Hatikvah lyrics & English translation
התקווה
The Hope — The National Anthem of Israel, 1878. Words by Naftali Herz Imber. Below you get the full Hebrew lyrics with nikud, a Latin transliteration and an English translation of every line, plus the words worth memorising.
Sing it karaoke-styleThe story behind the song
Hatikvah — 'The Hope' — began as a poem written by Naftali Herz Imber in 1878, set to a melody rooted in an old European folk tune. It became the anthem of the Zionist movement and, in 1948, the national anthem of Israel. Its message is simple: after two thousand years, the hope of returning home was never lost.
Full lyrics, line by line
- כָּל עוֹד בַּלֵּבָב פְּנִימָהKol od balevav penimaAs long as within the heart
- נֶפֶשׁ יְהוּדִי הוֹמִיָּהNefesh Yehudi homiyaA Jewish soul still yearns
- וּלְפַאֲתֵי מִזְרָח קָדִימָהUlefa'atei mizrach kadimaAnd toward the eastern edges, forward
- עַיִן לְצִיּוֹן צוֹפִיָּהAyin leTziyon tzofiyaAn eye gazes toward Zion
- עוֹד לֹא אָבְדָה תִּקְוָתֵנוּOd lo avda tikvatenuOur hope is not yet lost
- הַתִּקְוָה בַּת שְׁנוֹת אַלְפַּיִםHatikva bat shnot alpayimThe hope of two thousand years
- לִהְיוֹת עַם חָפְשִׁי בְּאַרְצֵנוּLihyot am chofshi be'artzenuTo be a free people in our land
- אֶרֶץ צִיּוֹן וִירוּשָׁלַיִםEretz Tziyon viYerushalayimThe land of Zion and Jerusalem
- להיות עם חופשי בארצנוLihyot am chofshi be'artzenuTo be a free people in our land
- ארץ ציון וירושליםEretz Tziyon viYerushalayimThe land of Zion and Jerusalem
Words from this song
- לֵבָבheart
- פְּנִימָהinside
- נֶפֶשׁsoul
- יְהוּדִיa Jew / Jewish
- הוֹמִיָּהyearns / stirs
- מִזְרָחeast
- קָדִימָהforward
- עַיִןeye
- צוֹפִיָּהgazes / watches
- אָבְדָהwas lost
- תִּקְוָהhope
- שָׁנָהyear
- אַלְפַּיִםtwo thousand
- עַםpeople / nation
About The National Anthem of Israel
Naftali Herz Imber was born in Zolochiv, Galicia (today Ukraine), into a traditional Jewish family. A restless, bohemian poet, he wandered between Europe, Ottoman Palestine, London and finally New York.
In 1878 he wrote the poem 'Tikvatenu' ('Our Hope'), nine stanzas long, inspired by the founding of Petah Tikva — one of the first modern Jewish farming villages in the Land of Israel.