (Acts 24:27), and even a monetary collection for the poor (1 Cor 16:3). Spanish distinguishes gracia from gratitud; German uniformly renders Gnade, collapsing senses that Greek keeps fluid.
1. grace, divine favor — The great theological sense: God's unmerited favor and benevolence toward humanity, especially as manifested through Christ's saving work. This is the dominant New Testament usage (141 of 157 occurrences). Paul's signature greeting 'grace and peace' (χάρις καὶ εἰρήνη) frames every letter he writes. Spanish gracia and German Gnade both track this sense, but neither captures the full weight — Korean 은혜 (eunhye, 'grace-benefit') and Swahili neema come closer to the gratuitous, unearned quality. Key passages: John 1:14 ('full of grace and truth'), Eph 2:8 ('by grace you have been saved'). 141×
AR["ـنِّعْمَةِ","نِعمَةِ","نِعْمَةً","نِعْمَةٌ","نِعْمَةٍ","نِعْمَةَ","نِعْمَةُ","نِعْمَةِ","نِعْمَتِهِ","نِّعْمَةُ"]·ben["অনুগ্রহ","অনুগ্রহে","অনুগ্রহের"]·DE["Gnade"]·EN["favor","grace","of-grace"]·FR["grâce"]·heb["חֵן","חֶסֶד","שֶׁל-"]·HI["अनुग्रह","अनुग्रह-के","अनुग्रह-को","अनुग्रह-से","सब"]·ID["itu","kasih-karunia"]·IT["charin","charis","charitos","grazia"]·jav["Sih-rahmat","sih-rahmat"]·KO["은혜-가","은혜-로","은혜-를","은혜-와","은혜-의","은혜를","은혜를-통해","은혜에","은혜에서","은혜와","은혜의"]·PT["de-graça","graça"]·RU["благодати","благодать","благодать-"]·ES["de-gracia","gracia"]·SW["neema"]·TR["lütfa","lütfu","lütfun","lütfunda","lütfuyla","lütuf","lütufla"]·urd["فضل","فضل-سے"]
Luke 1:30, Luke 2:40, Luke 4:22, John 1:14, John 1:16, John 1:17, Acts 2:47, Acts 4:33, Acts 6:8, Acts 7:10, Acts 7:46, Acts 11:23 (+38 more)
▼ 3 more senses below
Senses
2. thanks, gratitude — An expression of thankfulness or gratitude, often directed toward God. Distinguished from sense 1 by context: 'what thanks (χάρις) is it to you?' (Luke 6:32–34) uses the word in a reciprocity framework — if you love only those who love you back, where is the grace/credit? Romans 6:17 ('thanks be to God') and 1 Cor 15:57 show the doxological use. Spanish Gratitud and Korean 감사 (gamsa) clearly separate this from divine favor, while German Gnade and French grâce remain ambiguous. 12×
AR["الشُّكرُ","شُكرٌ","شُكْراً","شُكْرًا","فَضلٍ"]·ben["অনুগ্রহ","কৃতজ্ঞতা","ধন্যবাদ","ধন্যবাদ,"]·DE["Gnade"]·EN["gratitude","thanks"]·FR["grâce"]·heb["חֵן","חֶסֶד","תּוֹדָה"]·HI["अनुग्रह","धन्यवअद","धन्यवाद"]·ID["Syukur","kasih-karunia","syukur","syukur,","ucapan-terima-kasih"]·IT["charin","charis","grazia"]·jav["Matur-nuwun","Panuwun-sokur","Sih-rahmat","matur-nuwun","sih-rahmat","sih-rahmat,","sukur"]·KO["감사","감사가","감사니라","감사를","감사하노라","감사하라"]·PT["Gratidão","Graças","graça","graças","graças,"]·RU["Благодарение","Благодарность","благодарение","благодарности","благодарность"]·ES["Gracias","Gratitud","gracia","gracias","gratitud"]·SW["Shukrani","neema","shukrani","shukrani,"]·TR["lütuf","teşekkür","Şükür","Şükürler-olsun","şükürler"]·urd["بھی","تمہارا","شُکر","شکر","شکرگزاری","شکریہ"]
3. favor, act of kindness — A concrete act of goodwill or favorable regard shown by one person toward another, especially in political or judicial contexts. All three occurrences appear in Acts: Felix leaves Paul in prison 'wanting to do the Jews a favor (χάριτα)' (Acts 24:27); the Jewish leaders ask Festus for the favor (χάριν) of transferring Paul to Jerusalem (Acts 25:3, 9). Spanish favor cleanly isolates this from the theological sense. The word here is transactional — a quid pro quo of political currency. 3×
AR["رِضَاً","مَعْرُوفًا"]·ben["অনুগ্রহ"]·DE["Gnade"]·EN["a-favor"]·FR["grâce"]·heb["חֵן"]·HI["अनुग्रह"]·ID["kebaikan"]·IT["grazia"]·jav["sih-palimirma","sih-rahmat"]·KO["호의를"]·PT["favor"]·RU["милости","милость"]·ES["favor"]·SW["fadhili"]·TR["iyilik"]·urd["احسان"]
4. gift, benefaction — A material gift or charitable contribution given as an act of generosity. Occurs once in 1 Corinthians 16:3, where Paul instructs the church to prepare their χάρις (gift/benefaction) for Jerusalem. Spanish gracia and French grâce retain the same form, but English 'gift' and Korean 선물 sharply distinguish this concrete, monetary meaning from the abstract theological sense. The usage shows how divine grace conceptually flows into practical giving. 1×
AR["نِعْمَتَكُمْ"]·ben["দান"]·DE["Gnade"]·EN["gift"]·FR["grâce"]·heb["חֶסֶד"]·HI["दान-को"]·ID["pemberian"]·IT["grazia"]·jav["-sih-rahmat"]·KO["선물을"]·RU["дар"]·ES["gracia"]·SW["zawadi"]·TR["o-"]·urd["فضل-کو"]
Related Senses
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
χάρις [ᾰ], ἡ, genitive χάρῐτος: accusative χάριν [ῑ in arsi, Refs 8th c.BC+, etc.; also χάριτα Refs 5th c.BC+; dative χάρισι, χαρίτεσσι, Refs 8th c.BC+: (χαίρω):—grace: __I in objective sense, outward grace or fauour, beauty, properly of persons or their portraits, θεσπεσίην δ᾽ ἄρα τῷ γε χάριν κατεχεύατ᾽ Ἀθήνη Refs 8th c.BC+: plural, graces, κάλλεϊ καὶ χάρισι στίλβων Refs 8th c.BC+gracefully,…