Modeh Ani: The Jewish Morning Prayer in Hebrew, Transliteration, and English

Modeh Ani is the first thing many Jews say every morning, before they get out of bed and usually before they open their eyes all the way. It is twelve Hebrew words long. You can learn it today and say it tomorrow morning, which makes it the easiest place to start a daily Jewish practice.

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The full text of Modeh Ani

מוֹדֶה אֲנִי לְפָנֶיךָ, מֶלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם, שֶׁהֶחֱזַרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי בְּחֶמְלָה, רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ.

Transliteration: Modeh ani lefanecha, melech chai v'kayam, shehechezarta bi nishmati b'chemlah, rabbah emunatecha.

English: I thank You, living and lasting King, for returning my soul to me with compassion. Your faithfulness is great.

Women say modah ani (מוֹדָה אֲנִי) instead of modeh ani. That is just Hebrew grammar, since the verb takes a feminine form. Everything after the first word stays the same. If you grew up with Ashkenazi pronunciation you may have heard it as moideh ani lefonecho. The words are the same and only the accent changes.

Word by word

If you are still learning to read Hebrew, a short line you say every day is the best practice text there is. Here is what each piece means:

• Modeh (מוֹדֶה): I thank, or I admit. The same root gives us todah, thank you.
• Ani (אֲנִי): I.
• Lefanecha (לְפָנֶיךָ): before You, literally "to Your face."
• Melech chai v'kayam (מֶלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם): living and enduring King.
• Shehechezarta bi nishmati (שֶׁהֶחֱזַרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי): that You returned my soul to me.
• B'chemlah (בְּחֶמְלָה): with compassion.
• Rabbah emunatecha (רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ): great is Your faithfulness.

Notice the word order. In Hebrew the sentence opens with "thank," and only then says "I." The first word out of your mouth in the morning is gratitude. People who teach this prayer to kids love pointing that out, and it works on adults too.

The last two words come from Eichah (Lamentations) 3:23: חֲדָשִׁים לַבְּקָרִים רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ, "they are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness." That verse is about God's kindness renewing each day, so it fits a prayer said at the start of one.

When to say it

Right when you wake up, while you are still lying in bed. Modeh Ani does not contain any of God's names, so you can say it before washing your hands in the morning (the Mishnah Berurah makes this point at Orach Chaim 1:8). Most other morning blessings wait until after you wash.

If you forgot and you are already halfway through your coffee, say it anyway. It is a custom, not one of the formal blessings, and there is no penalty for saying it late. Some people also say it after a nap. Others save it for the morning only. Either is fine.

Where it comes from

Modeh Ani is younger than most of the siddur. The wording first appears in Seder HaYom, a book of daily practice by Rabbi Moshe ben Machir, a kabbalist in Safed in the 16th century. From there it spread into nearly every siddur, Ashkenazi and Sephardi.

The idea behind it is much older. The Talmud calls sleep "one-sixtieth of death" (Brachos 57b), and it lists a blessing to say on waking, Elokai neshamah, "my God, the soul You placed in me is pure" (Brachos 60b). That blessing is still in the morning service. Modeh Ani is the short version you can say before you are ready for the full one.

The Shulchan Aruch opens its whole code of Jewish law with waking up: a person should "strengthen himself like a lion" to get up and serve God (Orach Chaim 1:1). Modeh Ani is how most people actually do that at 6:30 on a Tuesday.

What comes after Modeh Ani

In a traditional morning the order runs roughly like this:

1. Modeh Ani, in bed.
2. Netilas yadayim, washing your hands from a cup, alternating right and left three times each.
3. The morning blessings, starting with al netilas yadayim, asher yatzar, and Elokai neshamah.
4. Shacharit, the morning service, with the Shema and the Amidah.

You do not need all of that on day one. If you want a gentle way to add the rest, our six-week plan for starting to daven begins with exactly two things: Modeh Ani in the morning and one line of Shema at night.

How to make it a habit that sticks

A one-sentence prayer sounds too small to forget. People forget it all the time, because the phone is usually the first thing their hand finds. A few things that help:

• Tape the words to your nightstand or set them as your lock screen for the first month. Once you know it by heart you can take the note down.
• Pair it with something you already do every morning. Say it before you turn off the alarm, or before your feet touch the floor.
• Say it out loud, even quietly. It is easier to notice you skipped it when it is a sound and not just a thought.
• Practice reading it slowly with the vowels. If the letters are still new, our Hebrew alphabet chart and guide to reading Hebrew as an adult use lines like this one as practice.
• Close the day the same way. The bedtime Shema is the natural pair to Modeh Ani: you hand the soul over at night and thank God for it back in the morning.

You will find Modeh Ani on the first page of almost any siddur. If you are shopping for one, see the best siddurim for beginners.

Bayit's Daily Plan is built around this kind of small, repeatable start: a short piece of tefilah and Torah each day, with Hebrew and English side by side. It is a paid subscription. A sticky note on your nightstand works too, and it is free.

Want a small daily Jewish practice that starts with Modeh Ani? Try Bayit on the App Store.