how to say “to limit oneself” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger June 29, 2022June 24, 2022

It’s no fun to limit ourselves (no cake today!), but hey, how else are we supposed to grow? (or shrink, in the case of the cake)

A border or limit is גבול
, as in:

השמים הם הגבול.

The sky’s the limit.

To set up a limit – to limit – is להגביל
, so that to limit oneself (himself) is להגביל את עצמו
.

Change the ending on עצמו
to indicate who’s getting limited.

For example:

אני מגביל את עצמי בכל הנוגע למאכלים עם סוכר.

I limit myself with everything having to do with sugar foods.

להגביל is a הפעיל verb.

how to say “a finding” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger June 5, 2019June 3, 2019

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ממצא-#.m4a” /]מִמְצָא The Hebrew word למצוא[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ממצא-#.m4a” /], a simple פעל verb, means to find. That which is found or discovered – a finding – is ממצא[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ממצא-#.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ממצא-#.m4a” /]בזכות החפירות התגלו בירושלים ממצאים עוצרי נשימה. Thanks to the digs, breathtaking findings were discovered in Jerusalem. Note that ממצא is different from…

how to say “to sing off-key” or “to counterfeit” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger November 3, 2010November 5, 2018

כֶּסֶף מְזֻיַּף (KEH-sef me-zoo-YAHF) is counterfeit money. לְזַיֵּף (le-zah-YEF) is to counterfeit. The root of both is ז.י.פ (z.y.p/f). One can also counterfeit a decent voice while singing. In English we call this phenomenon singing off-key. In Hebrew, we call it לזייף – to sing off-key – or זִיּוּף (zee-YOOF) – the act of singing off…

how to say “doorway” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger April 17, 2019May 14, 2019

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פתח-#.m4a” /]פֶּתַח With the Ashkenazic pronunciation, this word sounds just like the one for Passover – פסח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פתח-#.m4a” /]. But Modern Hebrew renders it with a t sound – פתח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פתח-#.m4a” /]. It means doorway or opening, and is related to the word for to open – לפתוח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פתח-#.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פתח-#.m4a” /]הכלב עומד שם בפתח עם פרצוף כזה…

how to say “knowledge” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger July 24, 2019July 18, 2019

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ידע-#.m4a” /]יֶדַע Some words in Hebrew are formed by their three-letter root itself. ידע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ידע-#.m4a” /] – knowledge – is one of them. Here it is in context: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ידע-#.m4a” /]הוא רוצה לצבור ידע, להרחיב אופקים. He wants to accumulate knowledge, to broaden (his) horizons. Related words include מידע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ידע-#.m4a” /] – information, מודיעין[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ידע-#.m4a” /]…

how to say “to tell a story” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger March 31, 2014October 24, 2018

לְסַפֵּר סִפּוּר Can’t read Hebrew yet? פֶּסַח – Passover – is coming up, the holiday when Jews tell over the story of the Exodus. But whereas in Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew, to tell something over is לְהַגִּיד (hence the הַגָּדָה שֶׁל פֶּסַח – the Passover Haggadah or the telling over of Passover), the…

how to say “the Temple stood” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger December 22, 2019December 19, 2019

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/בית-המקדש-עמד-#.m4a” /]בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ עָמַד Buildings have been one of the most impressive achievements of humankind since early civilization. Perhaps because of this we speak of buildings standing as if they were human beings. In Hebrew too, we say הבניין עמד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/בית-המקדש-עמד-#.m4a” /] – the building stood – or any other edifice, for that matter. For example:…