Zaken (זקן) means old in Hebrew.
It can also mean elder. It is an adjective, and the Hebrew dictionary's own definitions are below.
old, elder
The stress falls on the part in bold.
The dictionary gives 3 meanings for Zaken.
The definitions are in Hebrew, as the dictionary writes them.
- 1בא בימים; מי שחי שנים רבות.
וַתִּצְחַק שָׂרָה בְּקִרְבָּהּ, לֵאמֹר – אַחֲרֵי בְלֹתִי, הָיְתָה־לִּי עֶדְנָה; וַאדֹנִי, זָקֵן?
- 2איש חכם, איש אשכולות; לעתים קרובות מתייחס לאדם בעל מעמד חברתי המשתתף במועצה עממית בעלת תוקף ריבונית.
וַיֹּאמְרוּ זִקְנֵי גִלְעָד אֶל-יִפְתָּח, לָכֵן עַתָּה שַׁבְנוּ אֵלֶיךָ, וְהָלַכְתָּ עִמָּנוּ, וְנִלְחַמְתָּ בִּבְנֵי עַמּוֹן; וְהָיִיתָ לָּנוּ לְרֹאשׁ, לְכֹל יֹשְׁבֵי גִלְעָד.
- 3אבי האב או האם.
The verses are quoted from the Hebrew Bible, with the word in bold.
The word Zaken is an adjective.
- Written with vowel points
- זָקֵן
- Written without vowel points
- זקן
- Said
- zaken
- Root
- ז־ק־נ
- Pattern
- קָטֵל
- Plural
- זְקֵנִים
- Feminine form
- זְקֵנָה
- Inflections
- נ' זְקֵנָה, זִקְנַת־; ר' זְקֵנִים, זִקְנֵי־; זְקַן־; נ"ר זְקֵנוֹת
- Gematria
- 157
This is how Zaken is said in other languages.
- English
- old, elder
- Arabic
- مسن, شيخ, عجوز
- Russian
- старый, пожило́й
- French
- vieux
- Spanish
- viejo, anciano
- German
- alt
- Yiddish
- אַלט, זקן
These words mean nearly the same as Zaken.
- בא בימיםold
- חתיארgeezer
- ישיש
- מתושלח
- סב
- סבא
- קשישelderly
A word with a dashed border has no page of its own in this dictionary yet.
These words mean the opposite of Zaken.
A word with a dashed border has no page of its own in this dictionary yet.
These words rhyme with Zaken.
The word Zaken is part of these phrases and sayings.
- אשמאי זקן
- והדרת פני זקן
- זקן השבט
- זקן ורגיל
- זקן ממרה
- זקנה בלה
- שמחת זקנתי
- תרח זקן
A word with a dashed border has no page of its own in this dictionary yet.
The word Zaken comes from the root ז־ק־נ, like these words.
These words come before and after Zaken in the dictionary.
These are the questions people ask about the word Zaken.
What does Zaken (זקן) mean in Hebrew?
Zaken (זקן) means old and elder. It is said zaken, with the stress on ken.
What is a synonym for Zaken (זקן)?
Words that mean nearly the same as Zaken (זקן) are בא בימים, חתיאר, ישיש, מתושלח, סב, and סבא.
What is the opposite of Zaken (זקן)?
Words that mean the opposite of Zaken (זקן) are צעיר, נער, and ילד.
What rhymes with Zaken (זקן)?
Words that rhyme with Zaken (זקן) include בן, שן, התקן, כן, מאפיין, and בין.
The definitions, pronunciation, synonyms and translations on this page are adapted from the entry זקן of the Hebrew Wiktionary, read on 1 November 2026, and are shared under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.