A Hebrew Glossary for the Olympics

1. האולימפיאדה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – The Olympics

The connection between the English Olympics and the Hebrew אולימפיאדה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] is obvious. But what is that יאדה-[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] ending? Turns out it comes from Greek, and denotes a festival: The Olympics are certainly one.

2. המשחקים האולימפיים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – The Olympic Games

While האולימפיאדה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] is what most people call the event, the official name is המשחקים האולימפיים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – The Olympic Games. משחקים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – games – is משחק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] in the singular. The words come from the root ש.ח.ק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] meaning playing.

3. נושא לפיד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – torchbearer

The Hebrew word for torch (of fire) is לפיד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /], while to bear (to carry) is the simple verb לשאת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /], of the root נ.ש.א[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] (the נ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] in the root disappears in some forms of the verb). Thus a torchbearer is נושא לפיד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] if he’s male, or נושאת לפיד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] if she’s female.

4. תחרות ספורט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – sports competition

To compete, in Hebrew, is the התפעל verb להתחרות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – while a competition is תחרות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /]. And sport or sports is just ספורט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /]. Thus, a sports competition is תחרות ספורט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /], while sports competitions are תחרויות ספורט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /].

5. ספורטאי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – athlete

While אתלט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] (or אתלטית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /]) also means athlete, the more commonly-used word is ספורטאי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] for a male and ספורטאית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] for a female. An athletic person is אדם ספורטיבי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] (this phrase is unisex).

6. אתלטיקה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – athletics

While ספורטאי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] takes the place of אתלט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /], the word for athletics in general is אתלטיקה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /]. This יקה-[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] ending is the typical translation of the English –ics ending, as we also see in the word פיזיקה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – physics.

7. אירועים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – events

אירוע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] is an event, while אירועים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] are events. The word comes from the Aramaic root א.ר.ע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /], which is the equivalent of the Hebrew root ק.ר.ה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] meaning happening: an event is something big that happens or takes place.

8. מדליית זהב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – gold medal

While מתכת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] means metal the substance, מדליה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] means medal (from medallion) the ceremonial ornament. A gold medal is מדליית זהב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – literally, medal of gold.

9. מדליית כסף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – silver medal

The word כסף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] means money, but its original meaning is silver, that substance that used to give coins their value.

10. מדליית ארד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – bronze medal

While נחושת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] means copper, ארד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] means bronze, which is an alloy of copper and another metal, often tin. ארד is also the last name of an Israeli soldier missing in action since 1988, Ron Arad.

11. יוון העתיקה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – ancient Greece

The Hebrew word for Greece is יוון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /], a word first appearing in the Hebrew Bible. Ancient is עתיק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] for something grammatically masculine and עתיקה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] for something grammatically feminine, such as a country. יוון העתיקה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] means literally, Greece the Ancient.

12. מינכן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – Munich

Munich was the site of the 1972 Olympic Games, where terrorists murdered 11 Israeli athletes. The Hebrew name of the city is מינכן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /], following the German pronunciation. 

13. בעלי מוגבלויות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – people with disabilites

The Hebrew word for disability is מוגבלות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – as opposed to מגבלה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /], which means restriction. Multiple disabilities are מוגבלויות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /], so people who are disabled – those who “possess” disabilities – are בעלי מוגבלויות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /]. For example: במשחקים הפאראלימפיים משתתפים בעלי מוגבלויות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – in the paralympic games, people with disabilities participate.

14. הגביע העולמי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – the World Cup

While the Olympic Games are one of the most media-covered events in the world, הגביע העולמי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] – the World Cup – takes the cake (or the medal) as #1. The word גביע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] means goblet, while עולמי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympics-#.m4a” /] means worldwide.