Rosh Hasannah is the Jewish New Year term, typically referring to the festival's name in Hebrew. As a proper noun used in religious and cultural contexts, it denotes the start of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar, celebrated with prayers, reflection, and festive meals. The phrase combines two Hebrew components meaning “head” and “year,” and is commonly rendered in English as a two-word name.
"We studied the customs of Rosh Hasannah at the synagogue today."
"During Rosh Hasannah, many families gather for festive meals and prayers."
"The rabbi explained the traditions of Rosh Hasannah and the significance of the shofar."
"Our calendar lists Rosh Hasannah as a major holiday in the fall."
Rosh Hasannah derives from Hebrew. Rosh (ראש) means ‘head’ or ‘beginning,’ and Hasannah is a form related to Hashanah (הַשָּׁנָה), meaning ‘the year’ or ‘year.’ The phrase appears in classical and liturgical Hebrew, referring to the start of the year and the sacred month of Tishrei. In Hebrew, the construct phrase typically takes the form ראש השנה (Rosh HaShanah) with a definite article assimilation in some spellings, though English renderings often drop the Hebrew diacritics. The term was adopted into English usage through translations of Jewish liturgical calendars and rabbinic writing from the medieval to modern periods. First known usages appear in English-language Jewish communities as they engaged with Hebrew calendar terms during prayer books, sermons, and educational texts. Over time, “Rosh Hashannah/Hashanah/Hashanah” has been normalized into common English spellings, with “Rosh Hashanah” being prevalent in most English-language media, dictionaries, and religious instruction. The variant spellings reflect transliteration choices from Hebrew vowels, but the pronunciation remains anchored to Hebrew phonology. The phrase embodies a timeless tradition while adapting to contemporary linguistic contexts in diasporic communities and scholarly writing alike.
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Words that rhyme with "Rosh Hasannah"
-osh sounds
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Pronounce as ROHSH hah-SHAH-nah (US/UK). IPA: US: ˈroʊʃ həˈʃə.nə; UK: ˈrɒʃ həˈʃɑː.nə; AU: ˈroʊʃ həˈʃəːnə. Emphasize the first syllable of the second word.
Common errors: flattening the second word’s stress (ha-SHA-nah) toward ROSh; mispronouncing the voiceless phoneticians: confuse sh with s; misplacing the final -nah vowel. Correction: ensure Has-anah has secondary stress on the -SHA- and a clear final -nah with a light schwa before the final a.
US tends to pronounce ROHSH as /roʊʃ/ with a clear long o, ha- with a schwa, and -nah as nə. UK uses /rɒʃ/ with a shorter vowel in the first syllable, and AU shares the US vowel tendencies but with a slightly broader intonation. The final -nah often uses a more open a in Australian English.
Because it blends Hebrew phonology into English: the initial roʃ requires tapping or trilling r in some speakers, the HasHanah stressed on the sha- syllable, and the final -nah includes a reduced vowel; the two-word pairing in English sometimes shifts stress, leading to misplacement.
The two-word phrase often reduces the Hebrew definite article assimilation in casual speech; the second word Hasannah includes a two-syllable -ha·SHA·nah with secondary stress on SHA. You’ll hear some people compress the final -nah to -nuh in fast speech, but careful articulation keeps -nah clearly audible.
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