how to say “contagious” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger

having trouble seeing the print?

מִדַּבֵּק
Class starts October 30 around the country.
Register by October 11 to save NIS 200.
 
 

This one’s a tricky one, I’ve found.


The way to translate contagious disease into Hebrew is מַחֲלָה מִדַּבֶּקֶת (mah-khah-LAH mee-dah-BEH-ket). The latter word refers to contagious. If you can guess which verb form (בניין -been-YAHN) מִדַּבֵּק and מִדַּבֶּקֶת fall into, let us know!


But whereas in English, we’d normally say, stay away from me, I’m contagious, in Hebrew such a statement borders on slang, invoking the active-intensive פיעל (pee-EL) verb form to say, אֲנִי מְדַבֵּק/אֲנִי מְדַבֶּקֶת (ah-NEE meh-dah-BEK – masculine/ah-NEE meh-dah-BEH-ket – feminine).

Spoken properly, it’s אֲנִי מַדְבִּיק/אֲנִי מַדְבִּיקָה (ah-NEE mahd-BEEK/ah-NEE mahd-bee-KAH), using the active-causative הפעיל (heef-EEL) verb form and meaning, literally, I am infecting.

smile





Some examples:


הָיִיתִי חוֹלֶה, אָבָל הַיּוֹם אֲנִי כְּבָר לֹא מַדְבִּיק – I was sick, but today I’m no longer contagious (infecting) – (hah-YEE-tee khoh-LEH, ah-VAHL hah-YOHM ah-NEE keh-VAHR loh mahd-BEEK).


לַחָתָן בַּחֲתוּנָה אֶתְמוֹל הָיָה חִיּוּךְ מִדַּבֵּק – The groom at the wedding last night had a contagious smile – (lah-khah-TAHN bah-khah-too-NAH et-MOHL hah-YAH khee-YOOKH mee-dah-BEK).


שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים לכולם!
Shabbat Shalom, and a pleasant weekend to all!



Today’s dose of Hebrew is sponsored by Yom Tov
 


I’ve seen his amazing art at Hechal Shlomo and even acquired a piece myself.

Similar Posts

how to say “wintry” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger

  having trouble seeing the print? חָרְפִּי     Learn to speak Hebrew! Check out our intimate, affordable, world-class program. Only 10 spots available per course. Sign up now!     By bicycle, the ride home from the Jerusalem open market – the shuk, שׁוּק (shook) – is normally twelve minutes long. Though clouds were gathering tonight, I took…

Weekly Hebrew Review – scary clown behavior in alleys – go this way!

ByAmi Steinberger

חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-1.mp3″ /] Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? You spent time on your Hebrew this week. Use these review materials to make it yours to keep. Flashcards . Scatter . Gravity . Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!

how to say “knowledge” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ידע-#.m4a” /]יֶדַע Some words in Hebrew are formed by their three-letter root itself. ידע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ידע-#.m4a” /] – knowledge – is one of them. Here it is in context: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ידע-#.m4a” /]הוא רוצה לצבור ידע, להרחיב אופקים. He wants to accumulate knowledge, to broaden (his) horizons. Related words include מידע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ידע-#.m4a” /] – information, מודיעין[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ידע-#.m4a” /]…

how to say “a trap”

ByAmi Steinberger

  having trouble seeing the print? מַלְכֹּדֶת BEGINNERS Hebrew Course Starts Mid-February Jerusalem . Tel Aviv Today a horrible tragedy was reported from Brazil, where hundreds of people were trapped inside a nightclub as it burned down. The Biblical-Hebrew root ל.כ.ד (l.k.d) means enclosure or trapping. Some of the words it produces, in use today, are: מַלְכֹּדֶת  – a trap לִלְכּוֹד –…

how to say “tiny little place” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/מטר-על-מטר-#.m4a” /]מֶטֶר עַל מֶטֶר Hebrew has a vivid way of saying that a place is really small: מטר על מטר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/מטר-על-מטר-#.m4a” /] – (one) meter by (one) meter. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/מטר-על-מטר-#.m4a” /]זאת דירה קטנטונת, ממש מטר על מטר! It’s a tiny little apartment, really a meter by a meter! על[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/מטר-על-מטר-#.m4a” /] means…