how to say “relatively speaking” in Hebrew
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יַחֲסִית, בְּאֹפֶן יַחֲסִי
Last week I posted a dose on relatives, so here’s a dose on a related word – relatively.
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| אַלְבֶּרְט אַיינְשְׁטַיין, אָבִיהָ שֶׁל תּוֹרַת הַיַּחֲסוּת Albert Einstein, father of the theory of relativity |
Hebrew has two words for relatively. These are mostly interchangeable, with subtle distinctions.
יַחֲסִית is the far more common word, used in such contexts as:
is the far more common word, used in such contexts as:הוּא בַּיִת גָּדוֹל, יַחֲסִית לָאֵזוֹר.
It’s a big house, relative to the area.
and
יַחֲסִית לַח הַיּוֹם.
It’s relatively humid today.
The term בְּאֹפֶן יַחֲסִי means, literally, in a relative fashion. It is used primarily when comparing two things, such as:
means, literally, in a relative fashion. It is used primarily when comparing two things, such as:תֵּל אָבִיב חֲמִימָה בַּחֹרֶף, בְּאֹפֶן יַחֲסִי לִירוּשָׁלַיִם הַקָּרָה מִמֶּנָּה.
Tel Aviv is warm in the winter, relative to Jerusalem, which is colder than it.
The root י.ח.ס (y.kh.s) means relatedness. Another related term is יַחֲסֵי צִבּוּר , discussed here.
, discussed here.
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