how to say “done deal!” in Hebrew
having trouble seeing the print? שִׁוְיוֹן How’s your Hebrew? 10 spots available per course. Sign up now! The Hebrew word for equal is שָׁוֶה (shah-VEH), a Biblical Hebrew root that first appears in בְּרֵאשִׁית י”ד (beh-reh-SHEET), Genesis 14. That passage describes a war of Biblical proportions that takes place in עֵמֶק הַשָּׁוֶה (EH-mek…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/נשרף-#.m4a” /]נִשְׂרַף In English, when we talk about someone’s identity being discovered, we say that they blew their cover. This invokes the image of covers (or disguise) flying off, being blown away with the wind. In Hebrew, we say that this person was burned – נשרף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/נשרף-#.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/נשרף-#.m4a” /]החייל המסתערב נשרף, והמבצע…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נביא-1.m4a” /]נָבִיא, חוֹזֶה, רוֹאֶה The best-known word for prophet in the Bible is נביא[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נביא-2.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נביא-3.m4a” /]וְלֹא קָם נָבִיא עוֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּמֹשֶׁה… (דברים ל”ד, י’) And there never rose a prophet in Israel like Moses… (Deuteronomy 34:10) But other terms exist, including איש א-להים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נביא-4.m4a” /] – man of G-d, as well as…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ראיון-1.m4a” /]רֵאָיוֹן Yesterday, we saw the Hebrew word for idea – רעיון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ראיון-2.m4a” /]. Here’s a homophone – a word that sounds the same (in this case almost the same), but has a different spelling and, more importantly, a different meaning: ראיון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ראיון-1.m4a” /] means interview. Can you spot the root? It’s ר.א.ה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ראיון-3.m4a” /] meaning seeing…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ספוג-1.m4a” /]סְפוֹג Appearing in the Mishnah, the Hebrew word for sponge – ספוג[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ספוג-1.m4a” /] – borrows from the Greek σπόγγος (spongos). From that source comes the active-simple verb לספוג[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ספוג-2.m4a” /] – to absorb (both physically and metaphorically), and the word for those חנוכה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ספוג-3.m4a” /] (Hanukkah) favorites, סופגניות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ספוג-4.m4a” /] – doughnuts. The word in…
having trouble seeing the print? אִי-וַדָּאוּת Human beings have a need for clarity and organization – we seek certainty in order to relax and go about our day. While certainty, in Hebrew, is וַדָּאוּת (listen and repeat), uncertainty is אִי-וַדָּאוּת (listen and repeat). For example: קָשֶׁה אָבָל הֶכְרֵחִי לִחְיוֹת עִם אִי-וַדָּאוּת. It’s difficult but necessary to live with uncertainty. listen…