Tombstone inscription translator
Paste a Hebrew gravestone inscription to expand its abbreviations inline and read the Hebrew-dated year against the Gregorian calendar. Browse 60 common abbreviations and honorific phrases below.
פ״נ ר׳ יעקב בן אברהם נפטר ביום ג׳ בשנת תשפ״ז לפ״ק תנצב״ה
פ״נ · פֹּה נִקְבַּר (po nikbar): Here is buried · Opens many stones for a man; the feminine is פ״נ קבורה, "here is buried" (f).
ר׳ · רֶבִּי (rebbi): Mr., an honorific title
בן · בֵּן (ben): Son of
נפטר · נִפְטַר (niftar): Passed away (male)
ביום · בְּיוֹם (beyom): On the day
בשנת · בִּשְׁנַת (bishnat): In the year
לפ״ק · לִפְרַט קָטָן (lifrat katan): By the small reckoning · Marks that the year is written without its thousands digit, as almost all Hebrew dates are; see the date section below.
תנצב״ה · תְּהִי נִשְׁמָתוֹ צְרוּרָה בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים (tehi nishmato tzerurah bitzror hachayim): May his soul be bound in the bond of life · Almost always closes the stone; for a woman the pronoun changes to נִשְׁמָתָהּ.
| Form | Full | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פ״נ | פֹּה נִקְבַּר | po nikbar | Here is buried Opens many stones for a man; the feminine is פ״נ קבורה, "here is buried" (f). | |
| פ״ט | פֹּה טָמוּן | po tamun | Here is hidden/interred | |
| תנצב״ה | תְּהִי נִשְׁמָתוֹ צְרוּרָה בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים | tehi nishmato tzerurah bitzror hachayim | May his soul be bound in the bond of life Almost always closes the stone; for a woman the pronoun changes to נִשְׁמָתָהּ. | |
| ז״ל | זִכְרוֹנוֹ לִבְרָכָה | zichrono livrachah | Of blessed memory For a woman: זכרונה לברכה (zichronah livrachah). | |
| ע״ה | עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם | alav hashalom | Peace be upon him For a woman: עליה השלום (aleha hashalom). | |
| נ״ע | נִשְׁמָתוֹ עֵדֶן | nishmato eden | His soul is in Eden | |
| ר׳ | רֶבִּי | rebbi | Mr., an honorific title | |
| ב״ר | בֶּן רֶבִּי | ben rebbi | Son of Mr. | |
| הר״ר | הָרַב רֶבִּי | harav rebbi | The rabbi, Mr. | |
| מו״ה | מוֹרֵנוּ הָרַב | moreinu harav | Our teacher, the rabbi | |
| האשה | הָאִשָּׁה | ha'ishah | The woman | |
| מרת | מָרַת | marat | Mrs., the lady | |
| נפטר | נִפְטַר | niftar | Passed away (male) | |
| נפטרה | נִפְטְרָה | niftrah | Passed away (female) | |
| נולד | נוֹלַד | nolad | Was born | |
| ביום | בְּיוֹם | beyom | On the day | |
| בשנת | בִּשְׁנַת | bishnat | In the year | |
| לפ״ק | לִפְרַט קָטָן | lifrat katan | By the small reckoning Marks that the year is written without its thousands digit, as almost all Hebrew dates are; see the date section below. | |
| ה׳ | חֲמֵשֶׁת אֲלָפִים | chameshet alafim | Five thousand When it prefixes a year it stands for the omitted thousands (5000+); on its own in a blessing it can also abbreviate Hashem, "the Name". Context decides which. | |
| ש״ץ | שְׁלִיחַ צִבּוּר | shli'ach tzibur | Prayer leader | |
| הכהן | הַכֹּהֵן | hakohen | The priest, of priestly descent | |
| הלוי | הַלֵּוִי | halevi | The Levite | |
| כ״ץ | כֹּהֵן צֶדֶק | kohen tzedek | Righteous priest Also a common surname (Katz) built from this acronym. | |
| סג״ל | סְגָן לְוִיָּה | segan leviyah | Deputy of the Levites Also a common surname (Segal) built from this acronym. | |
| בת | בַּת | bat | Daughter of | |
| בן | בֵּן | ben | Son of | |
| אשת | אֵשֶׁת | eshet | Wife of | |
| אלמנת | אַלְמָנַת | almanat | Widow of | |
| הבחור | הַבָּחוּר | habachur | The young man, bachelor | |
| הילד | הַיֶּלֶד | hayeled | The child | |
| הזקן | הַזָּקֵן | hazaken | The elder | |
| יצ״ו | יִשְׁמְרֵהוּ צוּרוֹ וְיוֹשִׁיעֵהוּ | yishmerehu tzuro veyoshi'ehu | May his Rock guard and save him Used after the name of someone still living, for example a surviving relative mentioned on a stone. | |
| שליט״א | שֶׁיִּחְיֶה לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִים טוֹבִים אָמֵן | sheyichyeh le'orech yamim tovim amen | May he live a long and good life, amen Also used after the name of a living, usually senior, person. | |
| זצ״ל | זֵכֶר צַדִּיק לִבְרָכָה | zecher tzadik livrachah | May the memory of the righteous be a blessing Reserved for a deceased rabbi or other especially respected figure. | |
| זי״ע | זְכוּתוֹ יָגֵן עָלֵינוּ | zechuto yagen aleinu | May his merit shield us | |
| הי״ד | הַשֵּׁם יִקּוֹם דָּמוֹ | hashem yikom damo | May God avenge his blood Used for a martyr; for a woman, דָּמָהּ (damah). | |
| ה״י | הַשֵּׁם יִנְקוֹם | hashem yinkom | May God avenge A shorter variant of ה״ד, also used for a martyr. | |
| אבינו | אָבִינוּ | avinu | Our father | |
| אמנו | אִמֵּנוּ | imeinu | Our mother | |
| איש חיל | אִישׁ חַיִל | ish chayil | A man of valor | |
| אשת חיל | אֵשֶׁת חַיִל | eshet chayil | A woman of valor The opening words of Proverbs 31, common on a woman's stone. | |
| מצבה | מַצֵּבָה | matzevah | Tombstone, monument | |
| בית עולם | בֵּית עוֹלָם | beit olam | Cemetery Literally "eternal home," a euphemism for a cemetery. | |
| בית החיים | בֵּית הַחַיִּים | beit hachayim | Cemetery Literally "house of the living," another common euphemism. | |
| נשמתו | נִשְׁמָתוֹ | nishmato | His soul | |
| נשמתה | נִשְׁמָתָהּ | nishmatah | Her soul | |
| הלך לעולמו | הָלַךְ לְעוֹלָמוֹ | halach le'olamo | He went to his eternal world | |
| הלכה לעולמה | הָלְכָה לְעוֹלָמָהּ | halchah le'olamah | She went to her eternal world | |
| נח על משכבו | נָח עַל מִשְׁכָּבוֹ | nach al mishkavo | He rests in his resting place | |
| לבית | לְבֵית | leveit | Née, of the house of Precedes a woman's maiden family name. | |
| כ״ק | כְּבוֹד קְדֻשָּׁתוֹ | kevod kedushato | His holy honor An honorific reserved for a rebbe or similarly revered figure. | |
| אדמו״ר | אֲדוֹנֵנוּ מוֹרֵנוּ וְרַבֵּנוּ | adoneinu moreinu verabeinu | Our master, our teacher, and our rabbi The title used for a Hasidic rebbe. | |
| הרה״ג | הָרַב הַגָּאוֹן | harav hagaon | The rabbi, the genius | |
| זצוק״ל | זֵכֶר צַדִּיק וְקָדוֹשׁ לִבְרָכָה | zecher tzadik vekadosh livrachah | May the memory of the holy righteous be a blessing A more elevated form of זצ״ל, used for the especially revered. | |
| ר״ת | רָאשֵׁי תֵּבוֹת | roshei teivot | An acronym The general Hebrew term for an abbreviation built from initial letters, like most of the entries on this page. | |
| מנוחתו כבוד | מְנוּחָתוֹ כָבוֹד | menuchato chavod | His resting place is honor Echoes Isaiah 11:10. | |
| הצנועה | הַצְּנוּעָה | hatzenu'ah | The modest woman | |
| הרבנית | הָרַבָּנִית | harabanit | The rebbetzin, a rabbi's wife | |
| עטרת בעלה | עֲטֶרֶת בַּעְלָהּ | ateret ba'lah | The crown of her husband From Proverbs 12:4, common on a married woman's stone. | |
| איש תם וישר | אִישׁ תָּם וְיָשָׁר | ish tam veyashar | A simple and upright man Echoes the description of Job. |
Reading a matzevah
A Jewish gravestone (matzevah) usually opens with an abbreviation announcing burial (פ״נ or פ״ט), gives the person's name and often their father's or husband's name, states the date of death and sometimes birth, and closes with תנצב״ה. Honorific abbreviations before or after a name (ר׳, ז״ל, ע״ה, and for the especially revered, זצ״ל) mark respect and, in the case of ה״י and הי״ד, that the death was a martyrdom.
Dates are the part most people get stuck on, because Hebrew has no separate numerals: letters carry the value, and a year is conventionally written without its thousands digit under the לפ״ק (lifrat katan) convention. A day is usually introduced with בְּיוֹם, a month name follows, and the year with בִּשְׁנַת, so a full date reads roughly "on the day [n], [month], in the year [n]."