l'chaim

Edit

Pronunciations

l'chaim (leh-KHAH-yem) listen
l'chaim (leh-KHYE-yeem) listen

Record a Pronunciation

Definitions

  • interj. 'Cheers'; a traditional toast exclaimed before drinking.

  • n. An engagement celebration with the engaged couple's family and friends.

Example Sentences

  • "L’chaim is for the night they get engaged, after he proposes, and for immediate family only. So both sides can get to know each other. The vort is usually a week or two weeks later for the gantzeh velt." (source)

  • "Although I couldn’t understand everything the Rebbe was saying, I did understand that he was urging everyone to love their fellow Jews. And when he said l’chaim, it felt to me as if he was saying l’chaim to me alone." (source)

Record a Sentence

Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish
  • Modern Hebrew

Etymology

  • TH לחיים, lit. 'to life' > Y לחײם lekháim, MH לחיים lekhaím

      • Who Uses This

      • Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements
      • Non-Jews: (words that have spread outside of Jewish networks)

      Regions

      • North America
      • Australia / New Zealand
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
      • View More

      Alternative Spellings

      lechaim, l'khaim, lekhaim, l'chayim, l'khayim, lekhayim, lechayim

Notes

  • At a celebration such as a wedding where many toasts are given, it is customary to exclaim "l'chaim" before drinking.

    See also vort.

Edit     Something missing from this entry? Inaccurate? Feel free to suggest an edit.