how to say “worthy” in Hebrew
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ראוי-1.m4a” /]רָאוּי
The Hebrew word for worthy is ראוי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ראוי-1.m4a” /]. You may recognize its root as ר.א.ה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ראוי-2.m4a” /] – the concept of seeing. ראוי means literally, seen.
The word first appears in the Mishnah, where it means fit or seen as appropriate for something specific. This meaning carries until today in phrases like:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ראוי-3.m4a” /]הוא ראוי לה והיא ראויה לו.
He is fit for her and she is fit for him.
ראוי also means worthy in the ethical or psychological sense, as in:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ראוי-4.m4a” /]הוא לא מרגיש ראוי.
He doesn’t feel worthy.
The more common word for seen is נראה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ראוי-5.m4a” /] – this is seen in the sense of appearing.
