הצצה לביתו המעוצב של מושיק גלאמין

What does “ani ma’amin” mean in Hebrew?

Interviewing home-styling star Moshik Galamin, the host asks for his guiding principle: «מהו האני מאמין שלך?» (“what’s your credo?”), and he answers “חיה ותן לחיות” (“live and let live”). אני מאמין (ani ma’amin) literally means “I believe,” but as a noun, האני מאמין שלך, it means your credo or personal manifesto.

The phrase comes from religion, Maimonides' “Ani Ma’amin” articles of faith and the song born from them, but modern Hebrew has secularized it into “what you stand for.” Turning a whole sentence into a noun with the definite article ה- is a neat Hebrew move. Everyone, designer or not, is expected to have an ani ma’amin.