Category:Hebrew nouns with plurals ending in ־יים

This category contains Hebrew nouns that have plural indefinite forms and plural definite forms with the ending ־יים (-áyim), rather than with ־ים (-ím) or ־וֹת (-ót). The ending ־יים (-áyim) originated as a dual ending, and for many nouns it still serves that role (for example, פעמיים (pa'amáyim, “twice”) is the dual of פעם (pá'am, “time”)), but for the nouns in this category, it has been repurposed as a plural ending.

A number of observations can be made about the nouns in this category:

• most denote items that typically come in pairs, such as eyes, hands, legs, shoes, and so on.
• a few are pluralia tantum, meaning that they only exist in the plural. (Such nouns appear here in the plural indefinite form.)
• some are masculine, and some are feminine.
• most or all have plural construct forms with the ending ־י־ (-éi-). (This is true of both the masculine and the feminine ones.)
• several also have plural forms with the usual ending (־ים (-ím) or ־וֹת (-ót)). When this is the case, the two plurals may belong to different senses, or may be in more or less free alternation.