![the Open Siddur Project [logo]](https://opensiddur.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Open-Siddur-Project-Logo-2016.svg){kind=logo}
Contributor(s):
Shared on:
Categories:
Tags:
Ḥad Gadya has a place in Seder tables throughout the Jewish world. This is all the more impressive considering it’s quite frankly written in bad Aramaic. From misconjugated verbs to Hebrew vocabulary, the author of the poem in its most common form clearly wasn’t particularly skilled in the language. Luckily, I am objectively a better person than him. (I kid, I kid!) Anyway this is an original version of Ḥad Gadya which has been fully Aramaicized, with all the Hebrew words removed and the verbs conjugated properly.
TOGGLE COLUMNS (on/off):ADJUST COLUMN POSITIONS: select the column header cell and drag it where you want. show me!COPY INDIVIDUAL COLUMN(S): use CopyTables, a browser extension.
| Source (Aramaic, uncorrected) | Translation (also Aramaic, but correct!) | Transliteration (romanized Aramaic) | Translation (English) |
|---|---|---|---|
חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
גַּדְיָא חֲדָא, גַּדְיָא חֲדָא דִּזְבֵין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי גַּדְיָא חֲדָא, גַּדְיָא חֲדָא |
Gaḏyå ḥăḏa, gaḏyå ḥăḏå Di-zḇēn abbå bi-ṯrē zuzē Gaḏyå ḥăḏa, gaḏyå ḥăḏå |
The one kid, the one kid That father bought for two denarii, The one kid, the one kid. |
וְאָתָא שֻׁנְרָא וְאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
וַאֲתָא שׁוּנָּרָא וַאֲכַל יָת־גַּדְיָא דִּזְבֵין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי גַּדְיָא חֲדָא, גַּדְיָא חֲדָא |
Va-ăṯå šunnårå Va-ăḵal yåṯ gaḏyå Di-zḇēn abbå bi-ṯrē zuzē Gaḏyå ḥăḏa, gaḏyå ḥăḏå |
And came the tomcat And he ate the kid That father bought for two denarii, The one kid, the one kid. |
וְאָתָא כַּלְבָּא וְנָשַׁךְ לְשֻׁנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
וַאֲתָא כַּלְבָּא וּנְכֵית לְשׁוּנָּרָא דַּאֲכַל יָת־גַּדְיָא דִּזְבֵין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי גַּדְיָא חֲדָא, גַּדְיָא חֲדָא |
Va-ăṯå kalbå U-nḵēt l-šunnårå Da-ăḵal yåṯ gaḏyå Di-zḇēn abbå bi-ṯrē zuzē Gaḏyå ḥăḏa, gaḏyå ḥăḏå |
And came the dog And he bit the tomcat That ate the kid That father bought for two denarii, The one kid, the one kid. |
וְאָתָא חֻטְרָא וְהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשֻׁנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
וַאֲתָא חוּטְרָא וּמְחֵי יָת־כַּלְבָּא דִּנְכֵית לְשׁוּנָּרָא דַּאֲכַל יָת־גַּדְיָא דִּזְבֵין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי גַּדְיָא חֲדָא, גַּדְיָא חֲדָא |
Va-ăṯå ḥuṭrå U-mḥē yåṯ kalbå Di-nḵēt l-šunnårå Da-ăḵal yåṯ gaḏyå Di-zḇēn abbå bi-ṯrē zuzē Gaḏyå ḥăḏa, gaḏyå ḥăḏå |
And came the staff And it struck the dog That bit the tomcat That ate the kid That father bought for two denarii, The one kid, the one kid. |
וְאָתָא נוּרָא וְשָׂרַף לְחֻטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשֻׁנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
וַאֲתָא נוּרָא וְאוֹקִיד יָת־חוּטְרָא דִּמְחֵי יָת־כַּלְבָּא דִּנְכֵית לְשׁוּנָּרָא דַּאֲכַל יָת־גַּדְיָא דִּזְבֵין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי גַּדְיָא חֲדָא, גַּדְיָא חֲדָא |
Va-ăṯå nurå V-oqiḏ yåṯ ḥuṭrå U-mḥē yåṯ kalbå Di-nḵēt l-šunnårå Da-ăḵal yåṯ gaḏyå Di-zḇēn abbå bi-ṯrē zuzē Gaḏyå ḥăḏa, gaḏyå ḥăḏå |
And came the fire And it set aflame the staff That struck the dog That bit the tomcat That ate the kid That father bought for two denarii, The one kid, the one kid. |
וְאָתָא מַיָּא וְכָבָה לְנוּרָא, דְּשָׂרַף לְחֻטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשֻׁנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
וַאֲתוֹ מַיָּא וְאַדְעִיכוּ יָת־נוּרָא דְּאוֹקִיד יָת־חוּטְרָא דִּמְחֵי יָת־כַּלְבָּא דִּנְכֵית לְשׁוּנָּרָא דַּאֲכַל יָת־גַּדְיָא דִּזְבֵין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי גַּדְיָא חֲדָא, גַּדְיָא חֲדָא |
Va-ăṯo mayyå V-aḏȝiḵu yåṯ nurå D-oqiḏ yåṯ ḥuṭrå Di-mḥē yåṯ kalbå Di-nḵēt l-šunnårå Da-ăḵal yåṯ gaḏyå Di-zḇēn abbå bi-ṯrē zuzē Gaḏyå ḥăḏa, gaḏyå ḥăḏå |
And came the waters And they extinguished the fire That set aflame the staff That struck the dog That bit the tomcat That ate the kid That father bought for two denarii, The one kid, the one kid. |
וְאָתָא תּוֹרָא וְשָׁתָא לְמַיָּא, דְּכָבָה לְנוּרָא, דְּשָׂרַף לְחֻטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשֻׁנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
וַאֲתָא תּוֹרָא וּשְׁתֵי יָת־מַיָּא דְּאַדְעִיכוּ יָת־נוּרָא דְּאוֹקִיד יָת־חוּטְרָא דִּמְחֵי יָת־כַּלְבָּא דִּנְכֵית לְשׁוּנָּרָא דַּאֲכַל יָת־גַּדְיָא דִּזְבֵין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי גַּדְיָא חֲדָא, גַּדְיָא חֲדָא |
Va-ăṯå torå U-šṯē yåṯ mayyå D-aḏȝiḵu yåṯ nurå D-oqiḏ yåṯ ḥuṭrå Di-mḥē yåṯ kalbå Di-nḵēt l-šunnårå Da-ăḵal yåṯ gaḏyå Di-zḇēn abbå bi-ṯrē zuzē Gaḏyå ḥăḏa, gaḏyå ḥăḏå |
And came the bull And he drank the waters That extinguished the fire That set aflame the staff That struck the dog That bit the tomcat That ate the kid That father bought for two denarii, The one kid, the one kid. |
וְאָתָא הַשּׁוֹחֵט וְשָׁחַט לְתוֹרָא, דְּשָׁתָא לְמַיָּא, דְּכָבָה לְנוּרָא, דְּשָׂרַף לְחֻטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשֻׁנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
וַאֲתָא טַבָּחָא וּנְכֵיס יָת־תּוֹרָא דִּשְׁתֵי יָת־מַיָּא דְּאַדְעִיכוּ יָת־נוּרָא דְּאוֹקִיד יָת־חוּטְרָא דִּמְחֵי יָת־כַּלְבָּא דִּנְכֵית לְשׁוּנָּרָא דַּאֲכַל יָת־גַּדְיָא דִּזְבֵין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי גַּדְיָא חֲדָא, גַּדְיָא חֲדָא |
Va-ăṯå ṭabbåḥå U-nḵēs yåṯ torå Di-šṯē yåṯ mayyå D-aḏȝiḵu yåṯ nurå D-oqiḏ yåṯ ḥuṭrå Di-mḥē yåṯ kalbå Di-nḵēt l-šunnårå Da-ăḵal yåṯ gaḏyå Di-zḇēn abbå bi-ṯrē zuzē Gaḏyå ḥăḏa, gaḏyå ḥăḏå |
And came the butcher And he slaughtered the bull That drank the waters That extinguished the fire That set aflame the staff That struck the dog That bit the tomcat That ate the kid That father bought for two denarii, The one kid, the one kid. |
וְאָתָא מַלְאַךְ־הַמָּ֫וֶת וְשָׁחַט לְשׁוֹחֵט, דְּשָׁחַט לְתוֹרָא, דְּשָׁתָא לְמַיָּא, דְּכָבָה לְנוּרָא, דְּשָׂרַף לְחֻטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשֻׁנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
וַאֲתָא מַלְאֲכָא דְּמוֹתָא וּנְכֵיס יָת־טַבָּחָא דִּנְכֵיס יָת־תּוֹרָא דִּשְׁתֵי יָת־מַיָּא דְּאַדְעִיכוּ יָת־נוּרָא דְּאוֹקִיד יָת־חוּטְרָא דִּמְחֵי יָת־כַּלְבָּא דִּנְכֵית לְשׁוּנָּרָא דַּאֲכַל יָת־גַּדְיָא דִּזְבֵין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי גַּדְיָא חֲדָא, גַּדְיָא חֲדָא |
Va-ăṯå mal’ăḵa d-moṯa U-nḵēs yåṯ ṭabbåḥå Di-nḵēs yåṯ torå Di-šṯē yåṯ mayyå D-aḏȝiḵu yåṯ nurå D-oqiḏ yåṯ ḥuṭrå Di-mḥē yåṯ kalbå Di-nḵēt l-šunnårå Da-ăḵal yåṯ gaḏyå Di-zḇēn abbå bi-ṯrē zuzē Gaḏyå ḥăḏa, gaḏyå ḥăḏå |
And came the angel of death And he slaughtered the butcher That slaughtered the bull That drank the waters That extinguished the fire That set aflame the staff That struck the dog That bit the tomcat That ate the kid That father bought for two denarii, The one kid, the one kid. |
וְאָתָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא וְשָׁחַט לְמַלְאַךְ־הַמָּ֫וֶת דְּשָׁחַט לְשׁוֹחֵט, דְּשָׁחַט לְתוֹרָא, דְּשָׁתָא לְמַיָּא, דְּכָבָה לְנוּרָא, דְּשָׂרַף לְחֻטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשֻׁנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
וַאֲתָא קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא וּנְכֵיס יָת־מַלְאֲכָא דְּמוֹתָא דִּנְכֵיס יָת־טַבָּחָא דִּנְכֵיס יָת־תּוֹרָא דִּשְׁתֵי יָת־מַיָּא דְּאַדְעִיכוּ יָת־נוּרָא דְּאוֹקִיד יָת־חוּטְרָא דִּמְחֵי יָת־כַּלְבָּא דִּנְכֵית לְשׁוּנָּרָא דַּאֲכַל יָת־גַּדְיָא דִּזְבֵין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי גַּדְיָא חֲדָא, גַּדְיָא חֲדָא |
Va-ăṯå Quḏšå Briḵ Hu U-nḵēs yåṯ mal’ăḵa d-moṯa Di-nḵēs yåṯ ṭabbåḥå Di-nḵēs yåṯ torå Di-šṯē yåṯ mayyå D-aḏȝiḵu yåṯ nurå D-oqiḏ yåṯ ḥuṭrå Di-mḥē yåṯ kalbå Di-nḵēt l-šunnårå Da-ăḵal yåṯ gaḏyå Di-zḇēn abbå bi-ṯrē zuzē Gaḏyå ḥăḏa, gaḏyå ḥăḏå |
And came the Holy Blessed One And he slaughtered the angel of death That slaughtered the butcher That slaughtered the bull That drank the waters That extinguished the fire That set aflame the staff That struck the dog That bit the tomcat That ate the kid That father bought for two denarii, The one kid, the one kid. |
This is a translation of Ḥad Gadya into actual Aramaic by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (“with all the Hebrew words removed and the verbs conjugated properly”).
The earliest known appearance of “Ḥad Gadya,” by an unknown author, can be found, handwritten, in the Prague Haggadah (1526). The uncorrected source Aramaic has been vocalized according to the Prague Haggadah (1590). –Aharon N. Varady
“גַּדְיָא חֲדָא | חַד גַּדְיָא (Gaḏyå Ḥăḏa) — a version of Ḥad Gadya for Grammarians and Other Insufferable Pedants, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
Unknown Author(s)
Stable Link:
https://opensiddur.org/?p=54211
Associated Image:
“It is Aramaic!” (a meme derived from a screenshot of Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975 by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer)(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in category lists and in shared links on social media.)
Terms of Use:
Be a mentsch (a conscientious, considerate person) and adhere to the following guidelines:
- Properly attribute the work to Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) and Unknown Author(s).
- Clearly indicate the date you accessed the work and in what ways, if any, you modified it. (If you have adapted the work, let us know so that the contributor might consider endorsing your revision.)
- Provide the stable link to this resource: <https://opensiddur.org/?p=54211>.
- Indicate that the original work was shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license. (To redistribute or remix this work in any format, modified or unmodified, you must refer to the terms of the license under which the work is shared.)
Note:
The views expressed in this work represent the views of their creator(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Open Siddur Project's developers, its diverse community of contributors, patrons, or institutional partners.
Support this work:
The Open Siddur Project is a volunteer-driven, non-profit, non-denominational, non-prescriptive, gratis & libre Open Access archive of contemplative praxes, liturgical readings, and Jewish prayer literature (historic and contemporary, familiar and obscure) composed in every era, region, and language Jews have ever prayed. Our goal is to provide a platform for sharing open-source resources, tools, and content for individuals and communities crafting their own prayerbook (siddur). Through this we hope to empower personal autonomy, preserve customs, and foster creativity in religious culture. If you like what you've found here, please help keep our project alive and online with your financial contribution.
ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17
!["Some of the Farmer's Goats" [in Gondar, Ethiopia] (credit: Den Merino, license: CC BY-ND)](https://opensiddur.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Some-of-the-Farmers-Goats-Den-Merino-CC-BY-ND-250x250.jpg)
Comments, Corrections, and Queries