how to say “hard” in Hebrew
Today’s title with content should have been what’s below. Now you know what tomorrow’s dose will be. מָאתַיִם, אַלְפַּיִם Can’t read Hebrew yet? Yesterday we saw the Hebrew terms for three hundred and three thousand – שְׁלֹשׁ מְאוֹת and שְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים , respectively. Higher multiples of those numbers follow a pattern: אַרְבַּע מְאוֹת,…
רַכֶּבֶת תַּחְתִּית Can’t read Hebrew yet? The word תַּחַת means below or under, while מִתַּחַת means underneath (literally, from under) as in: הַנְּיָרוֹת נִמְצָאִים מִתַּחַת לַשֻּׁלְחָן. The papers are under the table. תחת also means one’s behind in slang. תַּחְתִּית means the bottom or lower part of something,…
דֶּרֶךְ אַגַּב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אגב-1.mp3″ /] The Hebrew expression for by the way is דרך אגב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אגב-1.mp3″ /] (also pronounced stressing the first syllable in אגב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אגב-9.mp3″ /]) – literally, by way of the back or, if you will, piggybacking… For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אגב-3.mp3″ /]דרך אגב, שלחת את המייל? By the way, did you (a female) send the email? The word…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/כינים-#.m4a” /]כִּנִּים The Hebrew word for lice has been around since biblical times: כינים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/כינים-#.m4a” /]. A single louse is כינה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/כינים-#.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/כינים-#.m4a” /]חפפתי לה את השיער והוצאתי את הכינה. I washed her hair and removed the louse.
לְקַטֵּר Can’t read Hebrew yet? Imagine a boiling teapot, with steam rising from its spout. That’s approximately the image evoked in Hebrew when describing someone complaining non-stop, as לְקַטֵּר means literally to smoke a pipe or to burn incense. For example: תַּפְסִיקִי לְקַטֵּר עַל הַשְּׁכֵנִים וְתַעֲשִׁי מַשֶּׁהוּ.(to a female) Stop complaining so much about the neighbors and do something. …