Hava Nagila: the lyrics, the translation and why the whole world sings it
Hava Nagila (הָבָה נָגִילָה, "let us rejoice") is the song everybody has heard at a Jewish wedding and almost nobody can translate. It is short — three sentences repeated — which makes it the easiest possible first Hebrew song: nine words carry the whole thing, and every one of them is a real, useful verb form.
The lyrics, line by line
Read the Hebrew from right to left, use the transliteration to sing, then check the meaning. The stress falls on the last syllable of nagila, nasisa and nismecha.
- הָבָה נָגִילָה — hava nagila — let us rejoice
- הָבָה נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה — hava nagila venismecha — let us rejoice and be glad
- הָבָה נָרִיעָה — hava nari'a — let us sing out / shout for joy
- הָבָה נָרִיעָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה — hava nari'a venismecha — let us sing out and be glad
- עוּרוּ אַחִים בְּלֵב שָׂמֵחַ — uru achim belev sameach — awake, brothers, with a joyful heart
What the grammar teaches you
Hava is an invitation: "come, let us". Everything after it is first-person plural future — nagila (we will rejoice), nari'a (we will shout), nismecha (we will be glad). Learn that pattern and you can already say nelech (let's go), nokhal (let's eat), neshev (let's sit).
Uru is a plural imperative: "wake up!". Achim means brothers, and belev sameach is literally "with a happy heart" — the same word sameach you hear in chag sameach, happy holiday.
Where the song comes from
The melody is a Hasidic nigun from Sadigura in Eastern Europe. Around 1918 the musicologist Abraham Zvi Idelsohn, working in Jerusalem, set Hebrew words to it — words drawn from Psalm 118: "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." That is why the lyrics feel biblical: they nearly are.
From there it travelled with Jewish immigrants everywhere, was recorded by Harry Belafonte, and became the default "Jewish song" at weddings and bar mitzvahs worldwide — usually danced as a hora, in a circle, speeding up verse by verse.
How to actually learn it
Sing it slowly once with the transliteration, then again at wedding speed. Because the text repeats, you get five or six passes at the same nine words inside two minutes, which is exactly the kind of repetition vocabulary needs. When you can sing Hava Nagila without looking, move to a full-length song — Yerushalayim Shel Zahav is the natural next step, and on Shir-ly the lyrics highlight word by word as the music plays, with nikud, transliteration and translation in your language.
Frequently asked questions
What does Hava Nagila mean in English?
"Let us rejoice." The full opening line, hava nagila venismecha, means "let us rejoice and be glad".
Is Hava Nagila a religious song?
Not exactly. The melody is a Hasidic nigun and the words echo Psalm 118, but the song itself is a secular celebration song used at weddings and parties.
Who wrote Hava Nagila?
The Hebrew words are credited to Abraham Zvi Idelsohn around 1918; the melody is an older Eastern European Hasidic tune with no known composer.
Is Hava Nagila good for a Hebrew beginner?
It is the best possible starting point: nine words, heavy repetition, and a first-person plural future pattern you will reuse in everyday speech.