how to say “bee” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/דבורה-1.m4a” /]דְּבוֹרָה

While Hebrew nouns are largely categorized as masculine or feminine, some words are the same for both genders.

One example I’ve used several times on this blog is אדם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/דבורה-2.m4a” /] – person. This word is masculine, but applies equally to males and females:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/דבורה-3.m4a” /]היא אדם נחמד.

She is a nice person.

Occasionally, you’ll come across a feminine noun that applies to both genders. One example is the word for bee, which is called a דבורה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/דבורה-1.m4a” /] regardless of the insect’s gender:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/דבורה-4.m4a” /]הדבורה עקצה אותי!

The bee (gender-not-specified) stung me!

Nevertheless, the plural form of דבורה always looks masculine: דבורים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/דבורה-5.m4a” /].

For example:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/דבורה-6.m4a” /]בזכות הדבורים יש לנו דבש.

Thanks to bees we have honey.

דבורה is also a Hebrew name first appearing in the Bible.