how to say “championship” in Hebrew
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אליפות-1.m4a” /]אַלִּיפוּת
The Hebrew letter א[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אליפות-2.m4a” /] (Aleph) is the first the alphabet. Likewise, the first in the chain of command, a general – or the winner of a tournament, a champion – is an אלוף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אליפות-3.m4a” /] if he’s a male and an אלופה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אליפות-4.m4a” /] if she’s a female. The terms are also used colloquially to express admiration for someone who is particularly good at something.
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אליפות-5.m4a” /]היא אלופה בלשחק מונופול.
She’s excellent at playing Monopoly.
A championship is an אליפות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אליפות-1.m4a” /].
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אליפות-6.m4a” /]האם הנבחרת תגיע לאליפות?
Will the team reach the championship?
The original meaning of the root א.ל.פ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אליפות-7.m4a” /] was ox. You can see how the letter א evolved from once depicting the head of a herd of cattle, and metaphorically, a herd of people, in the image below from stwww.weizmann.ac.il:
