← G5589 G5591 →

ψυχή

psychḗ

G5590 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

The vital breath or living being; that which animates a living entity. Primarily, ψυχή designates the life-force that distinguishes living creatures from the dead, encompassing the self as a conscious, sentient, and emotional individual. In various contexts, it refers to the individual person (self), life (as in existence), or the seat of emotions, desires, and will.

Semantic Range

life-force, living being, self, individual person, soul (as the seat of emotions or desires), consciousness, life (as existence), inner self, vital principle, appetite, emotional nature

Root / Etymology

Derived from ψύχω (“to breathe,” “to blow”), related to the action of breathing as a marker of life. Cognate with the Hebrew נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) in the Septuagint, frequently used to translate the Hebrew term denoting life, self, or person.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, ψυχή originally denoted 'breath' or 'life-force,' and subsequently came to refer to the principle of life or the soul that departs at death. By the Hellenistic and biblical periods, ψυχή signified the whole self or being, often equivalent to 'life' or 'person.' In the Septuagint, ψυχή is the standard rendering for Hebrew נֶפֶשׁ, which includes the ideas of living being, self, appetite, emotion, and individual. In the New Testament, ψυχή rarely means an immortal soul separable from the body as in some later Greek philosophical contexts. Rather, it commonly refers to a person's life—sometimes at risk of death—or to the whole person, or to the inner self. Standard English translations variously translate ψυχή as 'soul,' 'life,' or 'self,' but none fully capture its diverse semantic range. ψυχή is distinct from πνεῦμα (spirit, breath, wind)—which may emphasize the animating Spirit or a person's inner disposition—and from ζωή (life), which tends to indicate the state or quality of being alive, often in relation to physical vitality. In non-biblical Greek, ψυχή sometimes takes on more specialized philosophical meanings (e.g., immortal soul), but this sense is not predominant in biblical Greek. Context and background strongly determine which sense is primary in any given text.

Translation Consistency

primary "life" 41 occurrences

“Life” best covers ψυχή’s primary range — the vital principle, existence, and the living self — while remaining natural English. It fits contexts rendered as “living,” “lives,” or “soul” without privileging technical theological nuance; therefore it provides the most consistent, broadly applicable choice for all forms.

Alternatives (62 occurrences):
"life-self" (30x) "lives" (20x) "souls" (3x) "self" (3x) "living beings" (3x) "living self" (2x) "living soul" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from ψύχω; breath, i.e. (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely (the animal sentient principle only; thus distinguished on the one hand from πνεῦμα, which is the rational and immortal soul; and on the other from ζωή, which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew נֶפֶשׁ, רוּחַ and חַי):--heart (+ -ily), life, mind, soul, + us, + you.

Root Family

ψυχή (psychē) — breath, life, living being, self, inner life-force

Root ψυχ- to breathe, to live, to be, to animate

Word Forms

7 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G5590-05 ψυχὴν psuchen N ACC F SG life living self life 41
G5590-04 ψυχῇ psuche N DAT F SG soul to the living self to the life-self 24
G5590-03 ψυχὰς psuchas N ACC F PL souls living beings lives 15
G5590-06 ψυχῆς psuches N GEN F SG soul of the life-self of the life-self 12
G5590-07 ψυχῶν psuchon N GEN F PL souls of living beings of lives 5
G5590-02 ψυχαῖς psuchais N DAT F PL souls to living selves souls 3
G5590-01 ψυχαὶ psuchai N NOM F PL souls living beings living beings 3

Occurrences in Scripture

103 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G5590-05 Matthew 2:20 ψυχὴν psuchen N ACC F SG life living self life
G5590-04 Matthew 6:25 ψυχῇ psuche N DAT F SG life to the living self to the life-self
G5590-04 Matthew 6:25 ψυχὴ psuche-2 N NOM F SG life to the living self to the life-self
G5590-05 Matthew 10:28 ψυχὴν psuchen N ACC F SG soul living self life
G5590-05 Matthew 10:28 ψυχὴν psuchen-2 N ACC F SG soul living self life
G5590-05 Matthew 10:39 ψυχὴν psuchen N ACC F SG life living self life
G5590-05 Matthew 10:39 ψυχὴν psuchen-2 N ACC F SG life living self life
G5590-02 Matthew 11:29 ψυχαῖς psuchais N DAT F PL souls to living selves souls
G5590-04 Matthew 12:18 ψυχή psuche N NOM F SG soul to the living self to the life-self
G5590-05 Matthew 16:25 ψυχὴν psuchen N ACC F SG life living self life
← G5589 Greek Lexicon G5591 →