how to say “balcony” in Hebrew
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מרפסת-1.m4a” /]מִרְפֶּסֶת, גְּזוּזְטְרָה
The part of a house or apartment that juts out and provides space for leisure furniture is called in Hebrew a מרפסת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מרפסת-2.m4a” /]. This structure can appear on the ground floor, so that in English it would be called a porch or a veranda. It can also spring forth from an above-ground level, in which case it’s a balcony.
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מרפסת-3.m4a” /]לדירה הזאת יש שלוש מרפסות.
This apartment has three balconies.
מרפסת makes its debut in Mishnaic Hebrew, where we also find the Aramaic word גזוזטרא[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מרפסת-4.m4a” /] (in Hebrew, spelled גזוזטרה) referring to a מרפסת with a banister or a railing meant to protect people from falling – a מעקה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מרפסת-5.m4a” /].
