Yiddish & Hebrew Invitation Abbreviations Explained (ב"ה, אי"ה, נ"י…)

Heimish invitations are full of short Hebrew abbreviations: ב"ה at the top, אי"ה before the date, נ"י after a name. They save space and they sound right to every guest, but it is easy to put one in the wrong place. This guide lists the ones you will see most, what each stands for, and where it belongs on the card.

The most common abbreviations

Titles after names

Which abbreviation goes after a name depends on who the person is. A baby boy, a bar mitzvah boy or a chosson gets נ"י. A grown man, such as a father or grandfather, usually gets הי"ו or שי'. A girl or woman gets תחי'. A rav gets שליט"א. Someone who has passed away gets ז"ל or ע"ה. Communities have their own customs, so follow what your family uses.

The date line

A typical date line reads: שתתקיים אי"ה ביום ג' פרשת לך לך, ט' חשון תשפ"ז לפ"ק, בשעה 8:00 בערב. The parts are: אי"ה, the day of the week as a Hebrew letter (א' for Sunday through ו' for Friday, שב"ק for Shabbos), the parsha, the Hebrew date, the year with לפ"ק, and the time.

Days of the week

Quotation marks: ״ or "

In Hebrew abbreviations the mark before the last letter is a gershayim (״), and a single mark after one letter is a geresh (׳). On a phone keyboard most people type the ordinary " and ', and on an invitation either looks fine. Our designs show whichever you type.

JPG or PDF: which file do you need?

After you pay you get three files, each for a different job. The Small – for texting JPG is under 1 MB, so it goes through on WhatsApp and on picture messages (MMS) without turning blurry; many phone carriers limit picture messages to about that size. The Full quality JPG is 2550 px wide at 300 dpi, sharp enough to print at home. The PDF is print-ready at letter size and holds one flat image, so the print looks exactly like the preview. If you only send the card on phones, the small JPG is all you need; if you are going to a printer, bring the PDF.

Making your invitation on a phone, step by step

• Open the site and tap your simcha, for example Sholom Zucher or Tenoyim.
• Tap the design you like. The card appears on top, the form underneath.
• Type the details. The card updates as you type, so you can see exactly where each line falls.
• Tap the order button under the card, then pay.
• After paying, download your three files: the PDF, the full-quality JPG and the small JPG for texting.

Make it now

Every design on MazelTovInvite has the right heading built in, so you only type names, dates and places. See the live preview, then pay $15 and download a print PDF, a full-quality JPG and a small JPG for texting.

A bigger list: abbreviations you will see on invitations

The table above has the abbreviations that appear on almost every card. Below is a longer list for the titles, dates, places and blessings that come up on bar mitzvah, tenoyim, kiddush and baby boy invitations. Each one has its full form, what it means in plain English, and an example of how it looks on a card.

How to read the Hebrew year

The year on an invitation is written in letters, and every letter is a number: ת is 400, ש is 300, פ is 80 and ז is 7. Together תשפ"ז is 787, and the thousands (5,000) are left out, so it means the year 5787. That is why לפ"ק (lifrat katan, "by the small count") comes after it: it tells the reader that the thousands were skipped. The gershayim (״) always goes before the last letter: תשפ"ז, not תש"פז. Some families write שנת תשפ"ז לפ"ק, and others just תשפ"ז. Both are fine.

Writing the day of the month

The Hebrew day of the month is written in letters too. Most are simple, but two need care, the 15th and the 16th:

The Hebrew months

Here are the months as they are usually spelled on a heimish invitation:

Which abbreviations go on which simcha

• Sholom Zucher and Vachnacht: ב"ה, למז"ט (after the birth), לרגל הולדת בננו, שב"ק / ליל שב"ק, פרשת, the father's name with הי"ו.
• Pidyon Haben: ב"ה, בננו הבכור נ"י, the day, parsha, Hebrew date and לפ"ק, בשעה, often אחה"צ or בערב.
• Kiddush: לרגל, שב"ק, אחה"ת (after davening), ביהכנ"ס or ביהמ"ד, ע"י משפחת.
• Bar Mitzvah: ה"ה החתן בר מצוה, נ"י, בהרה"ח, הרה"ח ר' … הי"ו, וזוגתו תחי', לסדר, לפ"ק.
• Tenoyim: צאצאינו, עב"ג, נ"י and תחי', בשעטו"מ, בת / בהרה"ח, זקני החתן / זקני הכלה.

Names of relatives who have passed away

When a grandparent who has passed away is named on a card, the abbreviation after the name shows it: ז"ל, ע"ה or נ"ע are the most common, and זצ"ל is used for a rav or tzaddik. When living and departed relatives are listed together, some families add יבלחט"א after the names of the living, to set them apart. A son or daughter in the first year after a parent's passing may write הכ"מ. These customs differ from family to family; if you are unsure, ask the person whose parent it is, and write it the way they do.

Common mistakes with abbreviations

• הי"ו after a boy. A baby, bar mitzvah boy or chosson gets נ"י; הי"ו is for grown men.
• תחי' missing after the mother. If the father has הי"ו, write the mother with תחי' too.
• י"ה or י"ו for the 15th and 16th. Always ט"ו and ט"ז.
• The gershayim in the wrong place. It goes before the last letter: אי"ה, not א"יה.
• ב"ה and בס"ד together. Choose one for the top of the card.
• לפ"ק without the year. It belongs right after the year, not on its own line.
• Mixing styles. If one grandfather is הרה"ח, write the other one the same way.
• Inventing new abbreviations. If you are not sure a short form is known, write the words out in full. Clear is better than short.

A quick checklist

• One opening at the top: ב"ה, בס"ד or בעזהשי"ת.
• Every name has the right ending: נ"י, הי"ו, תחי' or שליט"א.
• Titles before the names match across both families.
• The date line has the day, parsha, day of month, month, year and לפ"ק.
• The 15th and 16th are written ט"ו and ט"ז.
• The time is clear, and an evening event is on the right Hebrew day.
• Departed relatives have ז"ל or ע"ה, and the family agreed on how to write them.
• Someone else read the card once before it was sent.

On MazelTovInvite you type each line yourself and see it on the design as you go, so you can check every abbreviation in the live preview. You can also choose a font for each line. When it looks right, you pay $15 and get three files: a print PDF, a full-quality JPG and a small JPG for texting. On designs that have an animated GIF version, you can add the GIF for a small extra.

A full card, abbreviation by abbreviation

Here is a short bar mitzvah card with the abbreviations in place, followed by what each one is doing there:

בס"ד opens the card. להשי"ת thanks Hashem. ב"ב שיחיו invites the guest's whole household. ה"ה introduces the boy, and נ"י follows his name. אי"ה comes before the date, ג' is Tuesday, לסדר names the week by its parsha, and לפ"ק follows the year. רח' is the street. In the signature, הרה"ח ר' comes before the father's name, הי"ו after it, and תחי' after the mother.

Related guides

• Sholom Zucher invitation wording
• Vachnacht invitation wording
• Tenoyim invitation wording
• Kiddush invitation wording