גַּדְיָא חֲדָא | חַד גַּדְיָא (Gaḏyå Ḥăḏa) — a version of Ḥad Gadya for Grammarians and Other Insufferable Pedants, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributor(s): Unknown Author(s) and Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)

Shared on: 14 February 2024 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

Categories: Nirtsah

Tags: 16th century C.E., 21st century C.E., 53rd century A.M., 58th century A.M., Aramaic, חד גדיא Ḥad Gadya, פיוטים piyyutim, predation, salvation, זמירות zemirot

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.

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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

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“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.

Unknown Author(s)

Sometimes the best we can do in attributing a historical work is to indicate the period and place it was written, the first prayer book it may have been printed in, or the archival collection in which the manuscript was found. We invite the public to help to attribute all works to their original composers. If you know something not mentioned in the commentary offered, please leave a comment or contact us.

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)

From a family of musicians, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer believes that creative art is one of the most powerful ways to get in touch with the divine. He composes music and poetry in Hebrew and English. (He also authors his own original works and transcribes Hebrew and Aramaic text, adding niqqud and t'amim as needed.) Isaac runs a Jewish music transcription service, which will transcribe and set any Jewish music in any language, recorded or written. Contact his service on Facebook or via his music blog.

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חַד גַּדְיָא | Hād-ĕi Gădìyă (הַ֨דֵ֬י גַ֬דִ֖יַ֬א) — a Tărgŭn Bìyènlìyén Dì translation of Ḥad Gadya derived from an alternate timeline by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

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חַד גַּדְיָא | Kizzum Ištēn — an Akkadian translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

ib wa (Isaac Gantwerk Mayer 2023) - featured image

חַד גַּדְיָא | Jb Wꜥ | Ib wa (יב וע) — a Middle Egyptian translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

"Cultural Gothic" by Paul McCarthy (1992, photo credit- Hrag Vartanian, CC BY)

חַד גַּדְיָא | 𐌰𐌹𐌽 𐌲𐌰𐌹𐍄𐌴𐌹𐌽 | Ain Gaitein (ען גּעטיִן) — a Gothic translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Back and white baby goats, zwart wit baby geitjes (Mirjam Griffioen 2022). This artwork was used in a set of official Curaçao goat-themed postage stamps

חַד גַּדְיָא | Un Kabritu (אוע קַאברִיטו) — a Papiamentu translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Hairy black and white goat right next to the road in the eastern fjords on Iceland (credit: Christine und David Schmitt, license: CC BY)

חַד גַּדְיָא | ᛂᛁᚿᚿ᛫ᚴᛁᚧᛚᛁᚶᚱ᛬ | Einn Kiðlingr (עַין֘ קידֿלינגר) — an Old Norse translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

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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