how to say “to knock” in Hebrew

 

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לִדְפוֹק

 

 

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לדפוק בדלת This active-simple פָּעַל verb means to knock – לִדְפוֹק (leed-FOHK). It appears in the Biblical book, שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִיםThe Song of Songs (sheer hah-shee-REEM), in the phrase, קוֹל דּוֹדִי דּוֹפֵקthe sound of my beloved is knocking (kohl doh-DEE doh-FEK). The root is ד.פ.ק (d.p.k).


A common example:

מִי דּוֹפֵק עַל הַדֶּלֶת?
Who’s knocking on the door?
(mee doh-FEK ahl hah-DEH-let)



Beyond the literal knocking, this verb has several non-literal applications. One of these applications is the expression, for things to run smoothly.


For example:

הַצֶּוֶת הִתְחִיל לַעֲבוֹד בִּשְׁמוֹנֶה בַּבֹּקֶר, וּמֵאָז הַכֹּל דּוֹפֵק כְּמוֹ שָׁעוֹן.
The team started working at eight in the morning, and since then everything is ticking (literally, knockinglike a clock.


For other applications, check out the Morfix entry on the word.
 
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