יכול

Hebrew

Etymology

Possibly cognate with Arabic وَكَلَ (wakala, “to trust”), also found in Akkadian and Ethiopic, from Proto-Semitic *wakal-. Alternatively, Huehnergard and Olyan propose k-h-l as the proto-root.[1]

Root
י־כ־ל (y-k-l)

Pronunciation
  • (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA(key): /jaˈχol/
  • Audio(file)

Verb

יכול / יָכֹל • (yakhól) third-singular masculine past (pa'al construction)

  1. can, to be able to

Usage notes
  • הָיָה (hayá, “was”) is commonly added to the third-person singular past tense to differentiate it from the present tense: היה יכול / הָיָה יָכֹל (hayá yakhól) or יכול היה / יָכֹל הָיָה (yakhól hayá).

Conjugation
Conjugation of יכול \ יָכֹל (see also Appendix:Hebrew verbs)
non-finite forms
  • to-infinitive: לִהְיוֹת יָכוֹל
finite forms masculine
singular		 feminine
singular		 masculine
plural		 feminine
plural
past first person יכולתי \ יָכֹלְתִּי יכולנו \ יָכֹלְנוּ
second person יכולת \ יָכֹלְתָּ יכולת \ יָכֹלְתְּ יכולתם \ יְכָלְתֶּם יכולתן \ יְכָלְתֶּן
third person יכול \ יָכֹל יָכְלָה יָכְלוּ
present all persons יָכוֹל יְכוֹלָה יְכוֹלִים יְכוֹלוֹת
future first person אוּכַל נוּכַל
second person תּוּכַל תּוּכְלִי תּוּכְלוּ תּוּכַלְנָה1
third person יוּכַל תּוּכַל יוּכְלוּ תּוּכַלְנָה1
imperative second person – – – –1
notes
  1. Uncommon in modern informal Hebrew, but used in formal speech and writing.

Derived terms

References
  1. Huehnergard, J., & Olyan, S. M. (2013). The Etymology of Hebrew and Aramaic Ykl ‘to be able’. Journal of Semitic Studies, 58(1), 13-19.

Anagrams
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