16 Must-Know Beach Words in Hebrew

1. הים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – the beach

The word for beach is חוף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /], but Israelis refer to it as הים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – the sea.

For example:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /]אנחנו הולכים לים, רוצים לבוא?

We’re going to the beach, want to come?

2. ברד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – icee

Cool off under the hot Israeli sun with ברד, the slushy drink named after hail.

3. לימונענע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – limonana

What do you get when you cross ברד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] (see above) with lemonade and peppermint? לימונענע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /]! The word combines לימון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – lemon with נענע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – mint.

4. ארטיקים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – popsicles (ices)

See that lower-case p in popsicles? The brand became the widely used term, just like kleenex is what people call tissues regardless of which company produced them. The same is true of the ארטיק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] (sounds a lot like arctic), a brand that produced these treats in the early days of the State of Israel.

5. כדורעף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – volleyball

Walk the טיילת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] (promenade) in Tel Aviv and you’ll see dozens of רשתות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – nets. In warm weather you’ll also see hundreds of people playing כדורעף, which combines the words כדור[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – ball and עף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – flying, so that כדורעף means literally flying ball.

6. מטקות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – Matkot

Falafel is to food as Matkot is to sports. You’ll find people playing this paddle game all year round on the beaches of Tel Aviv.

The word מטקות – in the singular, מטקה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – comes from an Arabic word مدكة (madka), a type of hitting instrument.

7. בגד ים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – swimsuit

The Hebrew term for swimsuit is בגד ים – literally, garment of (the) sea. It sounds a lot better in Hebrew.

8. מגבת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – towel

If you’ve arrived at the Israeli beach in the summer and forgotten your מגבת – towel, no problem! The air is so humid there’s no point in drying off anyway.

מגבת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] comes from the פיעל verb לנגב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – to wipe dry.

9. מחצלת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – straw mat

The sand can be hot – and messy. To spend the day on Israeli beach without having to pay for lounge chairs, bring a מחצלת.

10. כפכפים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – water shoes

You may know סנדלים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – sandals, but better beach footwear is כפכפים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /]. The word was originally spelled and pronounced קבקבים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /], deriving from Arabic.

11. קרם הגנה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – sunscreen

Don’t leave home without it in the Israeli summer. קרם הגנה means literally protection cream.

12. משקפי שמש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – sunglasses

Look cool and protect your eyes from those extra-strong Middle-Eastern UV rays with משקפי שמש – literally, glasses of (the) sun.

13. סוכת הצלה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – lifeguard booth

While a lifeguard is מציל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] (a man) or מצילה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] (a woman), lifeguarding or simply rescuing is הצלה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /]. So what do we call a lifeguard booth? סוכת הצלה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – literally, a hut of rescuing.

14. מדוזות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – jellyfish

There’s no fun without an element of danger. While the מצילים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – lifeguards can save you from drowning, they can’t do much if you get stung by a מדוזה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /]. Fortunately, their stings aren’t usually too harmful.

15. גלשן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – surfboard

From Santa Cruz to Netanya, you’ll find people surfing on גלשנים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – surfboards. To surf is the פעל verb לגלוש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /].

16. ארמון חול[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] – sandcastle

This one is a literal translation from English: ארמון חול[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/מילים-לים-#.m4a” /] means a castle of sand.