chas v'sholom

Alternative Spellings

chas v'shalom, khas vesholem, chas v'sholem

Definitions

• "heaven forbid" (Glinert)

Example Sentences

• "What if, chas v'sholem, my son gets sick?"

Languages of Origin

Textual Hebrew, Yiddish

Etymology

חס ושלום

Who Uses This

Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

Regions

North America, Great Britain

Dictionaries

Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).