8 of the Sweetest Words in Hebrew
The Hebrew root מ.ת.ק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] is the sweetest there is – it means sweet, and it appears in the bunch of delightful words and expressions you’ll find below.
1. מָתוֹק, מְתוּקָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] – sweet
The basic adjective for sweet is מתוק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] for something grammatically masculine and מתוקה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] for something feminine.
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] איזו ילדה מתוקה!
What a sweet girl!
2. מְתִיקוּת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] – sweetness
Use מתיקות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] when you want to talk about how sweet something is objectively.
For example,
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] סוכר מגביר את רמת המתיקות של האוכל.
Sugar increases the level of sweetness of the food.
3. מַמְתָּק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] – a sweet
A sweet or a candy is ממתק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] , so that candies are ממתקים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] .
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] הילדים יודעים מי בבית הכנסת מחלק את הממתקים.
The kids know who in the synagogue gives out the candies.
Another word for candy is סוכריה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] , from סוכר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] – sugar.
4. מוֹתֶק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] – sweetie
This word is up there with מאמי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] and חמוד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] or חמודה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] (cute, for a male or female, respectively): מותק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] . It works for both genders, as in:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] שלי, מותק, תסגרי את הדלת!
Shelley, sweetie, close the door!
5. מַמְתִּיק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] – sweetener
To sweeten is the הפעיל verb להמתיק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] . Thus a sweetener is ממתיק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] .
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] איזה ממתיק אתם שמים בקפה?
What sweetener do you guys put in (your) coffee?
6. לְהַמְתִּיק אֶת הַדִּין[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] – to sweeten the verdict
These last three are expressions featuring our verb להמתיק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] – to sweeten. The first is להמתיק את הדין[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] – to soften the punishment, or literally, to sweeten the verdict.
In context:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] אחרי שהוא העיד, המתיקו לו את הדין.
After he testified, they softened his punishment (sweetened, for him, the verdict).
7. לְהַמְתִּיק אֶת הַגְּלוּלָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] – to soften the blow
This expression is close to the previous one in meaning: להמתיק את הגלולה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] – means literally to sweeten the pill, or to soften the blow.
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] בסגר השני, המתיקו את הגלולה ואפשרו לאנשים לצאת מהבית במרחק של יותר ממאה מטר.
In the second lockdown, they softened the blow and allowed people to go more than 100 meters from their house.
8. לְהַמְתִּיק סוֹד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] – to share secrets
להמתיק סוד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] means to share something in confidence, to have a conversation that carries with the the sweetness of a shared secret. It means literally to sweeten a secret.
This isn’t an expression you’ll hear every day: you’re more likely to read it in poetry, or in the Bible itself:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/מתק-#.m4a” /] וְאַתָּה אֱנוֹשׁ כְּעֶרְכִּי, אַלּוּפִי, וּמְיֻדָּעִי. אֲשֶׁר יַחְדָּו, נַמְתִּיק סוֹד, בְּבֵית אֱלֹהִים, נְהַלֵּךְ בְּרָגֶשׁ. (תהילים נ”ה, י”ד-ט”ו)
But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked with zest. (Psalms 55:14-15, translation based on the New International Version)
