פֵּרוֹת מְיֻבָּשִׁים   Can’t read Hebrew yet? Today in Israel sales of dried fruits will be up by several hundred percent as the country marks the occasion of ט”וּ בִּשְׁבָט  Tu Bishvat, the 15th of the Hebrew month of Shevat – when Jews celebrate the budding of spring.   The word for fruit is פְּרִי (note…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/מסוים-#.m4a” /]מְקוֹמוֹת מְסֻיָּמִים The Hebrew word for place is מקום[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/מסוים-#.m4a” /], while the word for certain or specific is מסוים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/מסוים-#.m4a” /] when describing something masculine and מסוימת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/מסוים-#.m4a” /] for something feminine. Now, מקום is a masculine word, so that a certain place is מקום מסוים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/מסוים-#.m4a” /]. But when speaking about places, מקום suddenly gets an…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/שלט-עצור-#.m4a” /]שֶׁלֶט עָצוֹר, תַּמְרוּר עָצוֹר The Hebrew word for sign in the physical sense is שלט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/שלט-עצור-#.m4a” /], as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/שלט-עצור-#.m4a” /]לא ראיתי את השלט – עברנו כבר את החנות? I didn’t see the sign – have we passed the shop? A stop sign is שלט עצור[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/שלט-עצור-#.m4a” /] – literally, sign (of) “stop!” For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/שלט-עצור-#.m4a”…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/גורם-#.m4a” /]גּוֹרֵם Some decisions are easy to make. Others are harder: they have several factors one must consider. Each of these factors, in Hebrew, is called a גורם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/גורם-#.m4a” /]. גורם means literally a cause (it’s a form of the simple פעל verb לגרום[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/גורם-#.m4a” /] – to cause). What do causes have to do with factors? A factor allows or…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/החל-מ-#.m4a” /]הֵחֵל מ– The basic Hebrew word for to start is להתחיל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/החל-מ-#.m4a” /], as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/החל-מ-#.m4a” /]מתי מתחיל הסרט? When does the movie start? A fancier word is להחל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/החל-מ-#.m4a” /], used most often in the form -החל מ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/החל-מ-#.m4a” /] (or -החל ב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/החל-מ-#.m4a” /]) – starting from (or starting with). You’ll hear it…