how to say “sunburn” in Hebrew
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כְּוִיַּת שֶׁמֶשׁ
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If you’re like me and you’ve had a sunburn before, raise your hand.
The word for sun – שֶׁמֶשׁ (SHEH-mesh) – is one of those nouns people pick up pretty fast when learning Hebrew, especially if they’re coming to Israel from a climate that doesn’t get much of it.
The most common word for to burn in Hebrew is the active-simple פעל verb, לִשְׁרוֹף (lees-ROHF), of the root שׂ.ר.פ (s.r.p). A word for burn specific to the type of burn found on the body is כְּוִיָּה (keh-vee-YAH). This word appears prominently in the Biblical verses featuring the famous, “an eye for an eye”:עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן שֵׁן תַּחַת שֵׁן יָד תַּחַת יָד רֶגֶל תַּחַת רָגֶל, כְּוִיָּה תַּחַת כְּוִיָּה…
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, an arm for an arm, a leg for a leg; a burn for a burn…
(AH-yeen TAH-khaht AH-yeen, shen TAH-khaht shen, yahd TAH-khaht yahd, REH-ghel TAH-khaht RAH-ghel; keh-vee-YAH TAH-khaht keh-vee-YAH…)
(Exodus 21:24-25)
Just as in English, where one wouldn’t say the sun burned me, but more likely, I was burned by the sun, in Hebrew one would say נִכְוֵתִי (neekh-VEH-tee) – I was burned (on my skin). The verb is of the נפעל variety: לְהִכָּוֹת (leh-hee-kah-VOHT) – to be burned.
A sunburn is thus a כְּוִיַּת שמש (keh-vee-YAHT SHEH-mesh).
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