how to say “ocean” in Hebrew
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אוקיינוס-1.m4a” /]אוֹקְיָנוּס
The largest body of water that the first readers of the Hebrew Bible knew was the Mediterranean. They called it הים הגדול[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אוקיינוס-2.m4a” /] – the Great Sea.
Thus there’s no word in Biblical Hebrew – or Modern Hebrew, for that matter – for ocean. Instead, we use the same word that English borrowed from Ancient Greek: אוקיינוס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אוקיינוס-1.m4a” /].
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אוקיינוס-3.m4a” /]האוקיינוס השקט הוא האוקיינוס הגדול ביותר בעולם.
The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world.
