a Hebrew expression for “to plan ahead”

ByAmi Steinberger June 30, 2022June 24, 2022

My dentist focuses on preventative dentistry – רפואת שיניים מונעת
.

Now, רפואה מונעת
– preventative medicine – is a Modern-Hebrew expression. But there’s another expression, a much older one but still very much alive today: להקדים רפואה למכה
– to precede the antidote (the medicine) to the blow. Basically, to plan ahead.

For example:

אגרנו קופסאות שימורים כדי להקדים רפואה למכה.

We amassed cans of food (preservative cans) in order to prepare for the blow.

The root ק.ד.מ
means before, so להקדים
is to make earlier – or to preempt.

Doctor is רופא
, while medicine in the general sense is רפואה
.

To hit is להכות
, while a hit or a plague is מכה
.

the compass, the internal compass, aged wine and more… review and own this week’s doses of Hebrew!

ByAmi Steinberger March 28, 2014November 20, 2024

חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? Review, practice and test yourself on this week’s doses of Hebrew! Flashcards Game Test שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!

how to say “if it’s not too much trouble” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger August 1, 2022July 29, 2022

אִם זוֹ לֹא טִרְחָה גְּדוֹלָה Empathy is a key element in persuasion: if I want to get someone to do something, acknowledging the fact that I’m causing them inconvenience will make them more likely to accept my request. אם זו לא טרחה גדולה accomplishes just that. It means literally, if this isn’t too much trouble. People…

conversation: how to say “Lasik” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger March 12, 2019March 21, 2019

[audioclip url="https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/10.3.2019-conv-3.m4a" /] - את מרכיבה עדשות מגע? - לא. - אבל לא היו לך משקפיים? - עשיתי ניתוח לייזר להסרת משקפיים. - Do you wear contacts? - No. - But didn't you have glasses? - I did Lasik. Conversation based on this Dose of Hebrew

how to say “mirror” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger July 11, 2016October 22, 2018

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מראה-1.m4a” /]מַרְאָה, רְאִי Non-human and non-animal things in English have no grammatical gender. You wouldn’t say “she’s a nice shirt” or “he’s a big house.” Most other Western and Middle-Eastern languages do have such gender assignments, and Hebrew is no exception. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מראה-2.m4a” /]היא חולצה יפה. It’s a nice shirt. and [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מראה-3.m4a”…

how to say “cappuccino” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger April 22, 2014April 30, 2026

קָפֶה הָפוּךְ Can’t read Hebrew yet? There’s a line from a popular song from the nineties that goes, “I like my sugar with coffee and cream.” Even though they’re Jewish, I bet the Beastie Boys didn’t know that what they’re describing is pretty close to the Israeli version of cappuccino. ְקָפֶה הָפוּך,…

how to say “private jet” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger August 5, 2019August 2, 2019

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/מטוס-פרטי-#.m4a” /]מָטוֹס פְּרָטִי Once upon a time, airplanes in English were called aeroplanes, Aeroplane has fallen out of use, at least in the US. Likewise, Israelis used to call a plane אווירון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/מטוס-פרטי-#.m4a” /], deriving from the word אוויר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/מטוס-פרטי-#.m4a” /] – air. But today the common word is מטוס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/מטוס-פרטי-#.m4a” /], which derives from the word לטוס[audioclip…

My dentist focuses on preventative dentistry – רפואת שיניים מונעת.

Now, רפואה מונעת – preventative medicine – is a Modern-Hebrew expression. But there’s another expression, a much older one but still very much alive today: להקדים רפואה למכה – to precede the antidote (the medicine) to the blow. Basically, to plan ahead.

For example:

אגרנו קופסאות שימורים כדי להקדים רפואה למכה.

We amassed cans of food (preservative cans) in order to prepare for the blow.

The root ק.ד.מ means before, so להקדים is to make earlier – or to preempt.

Doctor is רופא, while medicine in the general sense is רפואה.

To hit is להכות, while a hit or a plague is מכה.

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My dentist focuses on preventative dentistry – רפואת שיניים מונעת
.

Now, רפואה מונעת
– preventative medicine – is a Modern-Hebrew expression. But there’s another expression, a much older one but still very much alive today: להקדים רפואה למכה
– to precede the antidote (the medicine) to the blow. Basically, to plan ahead.

The root ק.ד.מ
means before, so להקדים
is to make earlier – or to preempt.

Doctor is רופא
, while medicine in the general sense is רפואה
.

To hit is להכות
, while a hit or a plague is מכה
.