H0589 H0589
ani -- I; the first-person singular independent pronoun in Hebrew
The pronoun ani ('I') is one of two Hebrew forms for the first-person singular independent pronoun, the other being anokhi (H0595). While anokhi tends to appear in more solemn or archaic contexts, ani is the unmarked everyday form, occurring 874 times across all genres. It features prominently in divine self-declarations ('I am Yahweh your God,' Gen 15:7; Exod 20:2) as well as in ordinary human speech. The pronoun carries no inherent semantic weight beyond deixis -- it points to the speaker. Spanish yo, French je, German ich, and English I all map to it with perfect consistency.
Senses
1. I (first person singular pronoun) — The unmarked first-person singular independent pronoun, used by both human and divine speakers to identify themselves as the subject of discourse. Distinguished from the more solemn anokhi (H0595), ani is the common default form across narrative, poetry, prophecy, and wisdom literature. Its cross-lingual rendering is maximally uniform -- Spanish yo, French je, German ich -- with 874 occurrences showing no semantic differentiation whatsoever. 874×
AR["أنا", "أَنا", "أَنَا"]·ben["আমাকে", "আমি", "আমি-"]·DE["ich", "ich-bin-es"]·EN["I"]·FR["Je"]·heb["אני"]·HI["मैं", "मैं-", "मैन"]·ID["Aku", "Akulah", "aku"]·IT["io"]·jav["Kawula", "Kula", "kawula", "kawula-", "kula"]·KO["나-는", "나는", "나도", "나와", "나이다", "내가"]·PT["Eu", "eu"]·RU["Я", "меня", "я", "я-"]·ES["Yo", "yo", "yo-"]·SW["Mimi", "kumbe", "mimi"]·TR["Ben", "Benim", "ben", "ben-"]·urd["میں", "میں-نے"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0518a 1. conditional particle: if (827×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† אֲנוּ pron. 1 pl. comm. we (common in postB. Heb.; cf. also Amh. እና ) pl. of אֲנִי (WSG 98), only Je 42:6 Kt. (אֲנַחְנוּ Qr).