how to say “abstract” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/מופשט-#.m4a” /]מוּפְשָׁט

The Hebrew verb לפשוט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/מופשט-#.m4a” /] (a simple verb) is to remove a piece of clothing, as in:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/מופשט-#.m4a” /]הוא פשט את המעיל ואז התיישב.

He took of his (the) coat and then sat down.

Something simple – devoid of any extraneous details – is פשוט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/מופשט-#.m4a” /], as in:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/מופשט-#.m4a” /]הוא סיפור פשוט – לא צריך לחשוב יותר מדי כדי להבין אותו.

It’s a simple story – (you) don’t need to think too much in order to understand it.

Now, to make someone remove clothing – the causative הפעיל verb – is להפשיט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/מופשט-#.m4a” /] – to undress someone.

Likewise, מופשט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/מופשט-#.m4a” /] is something that has been undressed – literally, or figuratively: “undressed” of any tangible elements. In a word, abstract.

For example:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/מופשט-#.m4a” /]זה מושג מופשט מדי בשביל ילד בגילו.

This is too abstract a concept for a boy of his age.

מופשט is a form of the passive הופעל verb structure.