how to say “according to” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/לפי-#.m4a” /]לְפִי

Hebrew’s most commonly-used way of saying according to is לפי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/לפי-#.m4a” /].

For example:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/לפי-#.m4a” /]לפי מה שמופיע על השלט, מותר לחנות פה.

According to what appears (written) on the sign, (we’re) allowed to park here.

לפי – appearing as early as in the Torah itself – is a shortened version of the less common expression, על פי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/לפי-#.m4a” /] – literally, on the mouth of, where פי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/לפי-#.m4a” /] is the of version of the word פה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/לפי-#.m4a” /] – mouth (“the mouth of“).