how to say “to tell a story” in Hebrew
לְסַפֵּר סִפּוּר
פֶּסַח
listen and repeat – Passover – is coming up, the holiday when Jews tell over the story of the Exodus.
listen and repeat – Passover – is coming up, the holiday when Jews tell over the story of the Exodus.But whereas in Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew, to tell something over is לְהַגִּיד listen and repeat (hence the הַגָּדָה שֶׁל פֶּסַח listen and repeat – the Passover Haggadah or the telling over of Passover), the Modern-Hebrew term for telling a story is לְסַפֵּר סִפּוּר listen and repeat. The word להגיד also means to tell in Modern Hebrew, but it’s more about giving over information or making an announcement.
listen and repeat (hence the הַגָּדָה שֶׁל פֶּסַח listen and repeat – the Passover Haggadah or the telling over of Passover), the Modern-Hebrew term for telling a story is לְסַפֵּר סִפּוּר listen and repeat. The word להגיד also means to tell in Modern Hebrew, but it’s more about giving over information or making an announcement.The verb לספר also means to tell in the more conventional senses of to inform and to expound or open up about something, as in:
סַפֵּר לִי מָה כּוֹאֵב לְךָ.
Tell me what hurts you (to a male).
and
סִפַּרְתִּי לָהּ עַל הַיּוֹם שֶׁלִּי.
I told her about my day.
The root of both words in לספר סיפור is ס.פ.ר (s.p.r), the same root as book and number. After all, to tell a story about an event is to recount it.