how to say “a touch away” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/במרחק-נגיעה-#.m4a” /]בְּמֶרְחַק נְגִיעָה

This expression means that something is very close by: במרחק נגיעה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/במרחק-נגיעה-#.m4a” /] – a touch away, or literally, in touching distance.

For example:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/במרחק-נגיעה-#.m4a” /]הם גרים כבר שנים במרחק נגיעה מאיתנו, ולא ידענו!

They’ve been living for years already a touch away from us, and we didn’t know!

Here’s the expression broken down:

ב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/במרחק-נגיעה-#.m4a” /] – in, at

מרחק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/במרחק-נגיעה-#.m4a” /] – distance, derived from word רחוק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/במרחק-נגיעה-#.m4a” /] meaning far.

נגיעה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/במרחק-נגיעה-#.m4a” /] – touching, from the root נ.ג.ע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/במרחק-נגיעה-#.m4a” /] meaning touch

“מרחק נגיעה”[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/במרחק-נגיעה-#.m4a” /] (literally, touching distance) is also a successful Israeli TV series about a non-religious man who falls in love with a Haredi (ultra orthodox) woman. More on that in today’s video.

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