how to say “sentence” in Hebrew

 

מִשְׁפָּט

 

 
The Hebrew word for sentence – as in “These words form a sentence.” – is מִשְׁפָּט listen and repeat. It comes from the root שׁ.פ.ט (sh.p.t) meaning judgment.
 
For example:
 
הַיֶּלֶד שֶׁהִפְרִיעַ בַּשִּׁיעוּר נִדְרַשׁ לִכְתּוֹב מִשְׁפָּטִים עַל הַלּוּחַ.
The boy who interrupted class was required to write sentences on the board.
 
What does judgement have to do with a string of words?
 
You may have noticed that the English word sentence refers to both verbal expression as well as the sentence handed down by a judge. There’s a finality about the judge’s statement, just as there is in a statement that has a clear beginning and end.
 
For a judge’s sentence Hebrew has a different term – פְּסַק דִּין listen and repeat.

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