hallelujah

English

Alternative forms

• halleluia, halleluiah, halleluja, alleluia

Etymology

From Hebrew הַלְלוּיָהּ (hal'luyáh, “Praise Yah”).

Pronunciation

• (General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌhæl.əˈl(j)uː.jə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: hal‧le‧lu‧jah

Interjection

hallelujah

1. An exclamation used in songs of praise or thanksgiving to God.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 19:1, column 2:

     AND after theſe things I heard a great voyce of much people in heauen, ſaying, Alleluia: ſaluation, and glorie, and honour, and power vnto the Lord our God:

2. (by extension) A general expression of gratitude or adoration.

   Hallelujah! It’s finally the weekend!

Derived terms

• hallelujah lass

Translations

exclamation to praise God

• Aghwan: 𐔰𐔾𐔶𐔾𐕒𐕡𐔺𐔰 (alēluya)
• Amharic: ሃሌሉያ (haleluya)
• Arabic: هَلِّلُويَا (hallilūyā) (Christian), هَلُولِيَا (halūliyā), الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ (al-ḥamdu lillāhi) (general)
• Aramaic:

  Syriac: ܗܲܠܹܠܘܼܝܵܐ (hallēlūyā)

• Armenian: ալելուիա (hy) (aleluia)
• Belarusian: алілу́я (alilúja)
• Bulgarian: алелу́я (alelúja), алилу́я (bg) (alilúja)
• Catalan: al·leluia (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 哈利路亞／哈利路亚 (haa¹ lei¹ lu¹ jaa⁴, haa¹ li¹ lu¹ jaa⁴)

  Hakka: 哈利路亞／哈利路亚 (hâ-li-lu-yá)

  Hokkien: ha-lé-lú-iah

  Mandarin: 哈利路亞／哈利路亚 (zh) (hālìlùyà), 阿利路亞／阿利路亚 (ālìlùyà), 阿肋路亞／阿肋路亚 (ālèlùyà) (Catholic)

• Czech: aleluja, halejuja
• Danish: halleluja
• Dutch: hallelujah, alleluja (nl), halleluja (nl)
• Esperanto: haleluja (eo)
• Estonian: halleluuja (et)
• Finnish: halleluja (fi)
• French: alléluia (fr)
• Georgian: ალილუია (aliluia)
• German: halleluja (de)
• Greek: αλληλούια (el) (alliloúia)

  Ancient: ἀλληλούϊα (allēloúïa)

• Hebrew: הַלְּלוּיָהּ (he) (hallelúyah)
• Hindi: हलिलुय (haliluy)
• Hungarian: alleluja (hu)
• Icelandic: hallelúja
• Indonesian: haleluya (id)
• Interlingua: alleluia
• Irish: aililiú
• Italian: alleluia (it)
• Japanese: ハレルヤ (hareruya)
• Kannada: ಹಲ್ಲೆಲೂಯಾ (hallelūyā)
• Khmer: ហាលេលូយ៉ា (haaleiluuyaa)
• Korean: 할렐루야 (hallelluya)
• Latin: allelūia
• Lingala: aleluya
• Lisu: ꓧ-ꓡꓲ-ꓡꓴ-ꓬ (xɑ-li-lu-jɑ)
• Lithuanian: aleliùja
• Lombard: alleluia
• Macedonian: алелу̀ја (alelùja)
• Malay: hallelujah, halleluyah, alleluia
• Malayalam: ഹല്ലേലൂയ (hallēlūya)
• Maori: hareruia
• Nias: haleluya
• Norwegian: halleluja

  Nynorsk: halleluja

• Persian: هله‌لویا (hale-luya)
• Polish: alleluja (pl), hosanna (pl)
• Portuguese: aleluia (pt)
• Romanian: aliluia (ro) (used by the Orthodox Church), aleluia (ro) (used by Catholics and Protestants)
• Russian: аллилу́йя (ru) (allilújja), сла́ва бо́гу (ru) (sláva bógu), ура́ (ru) (urá)
• Sardinian: alleluia, allelujah, halleluyah
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: алелуја

  Roman: aleluja (sh)

• Slovak: aleluja (sk), halejuja
• Slovene: aleluja
• Spanish: aleluya (es) f
• Swedish: halleluja (sv)
• Tagalog: aleluya
• Tamil: அல்லேலூயா (ta) (allēlūyā)
• Telugu: హల్లెలూయా (hallelūyā)
• Thai: อัลเลลูยา (an-lee-luu-yaa), อาเลลูยา (aa-lee-luu-yaa), ฮาเลลูยา (haa-lee-luu-yaa)
• Turkish: haleluya, alleluya, aleluya, elhamdülillah (tr)
• Ukrainian: алілу́я (alilúja), алилу́я (uk) (alylúja)
• Urdu: ہللی (haliluy)
• Vietnamese: hallelujah (vi)
• Yami: haliloya
• Yoruba: alelúyà

general exclamation of gratitude

• Arabic: الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ (al-ḥamdu lillāhi)
• Belarusian: сла́ва бо́гу (sláva bóhu)
• Catalan: al·leluia (ca)
• Danish: gudskelov (da)
• Esperanto: haleluja (eo)
• Finnish: halleluja (fi)
• German: Gott sei Dank (de)
• Greek: αλληλούια (el) (alliloúia)

  Ancient Greek: ἀλληλούϊα (allēloúïa)

• Malagasy: aleloia (mg)
• Portuguese: aleluia (pt)
• Russian: сла́ва бо́гу (ru) (sláva bógu)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: алелуја

  Roman: aleluja (sh)

• Spanish: aleluya (es) f
• Turkish: Allah'a çok şükür, Tanrı yarasın
• Ukrainian: сла́ва бо́гу (uk) (sláva bóhu)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} alléluia (fr)
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} הַלְּלוּיָהּ (he) (hallelúyah)
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} alleluia
• Slovak: ^{(please verify)} aleluja (sk)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} aleluya (es) f

Noun

Examples (song)
Hallelujah Chorus in Handel's Messiah Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen

hallelujah (plural hallelujahs)

1. A shout of “Hallelujah”.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, lines 633–634:

     So ſung they, and the Empyrean rung, / With Halleluiahs: Thus was Sabbath kept.

2. (music) A song of praise to God; a musical composition based on the word "Hallelujah".
3. (in the plural) General praise.
   • 1855, Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom. […], New York, Auburn, N.Y.: Miller, Orton & Mulligan […], →OCLC, part II (Life as a Freeman), page 441:

     Who so stolid and selfish, that would not give his voice to swell the hallelujahs of a nation’s jubilee, when the chains of servitude had been torn from his limbs?

Translations

shout of Hallelujah

• Finnish: halleluja (fi)
• German: Halleluja (de) n
• Hungarian: alleluja (hu)
• Icelandic: hallelúja n
• Irish: aililiú m
• Plautdietsch: Haleluja m
• Russian: аллилу́йя (ru) f (allilújja)
• Spanish: aleluya (es) m
• Yoruba: alelúyà

song

• Polish: alleluja (pl) n

general praise

• Finnish: ylistys (fi)
• Hungarian: alleluja (hu)
• Russian: аллилу́йя (ru) f (allilújja)
• Spanish: felicitación (es) f, congratulación (es) f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} alléluia (fr)
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} alleluia
• Slovak: ^{(please verify)} aleluja (sk)

Verb

hallelujah (third-person singular simple present hallelujahs, present participle hallelujahing, simple past and past participle hallelujahed)

1. (intransitive) To cry "hallelujah" in praise.
   • 1971, Jack Kerouac, chapter 1, in Pic:

     My aunt Gastonia […] she'd seen the Lord more times than they could ever count, and hallelujahed and hallelujahed, said, “While's all this the Gospel word and true, […]

Translations

to cry "Hallelujah"

• Hungarian: allelujázik (hu)
• Indonesian: berhaleluya
• Yoruba: ké alelúyà